(spelling correction & minor addition)
CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT USED AT EMU
The great machinery drive.
In outback Australia drovers gather sheep or cattle toghther and drive them cross country.In this case construction machinery was gathered and driven cross country.
A convoy of construction equipment left Woomera on 2 March and arrived at Emu on 10 March.
| Len Beadell says a young RAAF officer, Alan Woolley, assembled a convoy of construction machinery at Mabel Creek (about 20 km west of Coober Pedy) to drive them to Emu.
The convoy included: BULLDUST newspaper, last edition, P12 said "Clapped out" machinery called "Plant" that arrived at Emu in the early days" was restored to good working order by the mechanics at Emu. The webmaster assumes that a call went out for the supply of construction plant that could be spared to start the X200 project at Emu. Human nature is to let go the least valuable machinery. Therefore much of the initial machinery would have likely been well worn. |
A letter of 31 March 1953 from Dept of Works, 97 King William St, Adelaide, lists various machinery transfered to the Totem Project.
From Dept of Works by 31 March 1953.
Machinery from Long Range Weapons Estab'ment by 31 Mar. 1953 |
The most famous grader in the world?
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This model S8T grader Caterpillar No 12, began its working life at Emu in 1953. It then went 200 km south to develop Maralinga atomic range. From 1955 to 1963 it worked with Len Beadell's "Gunbarrel Road Construction" team. They aimed to make the roads as straight as a gun barrel. It graded 6000 km of new roads opening up over 2 million square km of desert in South and Western Australia. It made the road to the Giles Weather Station that was built in 1956. This road is part of the Gunbarrel Highway, the first east west highway across central Australia. Upon retirement in 1963, it has resided at Giles Weather Station, 600 km north west of Giles. It is preserved in a wire cage under a roof. A flying doctor pilot, Captain Chris in 2006 told me that the cage was built by the Royal Australian Army. |
Photo taken at Giles W.A. on the morning of
the day of our visit to Emu Claypan S.A. 2006.
Cat. Tractors
Cat. D8 Tractor with Angling Blade Assembly
Two D8 and a D7 were transfered to the books of the X 200 project by 31 March. One D8 broke down, it was to be dismantled for assesment and a decision to purchase a replacment was expected at the end of March. On 8th April 1953 a request was made by Brigadier Lucas to purchase and consign a new D8 complete with cable operated angle blade.A letter from Director of Works, 225 Burke St, Melbourne advised that a D.8 Tractor and auxillary equipment was dispatched on 17 April for arrrival on 22 April. A straight (not adjustable in tilt) blade was available ex stock but an angling blade was required even though this would take about 5 weeks to obtain. The tractor was dispatched without the cable operated angling blade which was to be sent by air when available.
Assuming the broken down D8 was fixed then there would be 3 by D8s and a D7 on site.Atomic Weapon Carrying Fowler 3½/5 ton Crane
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A Fowler 3½/5 ton crane lifted the atomic weapons at Emu. Similar cranes were also used at Woomera to load cargo. The crane was most likely air freighted. "This machine should be demountable into components not exceeding 2 tons each all-up weight and not exceeding 58" by 58" by 16'." The expected delivery date ex factory was 16 March at a cost of £3370. The crane was purchased new from Victorian Industrial Sales and Service Pty Ltd and sent to Woomera on 20 March 1953. From there it would have been demounted, flown to Emu in a Bristol Freighter and reassembled. Fowler cranes were made in South Melbourne. |
Sheeps Foot Roller & Pnumatic Tyre Roller
Cine film shows the sheeps foot roller and the pnumatic tyre roller working on the airstrip.Fork Lift Truck
A Lawson PFT90 petrol forklift truck, 9000 pounds capacity, Perkins engine was purchased.Bitumen Sprayer
 | Two bitumen sprayers were dispatched by road from Melbourne on 13 March 1953. The tent floors and the unloading/turning bay and at the ends of the airfield runway were sprayed with bitumen. A brochure shows that they had a 12 foot wide spray bar and a hand spray pipe. They had a 45 gallon capacity so they could take a 44 gallon drum of emolium. Records indicate that there many 44 gallon drums or emolium left over after the Totem project was concluded. Station owners who had helped out the X200 project purchased the left over full drums at an attractive price partly as thanks for their co-operation. |
Bibliography
Beadell, L. 1967, Blast the Bush,Various Australian National Archives
BULLDUST, Final Edition Sept 1953, The Claypan Press, Emu Home The background colour of this page is the webmaster's recollection of new earth moving machinery. (Tonka Truck Yellow)