SydClan & UEGA expo - Page 5
I went to Hercule's Pillars (Did I spell it right?) with Scarecrow/Joke and jekeya, and Aspire was tagged every 5 steps and on anything even a little bit of interest. So annoying.blakjak wrote:And how about that Aspire kunt, he loves tagging his name up doesn't he.
Hahaha i heard. That's the same day you did that crane at Macquarie right?Midget wrote:I went to Hercule's Pillars (Did I spell it right?) with Scarecrow/Joke and jekeya, and Aspire was tagged every 5 steps and on anything even a little bit of interest. So annoying.blakjak wrote:And how about that Aspire kunt, he loves tagging his name up doesn't he.
Spades
About that, there is kind of a long story...blakjak wrote: ...proved how hardcore of an abseil & climb it was into & out of that 20m shaft. Kudos to him/them for pulling that off without incident.
...Madmaw
Oathblakjak wrote:And for the record, Chrisyelroy/Wolf has pledged to change his urbex name to Spade, & Scarecrow of UEGA has pledged to change his urbex name to Joker, in respect of other poeple in the urbex community.
I must say that what they did is a nice gesture that needs to be commended, there are some people here who would never be so gracious. Not only are they hard core mother fuckers, but they are also nice boys willing to compromise for the sake of the hobby that we all love. We need more people like them in the urbex game.
Im just glad that this is a community which accepts all types of people with whatever the experience they have. It is the wealth of knowledge that we have as a community that builds the character of the hobby.
Bloody ASSpire
Yep. That was fun. (I'll also remember to bring wafers next time.)chrisyelroy wrote:Hahaha i heard. That's the same day you did that crane at Macquarie right?Midget wrote:I went to Hercule's Pillars (Did I spell it right?) with Scarecrow/Joke and jekeya, and Aspire was tagged every 5 steps and on anything even a little bit of interest. So annoying.blakjak wrote:And how about that Aspire kunt, he loves tagging his name up doesn't he.
Also, might I suggest you move your profile picture a bit to the left? It's not centered and is causing me medium levels of distress.
OCD kicking in aye Monk.Midget wrote:Also, might I suggest you move your profile picture a bit to the left? It's not centered and is causing me medium levels of distress.
And yeah, that Ass-wipe-pire is a moron, I'd love to meet him just ask & find out what makes him tick, surely he's suffering from something.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
A few weeks ago I went down to that pit Spade was swimming in that day. If I hadn't seen you guys immediately afterward, I wouldn't have believed anyone would swim into that. That s*** cray.Joker wrote:About that, there is kind of a long story...blakjak wrote: ...proved how hardcore of an abseil & climb it was into & out of that 20m shaft. Kudos to him/them for pulling that off without incident.
...Madmaw
I heard about it being a lot easier to get in than the way we tried previously. fml.madmaw wrote:A few weeks ago I went down to that pit Spade was swimming in that day. If I hadn't seen you guys immediately afterward, I wouldn't have believed anyone would swim into that. That **** cray.Joker wrote:About that, there is kind of a long story...blakjak wrote: ...proved how hardcore of an abseil & climb it was into & out of that 20m shaft. Kudos to him/them for pulling that off without incident.
...Madmaw
If someone could enlighten me to what is behind the big metal door before going down the stairs, that would be nice.
I don't think that's OCD, that much anyways. Don't you find it even remotely disturbing?blakjak wrote:OCD kicking in aye Monk.Midget wrote:Also, might I suggest you move your profile picture a bit to the left? It's not centered and is causing me medium levels of distress.
Somebody has thrown the metal gate down the former escape shaft (not the tall shaft you guys abseiled). It would make squeezing around the bend in the shaft impossible to anybody but the thinnest & most agile amongst us. And the way it's wedged in would require quite an effort to remove it. By stairs, do you mean ladder? Or the the small flight of stairs beyond the 2 rusted doors?madmaw wrote:I heard about it being a lot easier to get in than the way we tried previously. fml.
If someone could enlighten me to what is behind the big metal door before going down the stairs, that would be nice.
The former is the escape shaft from the pump room. The latter is the entry to the ammo magazine (powder room & shell room with shell hoist).
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
Midget, I'm working with a crack team of 50 specialist's in the area to fix the problem at hand in centering the photo. It might take 5-6 weeks but we'll see :p
Um, apparently the water of that "pit" (the one Madmaw is discussing) is filthy, but when I swam in it it was just f*****ng cold and seemed pretty clean. Blakjak mentioned to me once the water being so low he could get into the room down there and explore. I had a hunch there was a room down there and that's why i took that stupid risk, but i'll go back one day when the water is lower
Spades
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WhjvksiW0U
NSFW
That's because the "S" is about to fall off the right side of your avatar.Spades wrote:I can already tell people will call me Spade instead of Spades but whatevs :p
This is the tunnel leading down to the (now submerged) engine room...Spades wrote:Um, apparently the water of that "pit" (the one Madmaw is discussing) is filthy, but when I swam in it it was just f*****ng cold and seemed pretty clean. Blakjak mentioned to me once the water being so low he could get into the room down there and explore. I had a hunch there was a room down there and that's why i took that stupid risk, but i'll go back one day when the water is lower
That was the original engine room which provided electricl power to the Banks Battery independent of the mains grid. The rock bored tunnel you see in the pic was the cable tunnel (cable racks at right), & emergency exit. Another smalled 1ft diam. tunnel/pipe linked this tunnel to the other gun emplacement. The 2 x ex-submarine diesel-electric generators provided power to operate hydraulic pumps which in turn operated the elevation & traverse of the 9.2 inch guns (it was much more complicated than it sounds lol). The main entry to the engine room was via the 'cube' blockhouse nearby (shaft now sealed). The rusted shut doorway that leads to the stairway which climbed up to that blockhouse is still visible from the engine room. The stair shaft is full of rubble, threatening to pile down & kill anybody dumb enough to open the rusty gates. I will try find an old pic I have somewhere of the engine room & old doorway.
