Hill Battery, constructed in 1892; it was intended to defend the town of Sydney from bombardment by an enemy vessel standing off the coast. Although the fortification has been heavily vandalised, it is still intact and lies adjacent to the Signal Hill, signal station. The Steel Point fortification in Nielsen Park was constructed in 1871; it originally accommodated three 80-pounder rifled muzzle-loaders (RMLs) that were replaced in the 1890s with 5 inch breech-loading guns. The fortification was built at a time when fears of a Russian attack seemed imminent, as well as other concerns such as withdrawal of British garrison troops, threats to British dependencies and increasing self-reliance in defence matters. The battery consisted of three sandstone gun emplacements with embrasures for the guns to fire through. The gun emplacements were connected to underground chambers, as well as a gunpowder magazine, by open passages and underground passageways leading into the complex. In the 1950s, the RAN degaussing station was constructed over part of the Steel Point fortification. The degaussing station was a countermeasure against magnetic mines. Shark Island was used for this purpose during World War II. Naval ships would pass over cables laid under the harbour and were effectively demagnetized. Heritage listings Vaucluse has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: 793 Old South Head Road: South Head General Cemetery 32b Fitzwilliam Road: Wentworth Memorial Church Chapel Road: Wentworth Mausoleum Greycliffe Avenue: Nielsen Park Old South Head Road: Macquarie Lighthouse 52 Vaucluse Road: Strickland House, Vaucluse 69a Wentworth Road: Vaucluse House Population At the 2021 census, 9,510 people were recorded in Vaucluse. In the 2016 census, there were 9,337 people in Vaucluse. 57.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were South Africa 7.8%, England 5.2%, China 2.3%, New Zealand 1.9% and Israel 1.4%. 74.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 2.3%, Greek 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Hebrew 1.8% and Italian 1.3%. The most common responses for religion were Judaism 23.2%, No Religion 22.6%, Catholic 19.8% and Anglican 11.5%. Landmarks The Macquarie Lighthouse sits prominently on the eastern side of the suburb, at Dunbar Head. Vaucluse House is an historic home managed by the Historic Houses Trust. It is situated in Wentworth Road, with views across Sydney Harbour. South Head Cemetery South Head General Cemetery is situated at the junction of New South Head Road and Old