History Mystery Monday: A Solution to the Mystery of Niddrie’s Military Past

We used this blog to ask if anyone could tell us more about gun emplacements that were in Niddrie during World War II. http://mooneevalleyfamilylocalhistory.blogspot.com/2020/05/historymysterymonday-mystery-of.html

And we got an answer! Peter Willoughby of Essendon Historical Society has shared a fascinating article with us that he wrote originally for their newsletter, back in 2013.

The gun placements were part of an anti-aircraft gun station set up during the Second World War. Their site, on Keilor Road, was chosen because it allowed the guns to protect both the Essendon Aerodrome to the north and the Maribyrnong explosive factory complex to the south. At the time the site was open paddocks. Now, its around where the car park sits for Wallis mall.

The decision to set up the station was made in August 1940 when defence planners meeting at Victoria Barracks saw conflict with Japan as inevitable, and the chosen land was compulsorily requisitioned indefinitely in September. Soon “Essendon Gun Station”, gun station 402, – more often known as “Essendon Battery” or “North Essendon Battery” - a “Class A” Gun Station was ready. It was equipped with four heavy anti-aircraft guns and an encampment nearby. To camouflage the site, it was made to look like a residential development (complete with pathways, gravel roads and dividing fences) so that the facility would blend in with the surroundings, and fabric camouflage netting was used to cover that actual guns and emplacements.

Essendon Gun Station is thought to have been manned by at least 44 gunners, plus many other command, support and administrative staff, likely including women from the Australian Women’s Army Service from March 1943. The bulk of roles would have been filled by men from the 10th Australian Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, 2nd Australian Army (later renamed the 402 Heavy Anti-Aircraft (Static) Troop, 10th Australian Battery (Static)) who occupied Essendon Gun Station from the 1st May 1942 until December 1944, when all remaining anti-aircraft units in Melbourne were disbanded, the threat of bombing now considered unlikely. In the end, the guns were never fired for defence.

The guns and most of the structures and equipment were removed and the requisitioned property was returned to the use of its owner in August 1945, although the site wasn’t completely cleared until 1949.

Many thanks to Peter Willoughby for sharing his wonderful research into Gun Station 402. Now we know so much more about the history of Essendon Battery, walking through the car park of Wallis Mall in Niddrie will never be quite the same!

If you have a Moonee Valley History Mystery we might be able to help with, email librarian@mvcc.vic.gov.au, or add a comment below.

This photo from the Australian War Memorial shows the Middle Park Gun Station during WWII. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/229177245?keyword=gun%20station

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