In the 100 or so times I've been there over the last 20 odd years I've only even seen that room dry enough to enter a few times. It was during that summer of drought we had when there was water restrictions & rationing in Sydney (2005?). And even then it was about a foot deep in water down there. Somebody had conveniently taked a dozen or so milk crates down there to use as a step-bridge so you could stay above the filthy murky water then (you can see one of those crates in the pic above). A few months later, it was submerged to the ceiling again & has been ever since.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
The guns there & at Banks were sadly removed for scrapping in the early 1960s (fuken cheapskate Menzis), however there is a 9.2 inch battery similar to these 2 at Oliver Hill on Rottnest Island just 30kms off the coast of Perth, WA. Luckily for us & every lover of history & urbex, the morons worked out that it would cost more to ship these guns back to the mainland than they would get back from selling the scrap steel. So for that reason alone both the guns there are still in place, & the tunnels & bunkers are in imaculate condition (hoorah!).
If you're ever in Perth, I highly recommend that you take the 30 min ferry trip out to Rottnest Island for a day out. The Quokkas who carelessly roam around the whole island are alone worth the trip. The tour of the bunkers is around $15, & they show you the whole battery.
For the gunzels here, there is also a railway on the island which was built to take troops & ammo to the many former fortifications & barracks scattered around the island. The rolling stock currently consists of a standard guage railbus (like a railcar but lighter), but the track is all original, & there are some former ammo wagons laying about looking forlorn. There is also the http://www.ozatwar.com/bunkers/bickleyb ... ey Battery nearby on the island, but it was too hard for me to reach in the given time so I can not report on it's status.
You can only realistically get around Rottnest by 3 ways...
Bicycle (they rent them on the island or you can bring your own but it costs to bring it on the ferry).
The railbus for $8 return is IMHO the best option & they schedule the timetable with the bunker tour/s. And although you can spend as much time as you like touring the bunkers, the last ferry back to the mainland is at 5pm & staying over there even while camping is very expensive due to only 400 visitors allowed there at any time.
Or, if you're fit, you can walk. You will barely get to see much this way, but it is the cheaspest option.
Arriving on the first ferry at 8am & leaving on the last ferry at 5pm gives you plenty of time to have a good look around.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
never will forget it as long as I live! I nicknamed it a "mining shaft" because of it's natural formation but it's interesting how it used to be the original engine room which provided electrical power to the originial Banks Battery...I was stumped when I saw it just submerge at the bottom. The milk crates are still there....maybe one day I'll go back and maybe have a poke around. Maybe find one of those radioactive bunkers blakjak was talking about
Spades
Not many people know that at some time after the war, the Engine Room at Banks Bty was the site of a radio active dump and the main entry doors, vent shafts and emergency exits were filled in. However, the dumpers failed to understand that entry to the engine room was via the No 2 gun magazine room corridor which led to a tunnel that led down to the engine room. Half way along the tunnel the air became hot and damp. On further progression into the room a thick hot wet mud filled the floor and surrounds. On taking several photos of the room, they had on development, an Orange haze reflected in the flash light. I was told by some experts into natural disaster training and instruction, that the photos indicate that the air within the room was radio active. Something to think about when exploring old forts.Spades wrote:The milk crates are still there....maybe one day I'll go back and maybe have a poke around. Maybe find one of those radioactive bunkers blakjak was talking about
(click text for link)
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
However, I already have 3 kids so I don't really care if I go sterile from exploring radioactive bunkers, but some of you younger guys planning to have a family in the future might want to think twice about going there or at least get yourself a lead covered jock-strap.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
(TBH i couldn't really be bothered to read all of the posts.
) Wouldn't it just be easier to actually read the thread?Joker wrote:So what is behind that door then?
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.
Are you saying that they all link up? or does it lead under the heli-pad to the other bunkers?blakjak wrote:The rusted shut doorway that leads to the stairway which climbed up to that blockhouse is still visible from the engine room. The stair shaft is full of rubble, threatening to pile down & kill anybody dumb enough to open the rusty gates. I will try find an old pic I have somewhere of the engine room & old doorway.
A photo would be helpful, thanks.
Took some photos with my shitty phone. Huge props to those youngsters for taking an old man like me under their wings. Keen for the next one.Midget wrote:I went to Hercule's Pillars (Did I spell it right?) with Scarecrow/Joke and jekeya, and Aspire was tagged every 5 steps and on anything even a little bit of interest. So annoying.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97558086@N04/9056401758/
all the trucks unload beyond the gopher holes
No & no...discuss it with your mate Spades, he knows enough about it to tell you what you want. He actually explored the entire Banks Battery with us, including the plotting rooms, & both gun emplacements.Joker wrote:Are you saying that they all link up? or does it lead under the heli-pad to the other bunkers?blakjak wrote:The rusted shut doorway that leads to the stairway which climbed up to that blockhouse is still visible from the engine room. The stair shaft is full of rubble, threatening to pile down & kill anybody dumb enough to open the rusty gates. I will try find an old pic I have somewhere of the engine room & old doorway.
A photo would be helpful, thanks.
Blakjak of the Sydney branch of the Cave Clan.