based on the previous exposure of the site in 1984. The survey was assisted by heritage staff at Waverley Council and Rod Caldwell, Project Officer, from the Fort Scratchley Historical Society, Newcastle. Description The Ben Buckler gun battery site comprises a rare example of a reinforced concrete gun emplacement, substantially constructed below ground. The gun pit held a Mark "6" British-made breech-loading "counter bombardment" British Armstrong "disappearing" gun. The concrete enclosure was revealed by earthworks in 1984 that revealed a circular concrete rim of the "pit" and internal iron casing cover with slot that allowed for the passing of the gun and its recoil. The overall dimensions of the gun pit and associated store rooms, ammunition bunkers, etc., have yet to be sourced through Commonwealth archives. Condition As at 20 April 2005, the 1984 exposure of the top level of the site suggested that the wholly buried structure has retained a significant level of integrity. Annecdotal evidence suggests that the entire concrete casemate, gun and hydraulic mount were left in situ and buried by landfill during the 1950s for the creation of the public open space, the Hugh Bamford Reserve (oval). The site therefore has the potential to retain significant structural remains and fittings associated with the 1893-built structure and later modifications. The Ben Buckler gun is held in high esteem by military experts as perhaps the best extant example in Australia. It retains the potential to showcase late nineteenth century disappearing gun technology and associated emplacement designs. The battery site has the ability to interpret the changing policy of harbour and coastal defence planning at key centres such as Sydney, reflecting changing technologies, methods of warfare (e.g. attack by armed, armoured cruisers), and changing military doctrine. As only three of these large disappearing guns were established in NSW, the Ben Buckler site has the potential to document the principal characteristics of the important class of coastal fortifications of this type. Modifications and dates Constructed 1893. Possible modifications throughout the use of the site culminating in its retention in reserve during World War II. Further information The Ben Buckler site is the only one of three coastal batteries established in Sydney with disappearing guns in the late 1890s. It is the only one to have retained significant elements, the others being stripped of armaments and fittings. Sometime in the 1950s the army vacated the site. The Australian Government was unsuccessful