TK Adventures – August 2021.
Part 2 of 3 – Adelaide to Coober Pedy
Situated on the outskirts of Woomera there’s a little town by the name of Pimba.
Basically, all that is there is Spud’s Roadhouse and three or four houses. Don’t
let this deter you however from stopping in!
This place does a HUGE breakfast, fit for the burliest truckies but wait, that’s not
all! Take some time out of your road trip to have a good look around at the
collection of eclectic memorabilia covering every square inch of Spud’s walls.
Ranging from number plates, from all around the world from people who have
passed through this area to a large contingent of US military name badges and
patches from those men and women who were posted in Woomera dating as far
back as the 1950’s. Spuds is the meeting and refuelling place when you are in
this neck of the woods.
Whilst we were there, I was lucky enough to meet two Indigenous ladies, Janice
and Lynette, who were travelling from Roxby Downs, just 80 k’s up the road, on
their way home to Port Augusta. They had been presenting a talk to uni students
who were visiting the region, on the importance of indigenous native food and
indegenious culture. Their mob are the Kokatha People, who originate from this
area. Janice and Lynette were delightful ladies, I could have boiled the billy and
talked with them for hours. I was disappointed to learn the current South
Australian Premier had recently started drilling for yet another mine in the Roxby
Downs area without consulting the Kokatha People and sadly, their ‘storyline’
was now broken.
I was feeling a little weary from our journey from Port Augusta however, we drove
the last 5k’s from Pimba to the township of Woomera where we would be based
at the Woomera Travellers Village and Caravan Park for the next three days.
In its heyday, 1949-1971 Woomera’s population was approximately 7000 as
people lived and worked at Woomera and at Koolymilka campsites near Range
Head, a prohibited area 42 kms west. Today however, the population is around
200. The township was recently acquired by RAAF and is now an official base, so
I would expect these numbers will more than likely increase again over the
coming years.
Woomera is approximately 466 kms north of Adelaide. In common usage,
Woomera also refers to the wider RAAF Woomera Range Complex, a large
defence force aerospace and systems resting range covering an area of 122,000
square kilometres operated by the Royal Australian Air Force.
Construction of Woomera village began in mid 1947 to cater for thousands of
people moving to the area as part of the Anglo-Australian Project. The project
lasted for 34 years and saw Woomera become one of the most secret allied
establishments in operation during the Cold War.
Woomeras village initially operated as a closed town between 1947 and 1982,
when the facility supported the operations of the Woomera Rocket Range. Since
1982 the general public has been able to visit Woomera. However, only
Department of Defence personnel and contractors of the Commonwealth are
able to live at Woomera on a permanent basis.
I must admit, I did not know much about Woomera or its history before I arrived
here other than a few stories I had heard from a couple of my American mates,
who were posted there for work in the late 1990’s.
Today, Woomera has the largest test and evaluation range in the world!
During this trip we met a team of Army Reservists staying in Woomera who had
travelled from Amberley Air Base near Brisbane. They had been assigned to
spruce up the Woomera Rocket Park which included painting all of the rockets,
misiles, airplanes, bringing them back to their former glory.
To name just a few, the Park features the Black Arrow, which was a three stage
British Rocket designed for carrying a satellite into orbit. There’s a shipborne
anti-submarine weapon IKARA named after the Aboriginal word for ‘throwing
stick’. There is a MK 10 Bomb and Petrel Supersonic Target which is a small
rocket built by Bristol Aerojet in use around the world from 1967 to 1982. There is
even a Canberra Bomber aircraft. It had the same jet engine as what was in my
Dad’s Jet Powered Truck, Waltzing Matilda! I could tell you much more about this
place but my advice is, you just have to see all of this stuff for yourself. It really is
fascinating!
One of the Reservists, Dave, was a wealth of knowledge and personally took us
on a tour of the town.
I did not know Woomera had its own Bowling Alley! It was built specifically for the
Americans when they were posted here and we all know how much they love
their ten pin bowling!
Naturally, Dave also advised us on the best place to enjoy a hearty meal, The
Eldo Hotel. He also took us through the Woomera Museum. The history and
memorabilia there is intriguing. When you do visit this area, check out the
Outback Diner, they have some awesome space memorabilia there, along with
the bowling alley and a cafe who incidentally, have the friendliest staff ever!
45k’s north of Woomera is Lake Hart. This isn’t the biggest of South Australia’s
salt lakes, but it is the most accessible. There’s a rest area by the Stuart Highway
right at Lake Harts southern tip. A short walk across the red dirt is a rest area
which brings you to the lakes edge. It is possible to walk on the salt flats. The
bright white color makes for great photos.
I hope you have enjoyed Part 2 of my 3 Part journey from Adelaide to Coober
Pedy. Next month, Part 3 we continue our journey to the remarkable town and
our destination of Coober Pedy.
Happy Travels, love Tania xx
