The artillery pieces will get new bases as part of a major project to replace their ageing timber undercarriages.

The old cast iron weapons at the Warrnambool Botanical Gardens and Flagstaff Hill forecourt were lifted onto nearby temporary bases yesterday.

The undercarriages will be inspected by a Heritage Victoria expert consultant today and Thursday to determine the work needed to restore and preserve them.

Port Fairy's four cannons at Battery Hill will be examined tomorrow.

Merri Street outside Flagstaff Hill will be closed to traffic between 6am and 9am Thursday while the forecourt cannon examination takes place.

Warrnambool tourism services manager Peter Abbott said the project would ensure long-term conservation of the collection.

"These are unique in still having their original wooden undercarriages intact," he said.

The Warrnambool carriages and slides will be moved to the Flagstaff Hill garrison area after the testing where any further work will be done.

In Port Fairy the tests will be done on site at Battery Hill reserve with Moyne Shire Council closing off the adjoining car park and most of the reserve to ensure the public's safety.

A conservation management plan was completed in 2008 on 23 cannons and old field guns in Warrnambool, Moyne and Glenelg Shire.

It found the region was home to a core group of 14 artillery pieces directly related to the defence of western Victoria in the 1800s.

The pieces represent the largest intact collection of artillery within a single defensive network outside major colonial ports.

Some of the cost will be met by the Heritage Council of Victoria.