Supported by Sally, the CEO of Working Heritage Victoria, tour guide Andy led a party of Bearbrass members and others around the impressive, if somewhat concealed, property of Jack’s Magazine by the river in Maribyrnong.
Specifically designed to safely hold huge volumes of gunpowder imported into the colony of Victoria, this little known part of Melbourne’s history was completed in 1878. It later provided storage for dangerous explosives used in the ammunition factories that formed part of Melbourne’s industrial military precinct, known as the ‘Arsenal of Australia’.
Incorporating a large site on the banks of the Maribyrnong River and surrounded by an imposing bluestone perimeter wall, huge blast mounds surround two magazines, connecting tunnels, a canal and a variety of ex-storage and administrative buildings. The protective mounds offer tremendous views of Melbourne’s skyline.