Jacks Magazine, Victoria

I hear you ask, “What is Jacks Magazine?” I’m glad you asked. Back in 1878 it was a former explosive storage facility for gunpowder imported into the colony of Victoria. Prior to being decommissioned in the early 1990’s it was used to manufacture ammunition. Today the Working Heritage has been appointed to revitalise and conserve this historical site

Our Visit

We’d never explored an old gunpowder storage place like this. It is located in the now suburban town of Maribyrnong, this in itself seemed strange. There is a point where you get a great view of the storage facility and you look around and the area is surrounded by modern homes.

We were really pleased that Jacks Magazine has been kept as a historical place of interest. There are tour guides which are limited and required to be booked in advance that are run by volunteers.

The volunteer we had on the day was great, very informative and friendly. We were extra lucky as one of the fellow tourists used to work there many years ago and could tell us stories of his experiences.

The tour takes you through the bluestone buildings, along tramways which were once used to transport the gunpowder, we walked through the tramway tunnels and explored inside the storage buildings.

Once inside the bluestone storage buildings you walk along the floor which once held the gunpowder. There are markings on the floor where the gunpowder batches were kept. Imagine how much gunpowder was stored here. No wonder they had very strict rules around no smoking!!