Emu on Register of the National Estate

"Some day this place will become an important archaeological site" Webmaster 2006

The area includes the:

• Emu Claypan and airstrip
• Emu village site
• Four Kitten* sites
• Camera tower sites 11.5 and 21 km east-south-east
and south-east of the track junction respectively.
(Web master comment, there were 3 big camera towers, why was one omitted? Didn't they do their home work?)
• Totem 1 and Totem 2 sites
• Track network connecting all of the mentioned sites and
• The area generally north-east of the Totem sites containing the downwind range and track network. (This area suffered extremely heavy radioactive fallout and is still dangerous 50 years later as evidenced by warning signs)


Historical Significane; the site of the first atomic explosion on Australian soil.  
The inscription on the oblerisk reads
"TEST SITE
TOTEM 1
A BRITISH ATOMIC
WEPON WAS TEST
EXPLODED HERE ON
15 OCT 1953"
Photo courtesy of Dave Stuart
Atomic veteran, Mr R Johnstone told me that he would would like to put a memorial plaque here in memorial to all persons who have suffered as a result of the tests in Australia.

* A kitten is a baby explosion to test the effectivness of various nuclear detonation materials.  The kittens involved Beryllium and Polonium.  Beryllium is extremely poisonous, even in minute quantities.  Polonium is very radioactive was also used in small amounts.

Beryllium metal was also called Glucinum in English until about 100 years ago because its salts are sweet to taste like Glucose. (still called that in French)
Polonium was discovered in 1898 by Madame Curie.  She named it after her native Poland.
Polonium is said to have been used for the murder of a former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in November 2006, "an amount too small to see would be a leathal dose".

References

Australian Heritage Database http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;feedback=yes;place_id=17638 (accessed 15 November 2006)
MARTAC Report pp75 to 78 http://www.radioactivewaste.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/C120C21A-8FB5-418D-B1C7-126C2C9F7C5C/12266/martac_report_chapter_2.pdf  (accessed 15 November 2006)
Web site http://www.ilpi.com/fun/toxic/index.html accessed 25 Nov 2006.

Bibliography

Beadell, L. 1967, Blast the Bush, Rigby,
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The background colour of this page is the webmaster's recollection of soil at Emu Claypan.