[1] The Bribie Island Fortifications were constructed from 1939 to 1943 as part of the systems of defence of southeast Queensland during the Second World War, and to provide artillery training for Australian soldiers for overseas service.

[1] As events in Europe and Asia in the 1930s moved the world towards war, various sectors of Australia's defence, including coastal fortifications, were examined.

This dictated the ideal positions for artillery batteries, with the most effective sites for guns being the closest points to the channel bends.

[1] It appears that in 1939, temporary batteries were installed at Caloundra and northern Bribie Island, to provide defence support for the RAN against light raiding warships.

It was decided that Fort Bribie would be developed as the principal defensive site of Moreton Bay, to be the Examination Battery at which ships identified themselves.

At this stage, Fort Bribie was considered to be of little value from a defensive viewpoint, and it was announced that a detailed survey was to be made of the site.

Whitelaw recommended that a Fortress Observation Post (FOP) be installed at Caloundra, to work in conjunction with the BOP at Fort Bribie.

Many of the barrack buildings, recreation halls and ablution blocks were constructed of fibrous cement sheeting or timber on a concrete base.

[1] With the entry of Japan into the war in early December 1941, and their subsequent assaults on British and American positions in southeast Asia, Australia was under grave threat of invasion for the first time in its white history.

Mosquitoes were a problem at the fort, and apparently many soldiers suffered from dengue fever and were possibly treated at the camp hospital, not yet located.

An inventory taken in 1945, when buildings were being disposed of, included the reinforced concrete Control Post and two engine houses, along with kitchens, ablutions, sleeping huts and stores.

A total of eight reinforced concrete structures were identified at Fort Bribie, one at the Skirmish Point Battery and three at the RAN Station No.4.

[1] Bribie Island is relatively flat and the northern end is affected by shifting dune formations and tidal erosion.

[1] The majority of buildings are located behind the first row of dunes, with the exception being the northern searchlight which now stands exposed on the beach within reach of the high tide.

[1] The RAN Station No.4 was inserted within the Skirmish Point Battery, but it appears that the naval and fort buildings had no direct relationship with each other.

[1] Bribie Island Second World War Fortifications was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 20 July 1993 having satisfied the following criteria.

They have potential to yield information that will contribute to the understanding of Queensland's history, in that there are extensive remnants of Second World War fortification sites.

They are important in exhibiting a range of aesthetic characteristics valued by the community, in particular the isolation, and sense of place, of the Fort Bribie fortifications, and the sense of discovery enhanced by the overgrown landscape; the form, scale and materials of the Fort Bribie, Skirmish Point Battery and Royal Australian Navy Station No.4 fortifications; and the siting and landmark quality of Fort Bribie, Skirmish Point Battery and the Royal Australian Navy Station No.4 fortifications.