Defence, police detonate suspected WWII bomb on remote NT beach
Specialist bomb technicians from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have detonated suspected World War II ordnance, found on a beach in the remote Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy.
One of Australia's most isolated towns, Nhulunbuy is located about 1,000 kilometres east of Darwin and is inaccessible by road for long periods during the wet season.
Residents of the usually sleepy coastal town awoke to the noise about 6:30am Saturday, after ADF personnel flew into the town the day prior.
In a statement, the NT Police Force (NTPF) said the suspected bomb was found on Friday at a stretch of beach near the town's surf life saving club.
"The blast was reported to be heard across most of the township, but it was achieved without injury to any persons or damage to property," a police spokeperson said in a statement.
"The remnants of the item have been disposed of locally."
An NTPF spokesperson later confirmed the bomb was "suspected WWII ordnance".
Nhulunbuy resident Kaylie Thompson, who lives about 200 metres away from the blast zone, described the detonation as an "almighty bang".
"I felt it in my chest ... I'm in a very, very old house and it kind of rattled a little bit," she said.
"There was no warning whatsoever, which I get — they didn't want to have everyone come down to the car park to watch."
Beth McCartney, another Nhulunbuy resident, said she heard the loud "bang" while on her morning run near the area.
"It was so loud the trees shook," she said.
"Every bird in Nhulunbuy, I reckon, evacuated the trees."
Dave Suter, the president of the Arnhem Land Historical Society, told the ABC the bomb resembled a "depth charge", which were used during WWII to target submarines.
A police spokesperson said the ordnance had likely moved to the beach "naturally" during the April or May rains, by "substantial water flows and some tidal activity in that area".
"At this point it has not been formally identified and is believed to have been in situ for a period of around five weeks in a mostly buried state," the spokesperson said.
The ABC has contacted Defence for further information on the explosive.
According to the Australian War Memorial, northern Australia was hit by 97 air attacks during WWII, including during the bombing of Darwin.
While historians say thousands of bombs were dropped on northern Australia, it is unclear how many of those have not exploded.
An NTPF spokesperson said there was "no indication of any similar items in the vicinity" in Nhulunbuy.
"That said, suspected unexploded ordnance items are periodically located across northern Australia," they said in a statement.
"If you do see an item of suspicion, please ensure that you don't tamper with it and that you notify your local police immediately on 131 444."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Concern flood maps don't account for the real risk of climate change
On today's show: Flooding has become more commonplace in some parts of Australia, with big weather events washing out homes and destroying farmlands and businesses, particularly in regional Australia. One way of predicting the impact of large rain events on communities is flood mapping. The government body that collates data about flooding is the Australian Rainfall and Runoff and recently they updated their guides to account for climate change. The organisation finds what was previously thought of as a worst-case scenario, 20 per cent rain increase annually by the end of the century, is now a best-case scenario. But there is concern that flood maps are not reflecting the real risk of climate change and the potential impacts that it could have on future flood risk. Reporter: Sinead Mangan with civil and environmental engineer Alan Hoban The felling of what is estimated to be hundreds of tingle trees in a burn last December has sparked fresh calls for a review of prescribed burning in WA. Reporter: Andrew Chounding (Albany) Orroroo in South Australia's mid north is a town with no fuel. Three hours from Adelaide, Orroroo has been without fuel for more than a week. Combined with drought and recent dust storms, locals are worried that the lack of fuel could leave them vulnerable. Reporter: Viki Ntafilis (Port Pirie)
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Defence, police detonate suspected WWII bomb on remote NT beach
Specialist bomb technicians from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have detonated suspected World War II ordnance, found on a beach in the remote Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy. One of Australia's most isolated towns, Nhulunbuy is located about 1,000 kilometres east of Darwin and is inaccessible by road for long periods during the wet season. Residents of the usually sleepy coastal town awoke to the noise about 6:30am Saturday, after ADF personnel flew into the town the day prior. In a statement, the NT Police Force (NTPF) said the suspected bomb was found on Friday at a stretch of beach near the town's surf life saving club. "The blast was reported to be heard across most of the township, but it was achieved without injury to any persons or damage to property," a police spokeperson said in a statement. "The remnants of the item have been disposed of locally." An NTPF spokesperson later confirmed the bomb was "suspected WWII ordnance". Nhulunbuy resident Kaylie Thompson, who lives about 200 metres away from the blast zone, described the detonation as an "almighty bang". "I felt it in my chest ... I'm in a very, very old house and it kind of rattled a little bit," she said. "There was no warning whatsoever, which I get — they didn't want to have everyone come down to the car park to watch." Beth McCartney, another Nhulunbuy resident, said she heard the loud "bang" while on her morning run near the area. "It was so loud the trees shook," she said. "Every bird in Nhulunbuy, I reckon, evacuated the trees." Dave Suter, the president of the Arnhem Land Historical Society, told the ABC the bomb resembled a "depth charge", which were used during WWII to target submarines. A police spokesperson said the ordnance had likely moved to the beach "naturally" during the April or May rains, by "substantial water flows and some tidal activity in that area". "At this point it has not been formally identified and is believed to have been in situ for a period of around five weeks in a mostly buried state," the spokesperson said. The ABC has contacted Defence for further information on the explosive. According to the Australian War Memorial, northern Australia was hit by 97 air attacks during WWII, including during the bombing of Darwin. While historians say thousands of bombs were dropped on northern Australia, it is unclear how many of those have not exploded. An NTPF spokesperson said there was "no indication of any similar items in the vicinity" in Nhulunbuy. "That said, suspected unexploded ordnance items are periodically located across northern Australia," they said in a statement. "If you do see an item of suspicion, please ensure that you don't tamper with it and that you notify your local police immediately on 131 444."
ABC News
14 hours ago
- ABC News
Minimum temperatures to return to average for much of Queensland after wintry week
Though parts of Queensland continued to shiver through below-average minimum temperatures this morning, a reprieve is in sight for those struggling with the big freeze. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast minimum temperatures will move back towards average in most of the state tomorrow. "In general … the maximum and minimums will be closer together," duty forecaster Sophie Ninnes said. Brisbane's minium temperatures will return to double digits on Tuesday, along with much of the Wide Bay and coastal parts of the Capricornia region, while in the Darling Downs and Granite Belt it will range between three and seven degrees Celsius. As for the wintry blue skies, while the southern half of the state will stay clear, cloud and showers will start to develop in the north, where the minimum temperatures will hover around the mid to late teens from tomorrow. Ms Ninnes said the reason for the cooler temperatures last week was a front that brought in southerly winds and Antarctic air from the south. "Then we had a big high sitting over the state, which meant that that cool air lingered along with the westerly winds as well bringing in the dryness from the centre of the country." She said now that the next system is coming through and the high moves off, those winds will turn more easterly and south-easterly, particularly on the coast. The forecast also showed mostly average maximum temperatures for large parts of Queensland, other than the southern peninsula and central eastern parts, which will stay on the cooler side thanks to a cloud band. "That'll mean that the surface can't warm up, so those temperatures won't get quite as high," Ms Ninnes said. "But other than that, we're looking at roughly average maximum temperatures as well." According to Ms Ninnes, northern parts of the state may also see some rainfall developing today, with the main falls to come tomorrow, despite it being the dry season. "In terms of rainfall totals, we could see falls up to 20 to 40 millimetres across Monday and Tuesday, but we may see some isolated falls in excess of 60 millimetres through there as well."
