GALLERY SIX
WOOMERA
KRISTIAN LAEMMLE-RUFF
Situated on the lands of the Kokatha people in remote South Australia, the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) is the largest and most technologically advanced weapons testing range in the world. This restricted Defence area, covering an enormous 122,188 km2, was established in 1946 via an agreement between the British and Australian Governments. Now operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, Air Warfare Centre, their motto reads ‘ready the warfighter’. Over the past 70 years this theatre of aggression has subjected the WPA to nuclear bomb test, radioactive waste storage, a detention centre, the world’s largest uranium mine and countless missile and rocket tests. Damaging traditional lands and significant sites, this is imperialism hard at work; conveniently tucked away ‘outback’ – out of sight, out of mind. The exhibition Woomera exposes us to this contentious and highly confidential place. It draws attention to its dramatic, irreconcilable tensions; the cultural importance and stunning environments of this Country, and the violent, destructive activities that continue to be carried out upon it in the name of ‘progress’ and empire.
