The aborigines originally named the island Mattawi. However following the arrival of the first fleet in 1788, the island was named Rock Island by Governor Phillip. The island was mainly used a defensive and penal site and soon after the first fleet arrived a prisoner named Thomas Hill was sentenced to the island and ordered to survive solely on bread and water. For this reason the island popularly and unanimously came to be known as Pinchgut. In fact in 1959 the island featured in a movie named the siege of Pinchgut, also known as the Four Desperate Men.
The island used to consist of a 49 foot high rock which was flattened through the quarrying of sandstone. When an American warship ominously circled the island in 1839, action to fortify the inner harbour was reviewed and it was decided to fortify the island. To this end in 1841 fortification began but was never completed. The fear of a Russian attack in 1855 once again caused fortification to begin which was completed in 1857. The Fort was given its present name after the then Governor of New South Wales – Sir William Thomas Denison.
The fortifications by the time of completion given the developments in artillery were inadequate and out of date. The fort featured a Martello tower – thee only such one in Australia and the last of its kind to be built in the British Empire. Of the cannons and large guns that were affixed, only two cannons that were part of the building itself remain today. The cannon is fired each day at 1pm in order for ships to set their chronometer – a practice carried on since 1906.
A beacon brought in to replace the heavy gun on top of the tower is still in use together with the fog horn that was installed. Apart from this the fort is also a centre for meteorological facilities, tide gauge, and functions as a museum and function centre popular even for weddings. It is easily reachable by ferry which leaves every 45 minutes from Circular Bay.
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