Tyler Redway
A PIECE of history in the form of a signal cannon has been restored to its former glory and is set to be displayed at the Port MacDonnell Community Complex.
The cannon, which was first manufactured some time in the late 1850s, was originally placed at the Cape Banks lighthouse as a signal cannon to warn ships of dangerous fog and the nearby Admella Reef.
In 1955, the cannon was moved to Dingley Dell and displayed, before the original wooden carriage fell victim to decay and needed to be replaced.
The cannon was also featured and fired at Port MacDonnell’s Centenary Celebrations in 1960.
Behind the restoration project was Trevor Sheard, who said the cannon had been left to brave the weather after the Dingley Dell museum closed.
He added the cannon was in a state of disrepair, with a rotted carriage and deformed metal, which was when he took the matter into his own hands.
Mr Sheard described some of the process he went through to bring the cannon back to life; a process he said was a total of “a couple of hundred hours” of work.
“It needed to be brought in and kept for prosperity and time so everyone can have a look at it to appreciate it,” Mr Sheard said.
“All the steelwork had to be redone because there were a lot of steel pins in it which were all replaced.
“Some of the pins I couldn’t get out so they are permanently stuck in it, so it was best to leave them there rather than do lots of damage trying to get them out.
“The rest of it has all been treated with phosphoric acid to remove the rust and then it was coated with a protective sealant so it won’t rust again in the near future.”
Mr Sheard said the cannon had never been used for warships from the record, as the barrel was only big enough to house six-pound cannonballs or charges.
He said the starting size for ship cannons was roughly nine pounds, which could be increased up to 24 pounds.
“It’s been here for most of its life as a signal cannon until it was moved to Dingley Dell and was put on display there,” he said.
“For its entire life, it has been a signal cannon in this area and from our records, we think it was built in the late 1850s in the United Kingdom from a factory just outside of Birmingham.”
Mr Sheard said he sought help from a retired carpenter for the woodwork and the tools needed and looked to Murray Langford, who previously restored an old German World War One cannon now featured at Vansittart Park, for the steel
“I knew he (Murray Langford) knew a fair bit of stuff, so he gave me all the information on recovering the steel and bringing it back to the way it should be,” he said.
“For the timberwork, I spoke to a retired carpenter in Mount Gambier, who knew exactly what to do and I borrowed some tools off of him to do the timberwork.”
Mr Sheard said with the proper maintenance, the cannon could last another century without having to be restored again.
“In this situation, it will last for another hundred years and some if it’s kept properly,” he said.
“We have it here on loan on a contract for 25 years with an extension for another 25 years, so in 50 years time there will need to be another new negotiation in order to keep it here.”
