Chapter 12

You could read this on Google ... if you wanted ... or cared. But most of you wouldn’t ... want ... or care. Most of us read SOL for one reason ... so do I. But I think it’s important or I wouldn’t bother. Those who don’t pay attention to history are bound to repeat the mistakes:

In 1838 four United States Navy Men-of-War sailed into Sydney Harbour overnight unannounced and unexpected. This alarmed Sydney Town greatly and alerted the Colonies to their defenselessness against invasion.

The gold rushes saw massive increases in Australia’s population and wealth in the early 1850’s and it was felt amongst the Colonies that this made Australia a more attractive target for attack.

The 1854 Crimean War and the “inevitable invasion” by Russia spurred the population into actively forming volunteer military groups.

Upon British Forces withdrawal from Australia in 1870 the Home Defense Units were placed under the control of their colonial governments and were supplied with whatever weapons their government determined.

Ties to England were strong and military expeditions were sent to various overseas conflicts to aid the Mother Country. It was a significant achievement in 1900 when the South Australian warship Protector sailed to China to assist in quelling the Boxer Rebellion.

Protector’s Engineering Officer, William Clarkson was later instrumental in the foundation of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.

The first Federal battalion of Australian soldiers sailed to South Africa in 1901 to fight in the Boer War joining the colonial troops who were already serving there. Because many of these troops arrived with different equipment to that used by the British, supply of ammunition and field repair of weapons quickly became an issue, restricting their capabilities in battle.

The South African campaign made it blatantly apparent that Australia’s isolation from its armament source could lead to serious problems in future conflicts. After federation of the states and establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901 the new Government faced responsibility for the country’s defense. The Government resolved to make Australia independent of British munitions and armament supplies. In 1907 the decision was made to establish a factory for the manufacture of small arms in Australia.

In 1908 the Commonwealth Government announced plans to build a small arms factory at Lithgow. The decision was favored due to Lithgow’s proximity to essential resources (power, steel, transport, etc) as well as the security benefits afforded by the seclusion provided by the mountains. It is likely that Joseph Cook, formerly a Lithgow coal miner, and at that time, the Federal Minister of Defense, was influential in lobbying for the positioning of the factory in his home town. Six men were sent to the United States of America to the firm of Pratt and Whitney to learn how to make rifles.

In December of 1909 Mr. F.R. Ratcliffe of Pratt and Whitney arrived in Australia to assist in the planning of the factory. (There is the possibility that Mr. Ratcliffe liked Australia so much he stayed: F. R. Ratcliffe, located in the Ballarat Old Cemetery, Ballarat Victoria.)

On 10 January 1910, the site of the factory was inspected by Lord Kitchener and was officially opened on 8 June 1912 with Mr. A.C.Wright as the first manager of the factory. Many of the materials required by the factory were supplied from other industries in Lithgow. Steel required for the production of guns, for example, was in part supplied by the Hoskins Brothers.

Electrical power was initially generated on the site but was later obtained from the NSW Railways’ Power Plant. Increasing demands were placed on the factory during the first World War with production doubling and then later re-doubling. The production of Lee-Enfield .303 rifles increased during this time from 15,000 per year to 80,000 per year.

Over the period of the two world wars a total of 640,000.303 rifles were made at the Small Arms Factory to assist the war effort. At the end of World War I, production began to decrease due to the decreased demand for armaments.

As a result, the Armaments Factory began to diversify its production to include stream-lined wires and metal aircraft engine parts. By 1931 more than half of the factory’s production was linked to sound projection and sheep shearing machinery, Vickers Machine guns were also produced on site.