SYDNEY MINES HERITAGE
eMUSEUM

Sydney Mines Militia

In order to be ready for an emergency of any nature, primarily an attack by enemy forces on the coal fields, a volunteer corps was established in 1858. The members were: Capt. R.H. Brown, Lt. A.W. Archibald, Capt. Charles Barrington, Lt. R. Rigby, Lt. W. MacQueen, Lt. R. Partridge, Capt. John Brown, Major Y.A.W. Barrington, Lt. Col. R.A. Brown, Major Robert Bridge.

In 1860, Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, stopped at Sydney Mines to inspect the Volunteer Corps in town. To commemorate that historic visit, a fort was erected in 1862 at Battery Point (referred to during World War II as Chapel Fort). This fort was equipped with seven inch cannons. During the Second World War the fort was manned by regular service personnel. 

The fort soon went to ruin, the cannons were blown up and sold for junk. Some of the stone from the old fort was used in the foundation of Immaculate Conception Church.