Battery Point Battery is a historic coastal defence site on the promontory above Lyttelton harbour, on Banks Peninsula. It is listed as a historic area on the Heritage New Zealand list. The site is Canterbury's only example of Victorian defence structures that sit alongside First and Second World War works. It was a key point guarding the inner approach to the harbour, working with the guns on Ripapa Island, and it was used in three periods: the 1880s Russian scare, the First World War and the Second World War. About 20 structures remain, including gun emplacements, searchlight emplacements, a battery observation post, an engine room, a magazine and a war shelter. The steep slope down to the water shows the layers of use, although the First World War features are minor. The site was never the scene of enemy engagement. It was used for gunnery from 1865, and the military association lasted 92 years, with compulsory military training continuing there until 1957. Our pick in Lyttelton for a walk through three eras of harbour defence.