OBJECT TITLE / NAME

Armstrong Gun, c. 1900

DATE1900

MEDIAImage

COLLECTIONHastings-Western Port Historical Society

REG NO.P44.2

HISTORY

The photograph shows men from Hastings Battery practising on the foreshore of Western Port. Only one man is identified as J White on the far left of the photograph. Written on the back of the photograph is “Hastings Battery Practice Armstrong 40lb R.B.L. Gun.” This Battery was known as the “Ham & Beef Battery”. Captain Ham was in charge. A plaque on the front of one of the copies reads:- “ONE OF THE FOUR ARMSTRONG 40 POUND GUNS - NO. 272. THE STONY POINT RAILWAY AND THESE FOUR GUNS CAME TO HASTINGS c. 1890 BECAUSE OF A PERCEIVED RUSSIAN THREAT TO “TAKE” MELBOURNE BY LANDING A FORCE VIA WESTERN PORT. This photograph is No 85 in the White Family collection. There are two original photos.

DESCRIPTION

The image is a sepia-tone photograph showing a 40 pound Armstrong gun mounted on four wheels. Four men are at the end of the barrel of the gun, two men are in the centre and four men are pulling on ropes at the rear of the gun. Some of the men are in Hastings Battery uniform. More bullocks are shown in the background along with another two men. Trees on the foreshore and the Western Port are shown in the far background. “J White (with an arrow pointing to a man on the far left of the photograph) about 1900” is written on the mounting board.

SUBJECTS

Armed forces, Boer War, 1899-1902, Cannons, Defence Forces, Guns, Military history, Military uniforms, Soldiers, Weapons

KEYWORDS

Armstrong Gun, Hastings Battery, Western Port, White Family, White, J.