- Home
- 1 Australian Field Experimental Station
/
1 Australian Field Experimental Station
Australian Chemical Warfare Research Station
In late November 1943 the Department of Munitions began planning the construction of a new chemical warfare research station at Proserpine. The station, located on a farming property at a railway siding named Gunyarra, was a self-contained camp housing some 250 to 500 military personnel and scientists. Supporting staff were drawn from most of the Allied forces. Station numbers were augmented from time to time by the attachment of volunteers from the Australian forces to participate in experiments and simulated attacks involving poison gas.
Place information
Location
Place type
Scientific facility
History
With the shock surrender of the British base at Singapore in February 1942, