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World War II bomb puts police station into lock down

A Brisbane police station was locked down and evacuated after a man brought a World War II bomb to the front desk.

Jaime Maxwell found the old bomb In bushland at Albany Creek, 16 kilometres north of Brisbane's CBD.

He said he reported it to police two months ago, but on Monday it was still there.

Hendra Police Station, in Brisbane, was locked down and evacuated after a man brought a World War II bomb to the front desk. Source: 7 News
Hendra Police Station, in Brisbane, was locked down and evacuated after a man brought a World War II bomb to the front desk. Source: 7 News

"Bit of a flood had come through and I seen the tail end sticking out," Mr Maxwell told 7 News.

The concerned Queenslander feared for the safety of cyclists and others walking along Jinker Track, so he took matters into his own hands.

He decided it was safe to move it himself and took it to Hendra Police Station.

The young man thought he was doing the right thing, but he caused the station to go into lock-down, prompting a warning from the Australian Defence Force.

“Without the fuse, it wasn't going to go off. Bit like having fuel without the fire," Mr Maxwell guessed.

"They didn't like it at all!"

Experts say the weapon, a WWII 75mm HE projectile, could blow someone's hand off. Source: 7 News
Experts say the weapon, a WWII 75mm HE projectile, could blow someone's hand off. Source: 7 News

Senior Ammunition Technical Officer, Major Darren Mattison, said the weapon was a 75mm HE projectile.

“It had the propensity to take off hands, and kill," Major Mattison said.

“We get called out 120-130 times a year to items like this, so it's fairly common."

During World War II, the area around Jinker Track was an ammunition demolition site, according to war historian Dan Kelly.

Jaime Maxwell said he reported the bomb to police two months ago, but on Monday it was still there. Source: 7 News
Jaime Maxwell said he reported the bomb to police two months ago, but on Monday it was still there. Source: 7 News

“The American forces were here in training. There were many rifle ranges, mortar ranges and hand grenade ranges,” he said.

In Queensland’s south east, coastal areas are littered with old explosives – particularly on the Sunshine Coast between Noosa and Coolum, and from Buddina to Beerwah.

There's also huge area that's now heavily populated around Warner where 15,000 US servicemen camped and trained in the 1940s, at Camp Strathpine, but today, they're housing estates.

The defence force warns anyone who finds something suspicious not to touch it.

"They still present a risk to you, and have the potential to cause significant life-threatening injuries," Major Mattison said.