Talk:British nuclear tests at Maralinga

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[edit] Problems Test Coordinates

There seem to be some problems with the Coordinates given for some of the nuclear tests at Maralinga.

Kite - 28.89° S 131.648° E, These coordinates put this site 110 Km due north of the One Tree and Marcoo tests. The area does not seem to have been disturbed, there are no signs of any monitoring stations or roads as found to the south. The lattitude may be a degree off. The original referenced source confirms these coordinates but I think corroboration is needed.

[Fixed] Breakaway - 29.895° S 29.895° E, These coordinates are a typo. They place the test in South Africa!! The original referenced source gives this longitude 131.604 E

I recommend viewing these locations in Google earth. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 60.240.68.30 (talk • contribs).

Well spotted!
Regarding Kite, I think that one of the Patterson documents (possibly the conference presentation) includes a map of the site with test locations highlighted. How does this compare with the coords? Jakew 11:21, 7 November 2006 (UTC)


Thanks, I've had a look around and found this: http://www.mapw.org.au/conferences/mapw2000/papers/parkinson.html

This might be the conference paper you were thinking of. It has maps of the test sites and puts the kite test much closer to the others. I'll try to work them out on google earth and then post them here.

The Map matches the road patterns and confirms the "good" site coordinate we have already. It places the Kite test on the road, south west from the One-Tree test. The Coordinates for the site are close to 29°52'52.88"S, 131°39'10.10"E, If I have done my maths right this link should match those coordinates. (29.88° S 131.652° E)

A more exact location would be better before we change the main page. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 60.240.68.30 (talk • contribs).

Thank you, yes, that's the paper I meant. How embarrassing that I got the name of the author wrong!
I feel very uncomfortable about changing the article. Original research is prohibited by Wikipedia policy. I think that we need to find a source giving the correct location instead. As a last resort, I imagine that the Royal Commission's report ought to include it. I'd check myself, but only a paper copy seems to exist, and NSW is a long way for me to travel! Jakew 16:23, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I could look that up. I live an hour south of Sydney. I'm a little busy in the next few days but I'll look into it. Have you any specific information about the royal commision report and where it is? (Mckinlayr 08:42, 9 November 2006 (UTC))

According to the NAA's CA 3993 record ("Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia During the 1950s and 1960s"), the documents are held at head office in NSW. That would be: 120 Miller Road, CHESTER HILL, NSW 2162, Tel: (02) 9645 0110, Fax: (02) 9645 0108. (Having said that, other records indicate that they might be in Canberra. Probably best to check. I think you need to order the documents in advance anyway.) Jakew 11:26, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Parkinson takes his map of the sites from page 9 this article: http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/TECHREPT/arl070_pt1.pdf

The second half of the article and references are in a seperate file: http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/TECHREPT/arl070_pt2.pdf

You can find both files under 1985 on http://www.arpansa.gov.au/techrpt.htm

It includes a scale on the map and marks out key features. The map may have been made from on ground measurements by the author, I can't find a specific reference for it. I guess the only way would be to search through each reference individually. (Mckinlayr 10:02, 9 November 2006 (UTC))

This document from the has a map of the site on page 28 : http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/TECHREPT/arl005.pdf I guess now I just have to look for common entries in the references of both papers and perhaps find the right data. (Mckinlayr 10:27, 9 November 2006 (UTC))

Last for tonight, Chapter 1 of this report contains new maps of the site. http://www.radioactivewaste.gov.au/publications/maralinga.htm

Oddly, the relative positions of the Kite and Tadje seem to have shifted in this newer map, in the older maps Tadje was to the south west of kite along the road. In this document Kite is shown to be east of the road and directly in line with Tadje. Perhaps these were from different surveys or maybe errors in either document. (Mckinlayr 10:54, 9 November 2006 (UTC))

Nice work. Interesting observation about the relative positions. I should think that this isn't a major problem, as long as we cite what source we use and, ideally, mention the differences in a footnote. I'd be inclined to trust the Royal Commission's data, since they were able to get the UK gov't to supply the original information, and didn't have to rely upon guesswork. Jakew 11:26, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
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