This is possibly more suited to a naval forum but I took these photos in the mid 60s in Cairns, North Queensland. The gun was placed on the foreshore opposite the main shopping centre but when I recently re-visited Cairns it was no longer to be seen. I should have made inquiries at the time but it is only now that I have turned up the photos and wish to find out more about this gun.
Does anyone know anything about it's present location and it's history?
The gun is on the Esplanade in Cairns - it's now part of the war memorial there - or rather was in 2007 when I was there. There's a WW2 25-pounder alongside it.
The gun is a 6 inch Naval gun from 1887. It was installed as a coastal defence at Cairns as part of the Russian paranoia of the 19th Century in Australia. The mount (I'm told) is a fairly typical Vavasseur mount from the 1870s - you can see the ramp the gun runs up on recoil.
If my memory serves me the gun fell into ruin in the early 20th century - it was restored in the 1960s(?) - the barrel still shows evidence of extensive corrosion from lying in tropical soil for decades.
Found a recent image of the gun (attached).
Regards,
Charlie
-- Edited by CharlieC on Sunday 13th of December 2009 02:36:43 AM
