Colin Kerr visits Corunna Downs

wartime secrethidden in

the wa outback

By Colin Kerr

The remains of the wind sock beside the runways.

In the blazing heat of the Pilbara, 36km south of Marble Bar in WA, in desolate semi-desert spinifex country, there can still be seen a few scattered remains of one of the best kept secrets of Australian involvement in the Second World War.

Set alongside of a dramatic, rocky, ironstone ridge, the heavily camouflaged and carefully hidden No. 73 Operational Base Unit was known as Corunna Downs – the name of the stillactive cattle station on which the base was located. The air base has these days however, been excised from the Corunna Downs Station so visitors can now visit this site quite freely without needing permission from the station. The long runways, built to handle the heaviest four-engined bombers of the day, still remain, and in fact, have been recently graded and cleared of both the old cracked and parched bitumen surface and the encroaching spinifex and desert foliage. The main runways (east/west and north/ south), measuring 2,300 metres and 1,650 metres and each 50 metres wide, can these days now be driven down, thankfully without fear of encountering huge bombers landing or taking off. It is indeed, quite a sobering experience to drive where these aircraft once operated. In addition, there were some 6km of taxi ways, some of which have also been cleaned up and are also readily accessible. This is harsh, unforgiving country out here with nearby Marble Bar recognised as Australia’s hottest town - certainly not a great place to be working year round in the pressure conditions of a WWII air base. In addition it is reported that servicemen, mostly living at the base in four-man tents without any form of air conditioning or refrigeration, were also tormented by flies, scorpions and snakes. A visit to this lonely centre today in our modern air-conditioned vehicles, is a much more enjoyable, but somewhat eerie experience with the piercing call of an occasional crow the only noise that disturbs the vast silence out here. Of course, in this remote place things were not always so deathly quiet as the regular roar of the four x 1200 horsepower engines of the long range B-24 Liberator bombers wheeled at the end of the runway and paused before commencing their take-off run heavily laden

with bombs to pound the Japanese bases on Java, Borneo, Celebes, Singapore and other island targets to the north of the Australian coastline - it was, in fact in its time, quite a noisy, bustling place to be. Today, in its peaceful serenity, visitors can only imagine the activity out here all those years ago. In this remote country where once stood the many camouflaged buildings required for the administration and operation of this little-known but major air base, only a few crumbling concrete foundations can now be seen, including the air crew quarters, kitchen mess, canteen, store, hospital, ablutions, workshops and picture gardens. Sadly, many of these scant remains are progressively being overgrown with spinifex and other vegetation. The remains of an old windsock pole still defiantly stands near the old runways and the earthformed aircraft bunkers, once covered with camouflage netting and spinifex to hide the planes, can still be seen scattered across the base. Each of the 20 or so horseshoeshaped bunkers housed one of the giant bombers which were carefully tucked away after each flight where maintenance, refuelling and re-arming was carried out. It is interesting to see how the bunkers (or revetments) were spread far enough apart to minimise damage to the aircraft if the base was ever bombed. Camping out here

Kitchen mess site.

The road up and over Ironstone Ridge.

Marble Bar has the dubious honour of being the hottest town in Australia. It recorded 160 consecutive days over 100°F (37.8°C) in the summer of 1923-24 - a record honour that still stands today.

in one of these long-abandoned aircraft bunkers, which we did on our recent visit, was indeed quite an eerie experience as we tried to imagine the scene here all those years ago when right here where we were enjoying happy hour, one of those huge bombers was hidden away and being prepared for its next important flight. Elsewhere around the old base can be seen several anti-aircraft gun pits, small piles of rusting fuel drums, ammunition containers, bomb holders and many other wartime scraps. It is believed that all old live ammunition has now been cleared away, but visitors should be careful they don’t stumble over any that has been missed. After all this time such live rounds would be very unstable and very dangerous.

Drum ends in the workshop area at the western end of the east-west runway.

Our camp in one of the aircraft bunkers.

The population of Marble Bar today is approximately 170.

