‘Highly dangerous’ discovery in remote forest
Three 80-year-old bombs dating back to WWII have been unearthed in a remote state forest in Queensland’s far north.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) ranger Ben Finnerty said the three 11kg unexploded ordnance (UXO) were found in a remote part of the Bilwon State Forest, near Cairns, on October 23.
Rangers made the discovery while patrolling land made accessible from new fire breaks.
“Rangers immediately contacted the Queensland Police Service (QPS), then the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for advice,” Mr Finnerty said.
Mr Finnerty said the bombs were likely linked to the Mareeba Airfield, built in 1942 as a base for Australian and US air forces in WWII.
“After the war, the southern runway remained active, and the northern section of the airfield was used for agriculture,” he said.
“We believe the UXOs were either used for wartime drills or accidentally discarded in the bushland.”
Two ADF members travelled from Townsville to assess the bombs and make the site safe for the public.
All three were destroyed in controlled explosions.
“According to the Defence Force members, old UXOs become more unpredictable and prone to explosions if they are moved or tampered with,” Mr Finnerty said.
“Even though these objects have been sitting on the ground for around 80 years they are still highly dangerous and ready to explode.”
The bombs are the first UXOs that QPWS rangers have found in the region since 2014 and 2016.
The ADF runs the country’s National Unexploded Ordnance Program (NUXOP) to handle strategic management of unexploded bombs like these.
They urge the public to immediately ring triple-0 and not touch the device if one is discovered.
In 2018 a NSW man was injured after picking up old artillery shells while fossicking on Birubi Beach, suffering non-life threatening shrapnel injuries when they exploded at his house.
