Pope's Eye. by blinkings
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
I shot this from the boat. Pope's Eye is the uncompleted foundation for an island fort intended to defend the entrance to Port Phillip in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is less than a kilometre south-west of the former Chinaman's Hat.
It has been protected as a marine reserve since 1979 and is now part of the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park. It is located about 7 km inside Port Phillip Heads, 3 km east of Queenscliff and 5 km north of Portsea. It is named after a naval midshipman and has no religious connotations.
Construction of Pope’s Eye began in the 1880s, under the supervision of Sir William Jervois, by dumping bluestone boulders on a submerged (12 m deep) sandbank until they formed a horse-shoe shaped artificial reef, open to the north-east, just above high-water level. Construction ceased before completion as a fort because improvements in naval gunnery enabled the entrance to Port Phillip (The Rip) and the associated shipping channel to be protected by guns at the nearby Swan Island fort, as well as at Fort Queenscliff and Fort Nepean, making Pope’s Eye redundant for military purposes. The reef now now hosts a navigation beacon.
The inside of the ‘eye’ is only about 2 m deep and is accessible to small boats as a sheltered anchorage. It is protected from strong currents and the whole structure is popular with snorkelers and scuba-divers.
Comments (12)
durleybeachbum
Very interesting. Great that it now has a use after all!
jayfar
Perfect for the fish and an interesting story Andrew.
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God Bless.
Faemike55
Very cool artifact
debbielove
A great bit of History mate! Well posted and a super photo.. Well done. Rob
Fidelity2
It is very well done. I thank you for it. 5+!
Isabelle711
Very interesting info on this image my friend. :)))) I bet the divers really do like this. :)))))) Most excellent capture. :)))) Thank you for sharing all of the beauty you see. :)))) Carry A Smile In Your Heart :)))))
jeroni
Beautiful composition. excellent work
Jay-el-Jay
An interesting construction surrounded by the deep blue.
netot
Great capture and very interesting history!
whaleman
Very nice and, of course, the light is now necessary.
danapommet
Great capture and wonderful narrative.