Woomera, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Woomera Village South Australia
Missile Park, RAAF Woomera Heritage Centre
Woomera Village Location in South Australia
Established	1947 (1947) (78 years ago)
Postcode(s)	5720
Elevation	169 m (554 ft)
Location	446 km (277 mi) N of Adelaide
State electorate(s)	Giles
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 25.8 °C 78 °F 12.7 °C 55 °F 183.9 mm 7.2 in
Footnotes	Location

Woomera is a special village in South Australia. It is owned and run by the Australian Defence Department. The village is part of a much larger area called the RAAF Woomera Range Complex. This huge area is used by the Royal Australian Air Force to test aerospace systems and weapons.

Woomera village is located on the traditional lands of the Kokatha people. It is about 446 kilometres (277 mi) north of Adelaide. Even though it's a military area, the village itself is open to visitors. You can explore its museums and learn about its history. The Woomera Range Complex is one of the biggest land-based testing areas in the world.

What's in a Name?

The name Woomera was chosen in April 1947. It comes from an Aboriginal tool called a woomera. This tool helps throw a spear much further. The name was picked because the new village was built for testing long-range weapons.

A Look Back in Time

How Woomera Started

Construction of Woomera village began in 1947. It was built for thousands of people working on the Anglo-Australian Project. This project was a secret partnership between the UK and Australia. They worked together to develop long-range weapons.

Woomera was a very secret place during the Cold War. At its busiest, between 1949 and 1971, about 7,000 people lived there. But by the late 1960s, the project started to slow down.

From 1947 to 1982, Woomera was a "closed town." Only people working on the project could live or visit there. Since 1982, it has been open to the public. However, only Defence staff and contractors can live there permanently.

A school opened in Woomera in 1950. It quickly grew to teach students up to Year 10. The village was managed by a special board. This board acted like a local council, taking care of the town's needs.

When the Anglo-Australian Project ended in the 1970s, the village population dropped. But then, a new project with the United States Air Force (USAF) started nearby. This helped the village population stay around 4,500 people.

In the late 1990s, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) realized how important Woomera was. It was the only land-based testing range in the Western world that could test new, advanced weapons. This made Woomera very important for Australia's future defence.

Defence Facilities Today

Woomera village is a facility owned and operated by the Department of Defence. It is part of RAAF Base Woomera. The base also includes the RAAF Woomera Airfield, which is about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the village.

The airfield is in a "Red Zone" of the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA). This means the public cannot go there. But Woomera village is in a "Green Zone." Visitors can access its facilities and museums all year round. You can even stay at the Defence-run Eldo Hotel or a private caravan park.

The Woomera Prohibited Area is huge, covering about 47 square kilometres (18 sq mi). It is the world's largest land-based testing range for defence systems. It was first set up to develop weapons against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Today, the complex is smaller than it was in 1947. But it still covers a big part of South Australia. Woomera village is the only permanent town in the WPA.

The village area is called "Base Sector South" of RAAF Base Woomera. It is open to the public, like RAAF Williams in Victoria. This allows tourists to see the important historical displays and museums. These museums show the range's air and space activities since 1947. The Woomera Heritage Centre also has displays about the local Indigenous people and early settlers.

At the 2016 census, Woomera village had 146 permanent residents. However, many more Defence personnel (up to 500-700 per day) come to work there temporarily. Visitors often find Woomera village to be a quiet place.

Today, Woomera tests many different Defence systems and tactics. It also hosts some space activities. In 2010, the Hayabusa Deep Space Probe returned to Earth in Woomera. This was the first planned space re-entry onto Australian soil.

Village Life and Changes

The Nurrungar Project

In 1969, the United States Air Force (USAF) built the Nurrungar Joint Tracking Facility near Woomera. This facility was about 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of the village. For the next 30 years, this project helped keep Woomera village strong. About 1,100 USAF and ADF staff and their families lived in Woomera during this time.

A New Chapter for Woomera

When the Nurrungar Project ended in 1999, the future of Woomera village seemed uncertain. However, the RAAF decided to take over the range. They realized it was the only place in the Western world that could test the next generation of defence systems.

Around the same time, the Australian Government decided to open immigration detention centres. Woomera was chosen for one of these centres. The Woomera Immigration Detention Centre opened in 1999. It brought new staff to the village, keeping the population around 1,200. However, this centre was controversial and closed in 2003. The land was then given back to the Defence Department.

Camp Rapier

After the immigration centre closed, the site was changed into a secure defence facility. It was renamed Camp Rapier. Now, the Australian Army and RAAF's Airfield Defence Guards use it for special training and testing.

Woomera Today

After 2003, the village population settled at about 400, then dropped to around 150–200. More temporary residents come to Woomera for tests and training. The village is open to the public.

Tourists often visit the National Missile Park in the village centre. It has aircraft, rockets, bombs, and missiles that were tested at Woomera. The Woomera Heritage Centre has a cafe, a bowling alley, and displays about the range's history. There is also a museum with old artifacts from the range.

Most people living in Woomera are Defence workers or contractors. There are no privately owned homes. The village has many facilities, including a gym, hotel, swimming pool, hospital, cinema, and school. There is also a supermarket, post office, bowling alley, and sports clubs.

Weather in Woomera

Woomera has a hot desert climate. This means it has very hot summers, mild winters, and not much rain all year. The hottest temperature ever recorded was 48.2 °C (118.8 °F) in December 2019. The coldest was −1.4 °C (29.5 °F) in August 1966.

Visiting Woomera

Northern section of Missile Park

Woomera has many interesting places for visitors. The Woomera National Aerospace and Missile Park is in the village centre. It displays missiles and rockets tested there, plus aircraft used in trials.

The Woomera Heritage Centre has a cafe and a bowling alley. It also has interactive displays about the range's history. You can find a souvenir shop there too. This centre tells the story of Len Beadell, a famous surveyor. He mapped out the original range across the Australian Outback.

Next to Missile Park, there is another museum. It shows artifacts from the range and tells about the people who lived and worked in Woomera early on. This museum is in a former church.

Other attractions include a movie theatre, a swimming centre, and a general store. There are also two main clubs that offer meals. Woomera is a great place to see Australia's desert plants and animals. There is even a space observatory you can visit.

About 65,000 tourists visit Woomera each year. Many of them also go on to visit Roxby Downs, where the huge Olympic Dam Mine is located.

Images for kids

• 

  Missile Park, RAAF Woomera Heritage Centre

• 

  Northern section of Missile Park

See also

In Spanish: Woomera para niños