Originally serving as a "camp area" for soldiers billeted in tents, the area was developed into a military convalescent camp complex during World War I (1914-18), consisting of large rows of canvas tents augmented by a number of elongated weatherboard huts. When hostilities ceased, the tents were struck down and only the huts remained, until also dismantled in the inter-wars period.

In the late 1930s, work commenced on the construction of some 20 workshops, stores, offices and messes for the royal engineers, which were handed to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (known as REMEs) on its formation in 1942. The majority of the buildings were elongated stone buildings with arched verandas along their east-facing façades.

They remained in use by the British Army until 1979, when they were ceded to the Maltese government. Some of the buildings were retained by the Armed Forces of Malta, others by the Works Department and the Scouts Movement, while a few had to be demolished for a new public secondary school recently built in the area.

A larger administration block at a slight distance from the main complex has been converted into a school for children with special needs. Mepa scheduled these properties in 1996 as Grade 2 and Grade 3 buildings of historic, architectural and contextual value as they form part of a larger already scheduled military complex and were re-published following a revision as per Government Notice number 880/09 dated October 30, 2009.