Historical information

This cannon ball formed the basis of a discussion with artillerist Peter Webster and historical society members in 2011. The following ideas were put forward. It was approximately 5 inches in diameter and weighed 10lb, Such cannon balls were used in an 18 calibre cannon, which were used only on ships. (12 calibre guns were field artillery). Australia was behind England in its artillery use and used hand me downs. In the 1800's Australia did an audit of artillery and cleared out those no longer in use. By the time of the 1830's 18lb cannons were largely obsolete and removed from service Australia used 18 calibre cannons in Northern Australia at Port Essington and Fort Dundas (Melville Island) Perhaps this cannon ball has no real connection with Australia and came as ballast from some other country.

Significance

This is one of the more interesting items in our collection and there has been much conjecture over the years as to the story of how it ended up in Warrnambool. In that way it has built its own mystery and provenance

Physical description

Round metal ball measuring 5 inches in diameter, weighing 10lb. The surface is pitted with the original surface visible in some parts.