When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941, Australia’s focus in the war turned to the PacificAfter the raid on Darwin in !ebruar" 194#, man" felt that as $risbane was the lar%est cit" in &ueensland, it would be the ne't to e'perience a lar%e(scale raid b" the Japanese)he cit" was alread" desi%nated as a sta%in% point, with a si%nificant *+ build(up underwa", and the best port facilities in &ueensland$etween arch and Jul" 194# the Japanese conducted re%ular reconnaissance missions o-er .airns and )owns-ille usin% lon% ran%e twin(en%ined aircraft)owns-ille was actuall" bombed three times in late Jul" and the town of ossman onceWhile the Japanese were able to penetrate Australia’s defences on these occasions, the a" $attle of the .oral +ea pre-ented Japan from completin% its ob/ecti-e of achie-in% lar%e scale carrier based raids alon% the &ueensland coastThroughout World War I the Fort continued as the primary defensive position for the port of Brisbane. By the end of the First World War the inadequacies of Fort Lytton as a def ens ive base were clear ly appar ent. Ep end iture was !ep t to a min imu m durin g the interwar period and in "#$% the wharf at Fort Lytto n was closed& with the battery relying on the berthing facilities at the quarantine station. In "#$' training walls and revetments were instal led along the river ban!s to impro ve navigatio n and flood control. (ust prior to World War II ma)or changes were made to the role Fort Lytton served in the defence of Brisbane. The *+inch disappearing guns& the Fort,s heaviest armament& had been installed in (une "'''. The barrels were upgraded in the late "'#-s and remained in service throughout World War I and the interwar years. The gun was last fired at Easter "#$'& after which they were dismantled. The lon ger +ra ngi ng capabi lit ies of mod ern armame nts mad e real the thr eat of shipping and aircraft stri!es. In response& outer defences were established on oreton and Bribie Islands and anti+aircraft installations were provided at Lytton& /olmslie& 0emmant& Balmoral& 0endra 1ar!& ount 2ravatt& 3rcherfield& 3mberley and on the island s in oreto n Bay. Fort Lytt on provid ed an important coasta l communic ation lin! and was piv otal to the coasta l defence of the Brisba ne 4iver. Boom def ences against submarine invasion were placed in the river at Lytton& and the fort was adapted to defend these5 gun position 6 was altered to accommodate a modern 6.7 inch 8F gun9 gun position 7 was installed to house a *+pounder 8F gun9 and a forward command post was constructed to provide a better viewing position than was available previously. 3 signal station was established on Lytton 0ill #also !nown as :igna l 0ill; and an anti+ai rcraft battery was established on land between the fort and the hill. <uring World War II the main defences for Brisbane were artillery batteries on oreton and Bribie islands. Fort Lytton retained its role as a ma)or training facility during the war& and also provided the last line of control for all shipping entering the river. It played a significant role in protecting Brisbane from air attac! and as a signals relay station for the south+west 1acific campaigns. By the end of the war the site that had been in use for sity+five years& no longer met the defence needs and was gradually abandoned.= :ource5 /0I:
