Military use of Cape Peron commenced in 1916, when the Commonwealth of Australia acquired 175 hectare on the peninsular from the Western Australian State Government.

[1] During the mid-1930s, the Australian Government upgraded its coastal defence batteries protecting the major ports of the country from enemy attack.

[2][4] After the Fall of Singapore and the Bombing of Darwin in February 1942, Fremantle's importance increased, becoming the largest submarine base in the Southern Hemisphere.

[1] The infrastructure constructed for the new battery was two gun emplacements, Panama mounts, an observation post on elevated ground, and a concealed operations centre.

At Cape Peron, the guns had a traverse of 270 degrees, allowing it to cover south as far as Safety Bay and north over Garden Island.

After World War II, the 155mm guns of the Peron Battery were stored at the Australian Field Ordnance Depot at Bushmead before being disposed off in the 1960s when the coastal defence system of Australia was dismantled.

[1] The former artillery barracks housing the battery staff were leased to the National Fitness Council after World War II.

Camouflage nets were still covering the now abandoned gun positions by 1948 but Cape Peron became a tourist destination again after the war, despite still occasionally being used by the military.

The former gun positions fell in disrepair and disappeared from public knowledge until walkways were established at the Cape in 1992, which made them accessible again.