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Media Release - Minister's Office Sydney: 28 July 2008 SECRET WW2 RADAR BASE HERITAGE LISTED The remains of a highly classified World War Two installation - Radar Station 208 at Catherine Hill Bay - have been listed on the State Heritage Register, Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Steve Whan said today.
Steve Whan said the remains provided an insight into a secret chapter in the history of NSW.
“This is a significant, not to mention rare, example of the State’s participation in the WWII air warning radar network,” Steve Whan said.
“It was one of nine similar installations established at strategic locations around Australia and is the most intact surviving example of a World War II Advance Chain Overseas (ACO) radar station in the State.
“Radar Station 208 was part of a national response to the threat of invasion and demonstrates the commitment to protecting coastal industrial centres during the war.”
In November 1941, one month before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the Royal Australian Air Force was given responsibility for Australia’s early warning radar operations.
The defence force chiefs agreed that the limited number of British ACO radar units in the country would be used to defend the industrial centres of Newcastle, Sydney and Port Kembla from attack.
“Newcastle was considered vulnerable because it was home to the steel works and the manufacture of armaments needed for the war effort,” Steve Whan said.
Member for Swansea Robert Coombs welcomed the listing.
“This site provides an insight into a fascinating chapter of the region’s history,” Mr Coombs said.
“At the height of the station’s operation, 54 people were on the duty roster.
“The main station remnants in the listing area are the concrete footings of the two towers and two concrete ‘igloo’ bunkers.”
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