MARALINGA When nuclear tests took place in the Great Victoria Desert 70 years ago, the program was shrouded with secrecy. Today, Maralinga shares its story, so Grant and Linda join a tour to uncover some of its secrets.
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| Western 4W Driver #123
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t was a full day behind the wheel as we pulled into one of Ceduna’s caravan parks to call it a night. We were back on the road the next morning at a reasonable hour after a quick pack up and refuel for the 79 before heading west. After driving for nearly 180 kilometres on the blacktop, we reached the Maralinga turn-off. There was no signpost to be found here (which we later learned is intentional to avoid unwanted visitors), so the instructions we had came in handy. Making our way north, we reached the Trans-Australian Railway line at Ooldea by late morning. The railway story is a long and interesting one as it originally began back in 1917, spanning a considerable distance from Kalgoorlie through to Port Augusta. Some centenary celebrations were held at Ooldea in 2017 and the commemoration memorial made a good spot for our lunch stop. It’s also a place where we got phone service as well.
