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Fort Lytton National Park
Guarding the mouth of the Brisbane River since 1881, Fort Lytton National Park protects Queensland’s most significant colonial military site and was gazetted as a historic National Park in 1990.
Built from 1880 to 1881 to protect Brisbane from enemy ships attempting to attack the Port of Brisbane, Fort Lytton is perched on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, just 30 minutes from Brisbane’s CBD. For more than half a century, Fort Lytton was Queensland’s front line of defence and still draws history buffs to the remarkably intact pentagonal fort, which is concealed behind grassy ramparts and surrounded by a water-filled moat beloved by freshwater turtles, birds, and invertebrate life.
After World War II, Fort Lytton fell into disrepair and was absorbed into land acquired by the petroleum company Ampol in the early 1960s, before being returned to Queensland Government ownership in 1988.
Today, volunteer guides run tours during school holidays, every Sunday and on most public holidays.
Discover. Connect. Protect. Enjoy
Park of the Month is a key initiative of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and NPAQ’s Parks Connect program. We’re passionate about parks, and by sharing decades of knowledge from committed volunteers, conservationists and National Park Rangers with local communities and visitors, we hope Queenslanders from all walks of life will fall in love with our amazing wild places.
July 2026 PARK OF THE MONTH
Check out all the fun we had at Fort Lytton National Park for our July 2026 Park of the Month!
Birdwatching and bingo with Frank from Birds Queensland.
We saw an Australasian darter, brahminy kite, swamphens and egrets, as well as some ducks, fairy martins and pelicans. Check our BioBlitz on iNaturalist or Birds Queensland eBird lists for more.
Learning all about Fort Lytton’s military history (and about the Quarantine Station too) with QPWS Ranger Daley—and on World Ranger Day, too.
Getting our giggle on to improve our mood and wellbeing with Kamal from Ignite Holistic Wellness.
HUGE thanks to all of our presenters, pictured in our selfie frame, and to everyone who came along to make this first Friday Park of the Month a success.
Did you know about “Carry On Fort Lytton”?
Set in 1944, “Carry On Fort Lytton” is a school holiday program that celebrates much of what the fort was designed for. “It’s a dramatic scenario done as a re-enactment, especially suited for children aged between 6 and 12,” said Fort Lytton’s Ranger Daley Donnelly.
“Fort Lytton was an important Australian training base and the AWAS provided much-needed support. Carry On Fort Lytton is a fun way of bringing the history of those years into the 21st century, for a generation whose great-grandparents would have been their own age, or younger, during that turbulent time.”
Keep watch for the Carry On school holiday programs or Fort Lytton Open Days, as well as an exciting new digital display.
