Maralinga Tjarutja is a documentary film which premiered on Australian television (ABC) in 2020.
The topic of this film is the British testing of atomic bombs on Australian lands.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Director: Larissa Behrendt
** Language: mostly English
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 52 minutes
During the Cold War between east and west (1945-1990), Britain developed its own atomic weapons, but the British government could not find anywhere to test these weapons in the UK itself.
British atomic bombs were tested in Australia over more than a decade (1952-1963). The British used three locations for this purpose:
# 1. The Monte Bello Islands, located 50 miles from the coast of Western Australia
In this location there were three major tests:
** 03 October 1952
This test is known as Operation Hurricane
** 16 May 1953
This test in known as Mosaic One
** 19 June 1956
This test is known as Mosaic Two
# 2. Emu Field, located in South Australia
In this location there were two major tests:
** 15 October 1953
** 27 October 1953
This series is known as Operation Totem
# 3. Maralinga, also located in South Australia
In this location there were seven major tests:
** 27 September 1956
** 04 October 1956
** 11 October 1956
** 22 October 1956
This series is known as Operation Buffalo
** 14 September 1957
** 25 September 1957
** 09 October 1957
This series is known as Operation Antler
In addition, more than 500 minor trials of radioactive and toxic materials were conducted at different locations between 1953 and 1963.
This film focuses on the third location - Maralinga - where the largest number of major tests were conducted.
This film explains what happened before the testing, during the testing, and after the testing.
Before the testing
The location was chosen by government planners for three reasons: because a railway was running through the area, close to the site; because it was a desert and because nobody lived there.
** The first reason =
Because a railway was running through the area = true
** The second reason =
Because it was a desert = true
** The third reason =
Because nobody lived there = not true
Some aboriginals lived in this area. The people of Maralinga. Maralinga Tjarutja. Before the testing could begin, these people were removed from the zone.
During the testing
Whenever an atomic bomb was detonated, a radioactive mushroom cloud was created in the sky above the test site. The cloud moved in different directions, depending on which way the wind was blowing.
The fallout from the radioactive cloud contaminated an area much larger than the test site itself.
After the testing
When the testing was completed, the British conducted an operation to clean up the area. But the British did a very superficial job which did not really clean up the area.
A few years later, the Australian government had to arrange a new operation in order to clean up the area in a proper way.
The implications of the British program for testing atomic weapons in Australia were significant, but neither the British nor the Australian government wanted to have a serious discussion about this topic.
You were allowed to praise the British project, but you were not allowed to criticize or question the British project or the fact that Australia was hosting this project in any way.
Australian and British personnel who had been involved in the project were barred from revealing what they knew or suspected because of the official secrets act.
In the 1970s, Avon Hudson (born 1937), who had worked for the Royal Australian Air Force 1956-1962, decided to speak out, even though it was not allowed. He became a whistleblower.
Conclusion
The story of Maralinga and the atomic bombs deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well. The director uses a combination of archive footage and interviews.
The director interviews historical experts and aboriginal people who were alive when the testing took place and who were affected by the testing of the atomic weapons.
If you are interested in the history of Australian history – in particular the history of the Cold War – this film is definitely something for you.
It is highly recommended.
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Beyond Belief:
The British Bomb Tests:
Australia’s Veterans Speak Out
By Roger Cross and Avon Hudson
(2005)
Maralinga:
Australia’s Nuclear Waste Cover-Up
By Alan Parkinson
(2007)
Maralinga:
The Chilling Expose of Our Nuclear Sham
By Frank Walker
(2014)
Atomic Thunder:
British Nuclear testing in Australia
By Elizabeth Tynan
(2018)
The UK’s Nuclear Scandal: The true history of Britain’s nuclear weapons test experiments 1952-1967
By Dannis Hayden
(2021)
The Secret of Emu Field:
Britain’s Forgotten Atomic Tests in Australia
By Elizabeth Tynan
(2022)
Operation Hurricane:
The Story of Britain’s First Atomic Test in Australia
By Paul Grace
(2023)
# 2. Film and video
Backs to the Blast:
An Australian Nuclear Story
(1981)
** Director: Harry Bardwell
** Run time 50 minutes
Silent Storm
(2003)
** Director: Peter Butt
** Run time: 90 minutes
Operation Buffalo
This is a miniseries which premiered on Australian television (ABC) in 2020
This miniseries has six episodes
This miniseries mixes the presentation of historical facts with elements of comedy, farce, and satire
Accounts of a nuclear whistleblower:
Meet the man who uncovered the scandal of nuclear testing in South Australia
(2020)
** Director: Naveed Farro
** Run time: 13 minutes
This film is about Avon Hudson and his campaign for truth and justice regarding the nuclear testing conducted by the British in Australia 1952-1963
*****
Avon Hudson
(born 1937)
Worked for the Royal Australian Air Force
1956-1962
Became a whistleblower in the 1970s
Co-author of the book
Beyond Belief
(2005)
*****
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