Building the Fort

 In 1830, a crucial decision was made to construct a fort on Petite Montagne hill. This new stronghold was intended to protect the harbor, secure inland routes to the capital, suppress civil unrest within the city, and provide a strategic retreat for regular troops from Line Barracks if needed. The possibility of a French attack, mirroring the British landing on an undefended northern beach in 1810, underscored the urgency.

Construction of Fort Adelaide, named after the wife of the reigning British King William IV, began in 1834. Captain Cunningham, a renowned military tactician also responsible for Fort George and the Martello towers, designed the fort's plans.

Building the fort primarily involved cutting massive basalt rocks. Local labor, comprising convicts from India, enslaved people, and soldiers, proved insufficient for the task. Consequently, the British had to bring in skilled laborers from their own Royal Engineer Corps and expert stone cutters from British territories in India. The completed barracks could accommodate up to 200 soldiers.

Fort Adelaide measures 150 by 100 meters and features a distinctive Moorish architectural style with horseshoe arches. Upon its completion on November 4, 1840, a detachment of H.M. 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers garrisoned it until April 1841. The fort was also equipped with guns and provisions, a reserve
of 40000 gallons of water and 280 powder casks.