The Colonial Office's 1887 conference appears to have disrupted Tryon's work by excluding him and notifying the Admiralty too late. Tryon had already travelled among the colonies and worked with New South Wales on naval facilities and anchorages in Sydney Harbour. Applying Britain's density of Martello towers to Australia produced a rough estimate of 3,000 to 4,000 towers, yet attackers could still land elsewhere. A squadron could move, concentrate, and respond to threats across an enormous coastline.
Notable Point · 33:11-36:35
Colonial politics and the limits of fixed defences
A London conference sidelined Tryon, while proposals for an Australian ring of Martello towers underline why mobile naval forces were more useful than static coastal defences.