North Head (Fort Cautley)

North Head is perhaps one of the most significant sites in Auckland. It has been used by the Army from the 1885 scare through to 1957 when Coastal Artillery was disbanded. The whole of North Head is managed by the Department of Conservation and is publicly accessible.

Summit Battery / Fort Cautley

First off two earthen gun pits for 7-inch RML guns and a brick magazine and musketry parapet were built in 1885. One 8-inch disappearing gun was added in 1887.

The fort was upgraded in 1891 to replace rotting woodwork. Barracks built at the beginning were converted to a prison in 1888 and convicts from this prison worked on other emplacements on North Head until 1914.

A modern 6-inch Mk-VII battery was started in 1904. The northern-most 7-inch gun pit and 6-pdr emplacement were leveled, but the work was stopped in the same year over a disagreement over the suitability of the site. Work started again in 1908 at a site about 100 yards away, just to the north of the summit. Completed in 1910, the observation post wasn't built for another three years. This was considered the primary defensive fort for Auckland during World War One.

In 1941 the 6-inch guns were moved to Whangaparaoa. The original guns were returned in 1950 to North Head where they served until 1957.

North Battery

The first gun to be mounted here was a 7-inch RML. The gun pit was initially built during the 1885 scare, but was rebuilt for an 8-inch disappearing gun in 1888. The gun was abandoned in 1925, but not removed until 1941 when an examination battery of two 4-inch guns was built and the old gun pit was used as a war shelter. Overhead covers were added to the four inch battery in 1942. The four inch guns were removed in 1946.

South Battery

The first gun to be mounted here was a 64pdr. The gun pit was initially built during the 1885 scare, with an 8-inch disappearing gun being added in a separate emplacement in 1888. The 64-pdr was described as 'unserviceable' in 1891. Five years later it was moved 20 yards south to better cover the minefield. After the 64-pdr was declared obsolete in 1904 the emplacement was converted to a latrine. In 1925 the 8-inch gun was scrapped and removed. However, in 1952 a similar gun, from the summit battery was placed in the gun pit as a memorial to the 9th Coastal Regiment.

The 12pdr battery

This battery dates from 1899 and the guns emplaced here were originally part of the minefield defences. A magazine and shelter for the gun crew were excavated behind the emplacements and an observation post was built on the hillside behind the battery. The battery was fully decommissioned in 1957 and the guns removed in 1959.

The 6-pdr Batteries

Two batteries of two 6pdrs were built during the Second World War. One overlooking Cheltenham Beach, the other on the south side, below the old South battery.

Searchlights

The first searchlights were in three emplacements in the 1890s. Two new lights were added in 1915, with three more added in 1937. These were numbered 1-5 with the original two emplacements abandoned at this time. A track was cut around the base of North Head in mid 1940 allowing for easier access to the lights and the new 6-pounder batteries.