Arming the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Private property and parklands were taken over by the Commonwealth for the duration of the war for a variety of war-related uses. In 1938 the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge had been inspected to find the best sites for fixing machine guns. From 13-15 November 1939 the No. 5 Section, 1st Anti-Aircraft Battery (Lewis Gun Section) held training exercises in all four pylons. This memo from 25 April 1942 describes an inspection of the Bridge pylons by the Army prior to them taking over control of all four pylons and guns being erected in two of them. The pylons were also used for troop accomodation. NRS 9771 [10/27345] File 42m457