Pinchgut to Pride: The Curious, Cannon-Firing Story of Fort Denison
Storytelling is one of the great joys of being a tour guide. A good story does more than entertain, it pulls us into the past, shows us who we were, and helps us understand who we are becoming. Our guides love sharing the good, the bad, and yes, the uncomfortable truths too, because those lessons shape a stronger, more culturally healthy future.
One of the most entertaining and eyebrow-raising stories we tell belongs to a tiny island in Sydney Harbour with a very big history: Fort Denison, affectionately known in its early days as Pinchgut.
As you stroll along the foreshore or cruise across the harbour today, the fort looks almost picturesque. You might even mistake it for Sydney’s answer to Alcatraz, and you would not be far wrong. For a short but grim chapter in history, it served a similar purpose.
Originally one of nine islands scattered across Sydney Harbour, Pinchgut was a place of punishment. Convicts from the First Fleet and beyond who committed further crimes in the colony were sent here in chains. For up to a week, they survived on little more than stale bread and water, their stomachs literally pinched with hunger. Hence the name.
The local Aboriginal people, who knew the island as Muddawahnyuh (mud-uh-wahn-yuh), were horrified by what they saw. Accounts tell of them offering help and comfort to the crying and tortured souls, a powerful reminder of compassion in the face of cruelty.
By the 1840s, fear of foreign invasion transformed the island once again. Pinchgut was flattened to make way for a fort, complete with Australia’s only Martello Tower. It also became home to Sydney’s long-term tide gauge, a scientific instrument so reliable it is still internationally recognised today.
Perhaps the fort’s most practical and unexpectedly helpful role came later. Every day at exactly 1 pm, a cannon was fired. This was not for defence or drama, but for timekeeping. Ships arriving from distant time zones relied on the sound to reset their chronometers, ensuring safer and more accurate navigation.
Today, Fort Denison is closed for conservation works. But here is a thought we cannot resist sharing.
What if the 1 pm cannon was reinstated?
Not as a weapon, but as a symbol. A daily reminder of why it existed in the first place, and a moment of reflection on who we are as Australians. A chance to honour and respect Australia’s First Nations people, while also acknowledging the positive European and multicultural influences that continue to shape our nation.
One island. One cannon. One moment each day to pause, remember, and reflect.
So, what do you think? Contact US
