South Australia's major defences comprised the forts at Largs and Glanville, both located on the coast facing into Gulf St Vincent (the forts were linked by the Military Road from Glenelg to Largs); the Torpedo Station on Port River; and the cruiser Protector, which was in service from 1884. The Protector was transferred to the Commonwealth defence service on Federation in 1901.
The military installations also played some part in the 1914–18 and 1939–45 wars. Fort Glanville has been restored and is now a major tourist attraction.
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Chart showing arcs of fire available from Fort Glanville and Fort Largs, South Australia, 1903.
NAA: AP161/1, item 11 |
The National Archives office in Adelaide holds a range of records relating to Fort Glanville and Fort Largs, although little information is held on the Port River Torpedo Station. Minutes of the colonial Defence Committee and annual returns of military and naval resources of the colony are also held. Details of records held are provided in the table below. Log books for the Protector from 1884 until it was decommissioned from the Royal Australian Navy in 1921 are held in our Sydney office.
 | Original drawings, plans and prints of National Estate properties | 1847–1980 | D1051 | ||
 | Torpedo Station Magazine North Arm (15 folios) | 1858–94 | D1051, unnumbered | ||
| Army record books – Forts Largs and Malta | 1878–1946 | AP69/1 | ||
| Miscellaneous maps, documents, books and correspondence, Forts Glanville and Largs | 1881–1961 | AP161/1 | ||
| Notes on Colonial Defence Scheme by the Colonial Defence Committee of the Colonial Office | 1886–1893 | AP613/8 | ||
| Annual return of military and naval resources of the Colonies (South Australia only) | 1887–1899 | AP613/6 | ||
| Defence Committee minute book | 1894–1901 | AP39/1 | ||
| Port Adelaide Torpedo station | 1916–29 | A569, B1925/2573 | ||
| Obsolete 6 inch guns – Fort Largs | 1928–29 | D845, 1928/48 | ||
| Log books for HMAS Protector – Bundles 446 to 449, 455 and 457 to 470 | 1884–1921 | SP551/1 | ||
| Fort Largs – site extension | 1907–12 | D4212, SA1911/634 | ||
| Forts Glanville and Largs – papers and books of historical interest | 1957–62 | AP336/1, 274/1/93 | ||
You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) fromRecordSearch, the Archives database. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject. RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au.
State Records, the South Australian government archives, has a significant collection of records dealing with the defence of South Australia before Federation. Contact State Records of South Australia as follows:
City Research Centre
26–28 Leigh Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000
GPO Box 1072, Adelaide SA 5001
Tel: (08) 8226 7750
Fax: (08) 8226 8002
Email: srsaPublicAccess@saugov.sa.au
Gepps Cross Research Centre
115 Cavan Road
GEPPS CROSS SA 5094
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated December 2004