Information
Located on a farm at Fleming Road, Hemmant, this was one of several four-gun anti-aircraft positions situated along the Brisbane River, a system designed to monitor and prevent unwanted aircraft entering Brisbane airspace during WWII by using the river as a navigational aid. They also protected Allied facilities located along the river. These defensive positions were located at Colmslie/Lytton, Victoria Park, Balmoral, Pinkenba, Hendra, Hemmant, Amberley and Archerfield. The Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery had standard four-gun emplacements, with magazines, a central control room, and a gun crew of 10-12 men. The Australian Women’s Army Service were involved in operating instruments such as range finding and spotting, but generally not in the firing of the guns. By 1944, when the perceived threat from Japanese invasion had decreased, personnel on the battery was limited to maintenance and training purposes. All Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery sites in Brisbane were disarmed at the end of the war.
Citations
Queensland Government, Queensland WWII Historic Places, ‘6 (390th) Australian Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) Battery’ (www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/places/?id=749), sighted 22 July 2017.
Image Citations
Map References
Qimagery. Brisbane City Council Series 1946. Scale: 1:15,900.