Police have sought advice from explosives experts to assess the safety of unusual cannonballs from the 1800s that were unexpectedly uncovered during a restoration project in the Victorian seaside town of Port Fairy.
The discovery of the "exploding" cannonballs was referred to local officers, who sent photos to explosives experts to ensure that more than a dozen cannonballs didn't pose a safety risk.
It's understood military personnel will inspect the cannonballs in person sometime next week and in the meantime, the restoration work in continuing.
Cannons set up to 'save us from the Russians'
The cannons undergoing renovations have been in the coastal town since the 1860s and 1870s, when they were set up to defend Victoria from a perceived threat of Russian invasion.
Port Fairy history enthusiast and historical society member Marten Syme has spent decades researching the cannons which usually sit at a popular site called Battery Hill.
"They were obsolete then, but this was a nominal effort to try to save us from the Russians at that time, if they invaded," he said.
Mr Syme helped secure money from the State Government and from the local Moyne Shire Council to help preserve the cannons, which were in need of work.
He said despite his extensive research and knowledge, it surprised him when the unusual cannonballs designed to shatter in the air were extracted from the historic weapons.
"It's a bit of a puzzle because I wasn't aware that they actually had exploding grapeshot cannonballs which were in use at the time," he said.
"They were quite a rare cannonball and they actually had a fuse that was inserted inside them and they could therefore explode after three seconds, or five seconds or whatever that might be."
"The outer case would shatter and all the small iron balls within the cannonball would be scattered about like shrapnel and cause havoc for the invading forces."
Mr Syme said despite the presence of gunpowder and the unexpected cannonballs, he wasn't concerned the 150-year-old weapons posed a real safety risk and it was just a "precaution" to call in experts.
"I suppose there's obviously cause for concern but there were certainly no fuses in them," he said.
He said the workers who had been tasked with restoring the cannons were still working to retrieve more cannonballs that were stuck.
"Because these are very precious and rare we'll obviously have to take a bit of care with them," Mr Syme said.
Mr Syme said he was looking forward to learning more about the cannonballs which would add to the collection of cannons — which were already considered rare in how well they had been preserved over the years.
