Thread: WW2 Near Lithgow

Originally Posted by numpty

Lithgow Anti-aircrfat gun emplacements and Bunkers in the mountains surrounding Lithgow, NSW during WW2

Dropped in here on the way back from Corowa the other day. I and I assume others, never knew of its existence. Shame about the vandalism though.

Maybe someone on here knows more?

Perry

I've driven past there no less than seemingly a million times and had no idea. Likewise the runway, have been there many times in an effort to get some vegetation growing never realised thats what it so clearly is and never crossed the road to the bunkers. Often see cars stopped, but never though much about it other than it was a good place to stop on Bells.

Thanks Perry, I'll have to check it out the next time I pass through and have some time.

Originally Posted by Phil HH

Tom, I'm fascinated by your Bathurst local knowledge, however I hope you don't mind if I correct you a little on your Wallerawang local knowledge.
It is my understanding that the concrete highway from Lithgow to the Lidsdale Pine Forest railway bridge was built by AUSTRALIANS and was completed by the early 1930s (at an estimated cost for the Marrangaroo to Lidsdale Bridge section of £20,000 per mile). See the newspaper report below.
Sun (Sydney, NSW ), Thursday 2 February 1933, page 22
ROAD TO BATHURST
Condition Of Western Highway
In the road report issued to-day by the N.R.M.A. Touring Department, motoring conditions along the Great Western Highway to Bathurst
MILES OF CONCRETE At Old Bowenfels the Great Western High way keeps ahead (left is the old Bathurst road through Rydal). Splendid concrete pavement is then passed over to Marrangaroo, just beyond which the Mudgee road bears to the right, while the main road to Bathurst bears slightly to the left. Concrete pavement continues for about six miles to the bridge over the Great Western Railway. From this point onwards the gravel road is mostly in good condition to within a few miles of Bathurst, the last couple of miles to the town being over tarred pavement


A large factor in the cost was excavation work (Lithgow to Marrangaroo was half the cost per mile because there was only earthwork involved). The desire to reduce excavation work (and therefore the cost) was probably the reason that the road was so windy, following the contours rather than ploughing straight through.

In the 1970s it was common practice for the Lithgow locals to make fast late-night runs over the twisty road to the Mt Lambie service station for a toasted sandwich. The road was demanding, and sometimes deadly, but it was great fun.

Phil HH in Lithgow

Yep, that's what dear old dad told me, it was a Depression Era project manned by the unemployed?

BTW, Dad also told me the Putty Rd was cut by the Americans as another access to Sydney from Singleton in case of invasion

Originally Posted by rick130

Yep, that's what dear old dad told me, it was a Depression Era project manned by the unemployed?

BTW, Dad also told me the Putty Rd was cut by the Americans as another access to Sydney from Singleton in case of invasion

The road which incidentally does not go through the small village of Putty, follows the approximate track blazed by John Howe in 1820 and has since been known as the Parson's Road, the Bulga Road, Military Road, Singleton Road and the road to the Coal River (an early name for the Hunter). During World War Two this inland route to the Hunter Valley was redeveloped (commencing in 1939)with the various parts of the road upgraded and formed into a continuous route.
In 1942, with the possibility of Australia being invaded from the north, the Department of Main Roads undertook a massive reconstruction of the road to allow for it to be used as a defence (and evacuation) route due to the vulnerability of the Hawkesbury River ferry crossings. Following the end of the war in 1945, the DMR took ownership of the road, proclaiming it Main Road No. 503 and restoring the original Putty Road name. Sealing of the road was completed in June 1964.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I've driven past there no less than seemingly a million times and had no idea. Likewise the runway, have been there many times in an effort to get some vegetation growing never realised thats what it so clearly is and never crossed the road to the bunkers. Often see cars stopped, but never though much about it other than it was a good place to stop on Bells.

.

The airstrip was not part of the gun emplacements, it was conceived and executed by a consortium of locals in 1965. They were Mr. Max Honeysett, Mr. Rod Pieper, Mr. Norm Henry and Mr. Dick Facchina. They had a plan to build an aeromotel on the site. As it turned out, there was a bit of a problem with wind shear at the highway end of the strip. It caught a light plane about 25 years ago and put it into the trees, killing the passenger. During the 1997 bushfires fixedwing aircraft were flown from this strip for water bombing (filled up with water carried in concrete agitator trucks), and I saw a couple of them tip precariously just as they lifted off near the highway end of the strip.
Just recently the owners have barricaded the access tracks to the airstrip.

Phil HH

Originally Posted by 303gunner

There were other extensive works constructed at the same time as the gun emplacements. The largest was an underground Casualty Clearing Station and Hospital.

At the height of production in 1942, the SAF employed 6000 workers. The hospital was large enough to treat 500 casualties and provide shelter to 2000. As the factory was never attacked, it fell into disuse in the latter half of the war and was used as storage for production. This is still in existence, but it has been gutted of all fittings, and access is restricted as it lies within the factory grounds and part of the rifle range.
.

I grew up in Lithgow, and when I was a kid there were still evident some private and community air raid shelters . There were the remains of slit trenches in the paddock beside my parents' place, a relative nearby had an underground shelter in the garden, and the local community hall (built in 1942 as a headquarters for the Air Raid organisation) had a sort of submerged Nissin hut as a shelter. There were numerous other shelters in town, as there were in many places along the coast. Mine shafts and railway tunnels were often utilised.
I recall a house in Lithgow that had an enamelled sign over the front door identifying the house as the home of an Air Raid Warden.
The rush to provide air raid shelters occurred, of course, in early 1942, as a result of Japan's entry to WW2.

Originally Posted by Phil HH

I recall a house in Lithgow that had an enamelled sign over the front door identifying the house as the home of an Air Raid Warden.

Well waddayaknow?
The sign mentioned above is long gone, but as I was cruising a back lane in Lithgow today I saw another one attached to a shed. It's about the size of a number plate and reads "National Emergency - WARDEN"

The National Emergency Services came about not as a result of Japan entering the war in 1941, but as a precautionary measure in April 1939, when it was obvious that there was a strong possibility of war.

Originally Posted by Phil HH

I grew up in Lithgow, and when I was a kid there were still evident some private and community air raid shelters . There were the remains of slit trenches in the paddock beside my parents' place, a relative nearby had an underground shelter in the garden, and the local community hall (built in 1942 as a headquarters for the Air Raid organisation) had a sort of submerged Nissin hut as a shelter. There were numerous other shelters in town, as there were in many places along the coast. Mine shafts and railway tunnels were often utilised.
I recall a house in Lithgow that had an enamelled sign over the front door identifying the house as the home of an Air Raid Warden.
The rush to provide air raid shelters occurred, of course, in early 1942, as a result of Japan's entry to WW2.

Hi Phil
I seen your comment on an underground shelter in a backyard. I have recently moved to Lithgow and have heard rumours of an underground shelter that might be in my backyard. Do you have any more information of your relatives underground shelter?