A selection of news stories and other videos of Fort Scratchley.
NBN TV takes you to fort Scratchley for an in-depth look at this local landmark.
Stunning aerial footage of Fort Scratchley by AerialSnapshots.
Tour guide of Fort Scratchley Newcastle Australia gives an account of the WWII attack on Newcastle. Video: Unexplained Australia.
On the 8th of June 1942, the Japanese Submarine I-21 opened fire on the Australian city of Newcastle, New South Wales. Amazing 3D graphics by David Threlfo show how the attack unfolded, and how the gun crews of Fort Scratchley famously fired back! See reporter Paul Lobb “inside” the sub. Features Andrew Griffiths – Fort Scratchley Historical Society. Edited by Dion Ambrose.
In fall 2015, Legion Magazine and Leonard Cohen released a video to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the poem “In Flanders Fields” by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. In a poignant tribute to McCrae, Canadian songwriter, painter and poet Leonard Cohen has recited that stirring poem for this exclusive video. His voice is accompanied by stirring imagery from the First World War.
The story of the red poppy. The tradition of why we wear red poppies on Remembrance Day. Video: BBC
Restoration of one of Fort Scratchley’s guns. First firing in over a century. Video: NBN TV
The importance of volunteers to Fort Scratchley and other organisations. Contact us if you’d like to join us!
2007 Interview re 8 June 1942
As we remember the early hours of the 8th June 1942 here is an interview that was done by a local radio station back in 2007 with some of the men who were on duty that early morning at Fort Scratchley.
The Fort Scratchley site has had many caretakers. Before it became Fort Scratchley, the Awabakal people used it, convicts mined it, and signalmen lit coal-fired beacons to show mariners the entrance to the port of Newcastle. The military built the fort in 1882 and it is the only Australia Coastal Defence Battery to have returned fire on an enemy vessel during WWII. In 1972, the military quit the site and the community moved in. This locally-produced documentary is about the people who have been using Fort Scratchley for over 200 years.