Thursday 26 April 2012

WOOMERA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The small town of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA); colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range. Established as a restricted access township in 1947, Woomera Defence Village is an Australian Defence Force (ADF) facility supporting the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Woomera Test Range (WTR) which, today, is used to evaluate military and civilian missile, ordnance, and aerospace systems.

Woomera is in the 'outback' desert area of South Australia, approximately 488 kilometres north of Adelaide. An easement through the WPA allows public transit on the Trans-Australian Railway, The Central Australia Railway, and the Stuart Highway. Travellers are prohibited from leaving these routes. In 1982 restrictions on public access to Woomera township were lifted, allowing the town to develop as a tourist destination, while maintaining its support role for the WTR. Desert surrounds the town and one may drive many kilometres aroudn it and see only the occasional road train thundering along the highway...

This post is part of Lesley's Signs Signs meme.








7 comments:

  1. Very interesting. Nice pictures from the place.

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  2. wow, you were not kidding about the desert! beautiful landscape, and this town is quite interesting, too. worth the long drive, i'm sure.:p

    Signs

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  3. I've seen tourist welcome signs like that in smallish communities over here -- we like those kind of places and Woomera looks like a place we'd enjoy visiting too -- different for you!

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  4. I remember reading about Woomera many, many years ago and the name stayed with me. I just loved the sound of it.

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  5. Your pictures remind me of Cape Canaveral in Florida. We lived there for several years while my daddy and other engineers reactivated the air force base there and started the missile program. I can remember see them being pulled down the road in front of our house. They were really BIG! I wonder if the city will do something like this now that our space program is defunct. Loved your pictures. genie

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  6. The sign has an old style font that doesn't look like there have been many changes in the towns amenities.
    I imagine, being surrounded by desert means you might just have to stay awhile after making the trek!

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  7. they sure do offer everything

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