There is also a lonely grave at the foot of the nearby ironstone hillside with a small plaque identifying it as the final resting place of RAAF Sergeant Ernest Newton Cook (46603) who was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident enroute to nearby Marble Bar on 5th December 1944. His grave is at the site of the picture gardens which he operated for the enjoyment of all who worked on the base. It was between 1943 and 1945 that bombing mission activity from Corunna hit its peak. On this now empty and almost forgotten spinifex and ironstone countryside, Australian and American Air Force units (the 30th Bomber Group of the US Air Force and No. 25 Squadron of the RAAF) blasted the Japanese bases that threatened Australia from the north as well as hammering the enemy shipping which was so vital to Japanese supplies and troop movements. Although bombers could reach Japanese targets from other northern bases around Darwin, such flying took aircraft over a number of islands which had been taken over by the Japanese. The base at Corunna Downs gave aircraft the advantage of surprise, approaching their targets from over the sea. It had always been feared that the returning bombers may have been followed and the location of the base discovered, but this was apparently never attempted. No mention was ever made during the war of these highly secret operations in press or radio reports and every effort was made to keep from the Japanese any knowledge that Corunna Downs airfield existed. Japanese reconnaissance aircraft however, searched extensively over northern WA for a base which they knew must be somewhere, but their continual scouring

Memorial to Ernest Newton Cook - at the site of the Ironstone Ridge Camp. always ended in failure. It is even reported that on one occasion one of their longrange reconnaissance planes jettisoned one of its long-range fuel tanks quite near the base (presumably to lighten its load), but still never saw or identified the airfield! The Corunna base was officially closed on 14th January 1946. Even today the importance of the base and the part it played in the latter phases of the war has received little publicity and is largely unknown, even to the many tourists who pass through the nearby centre of Marble Bar each year. With its historic war time secret now being slowly uncovered, a visit to Corunna Downs is, indeed, an enlightening and enjoyable experience.

WORKING LIFE AT THE AIR BASE

The working life of airmen on the base back in the 1940s was indeed harsh – sometimes experiencing temperatures of around 50°C. At any one time some 300 men were based here in these very trying conditions with minimal facilities, including no air-conditioning or refrigeration. Rations mainly consisted of tinned vegetables and cans of bully beef. Their water supply (from a brackish bore) was so hot that showers were impossible until the pipes cooled down around 9 o’clock at night. Their four-man tents were very basic and living here was particularly uncomfortable in the heavy rains of the annual wet season in this region. Their only real respite from the conditions was an occasional leave visit to the amenities available in nearby Marble Bar and the introduction in 1944 of an open air picture show at the base. Morale however, remained high as the airmen here realised the important contribution they were making to the war effort from their proudly secret but very successfully operated air base. The Australian Army was also very much in evidence at the Corunna Downs base during the war providing most of the supply transport as well as their involvement with light and heavy anti-aircraft guns strategically located around the airfield. Some of the gun pits can still be seen today.

A gun pit near the east-west runway.

INFORMATION BAY

Best time to go: May to August.

Location: 36km south of Marble Bar via signposted access road (Corunna Downs Station Road). Allow approximately one hour travelling each way from Marble Bar.

An interesting exercise to help get your bearings out there before you actually go, is to check on the internet – Google Earth – at 21°25’53.79”S, 119°46’56.73”E – where all the main features can be seen. Also of great assistance is an information sign board at the airfield entrance showing a map of the old base with the location of the main points of interest.

Terrain: The access road is all gravel and usually in quite good condition (except after rain) and can be travelled with care in conventional 2WD vehicles. Along the way (through old gold and copper mining areas and undulating, quite scenic spinifex covered hillsides) there are a number of small creek crossings which are usually dry during winter months. Campervans and off-road caravans are also OK if driven carefully to the conditions.

Accommodation options: Camping is allowed, but there are no facilities provided. Take all rubbish away with you and use a chemical toilet. Dogs would be OK if kept on a lead. A dump point and drinking water is available in Marble Bar. Alternatively use Marble Bar as a base and make a day trip out to the air base. No permits or other approvals are required. Caravan park facilities are available in Marble Bar.

For more information: Check with the Marble Bar Visitor Information Centre for an information brochure and for road conditions and any access restrictions at the time before heading out to the old base.