Stony Batter slopes; a small part of the view; the main entrance.
Society members at work; a small part of one tunnel; a 9.2" gun as it was in 1946.
Stony Batter Protectioin & Restoration Society logo
Visit a former top-secret World War II gun complex deep in the hilltops of Waiheke Island, New Zealand.
Badge of the Royal New Zealand Artillery. Motto: Quo fas et glory ducunt (Where fate and glory lead).
Royal New Zealand Artillery. Motto: Quo fas et gloria ducunt (where fate and glory lead).
Fort Stony Batter: Codename A2. Plan and profile. A 'Class A' New Zealand Historic Place
The world, New Zealand, Waiheke Island
Spend hours exploring the underground tunnels, command-posts, munitions rooms, etc.
Or take the fifteen-minute tour, or longer guided tours.
Breathtaking panoramic views of the Hauraki Gulf and Coromandel  Peninsular.
A fascinating family adventure in a farmland setting.
An historic feat of New Zealand engineering.
Picnic afterwards at quiet Man O'War Bay; explore the rest of Waiheke.
HISTORY: Stony Batter (named for the large boulders that litter the slopes) was built during the Second World War, part of a top-secret defensive shield against German and Japanese attack. Its big 9.2-inch (234mm) guns, capable of hurling 172kg high-explosive shells up to 32km, could have routed any naval invader. Although the guns were cut up for scrap in the 1960s, the huge gun-emplacements and extensive underground fort
remain, and are being restored by the Stony Batter Protection & Restoration Society. Two hundred men laboured in secret for two years to build the fort complex, using local stone to make the concrete. The walls are up to 3.7 metres thick (12 feet). Engineers of today are amazed by the workmanship and the innovative techniques that were developed. Click here for historical detail.
HOW TO GET THERE: Waiheke Island is 19.5 kilometres wide. It is 21 kilometres by passenger ferry from downtown Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, and about the same distance by vehicular ferry from Half Moon Bay in Howick.
     Fullers' passenger ferries sail hourly from Auckland most of the day. The trip to Waiheke takes 35 minutes, landing at Matiatia Bay. There you can hire a car or a taxi to go out to
Stony Batter. That journey also takes about 35 minutes. The walk down to the underground complex from the carpark takes a maximum of 15 minutes.
     Sealink operates car ferries from Half Moon Bay in Howick, east Auckland, landing on Waiheke at Kennedy Point. The trips takes about 45 minutes; then the drive to Stony Batter takes about 35 minutes.
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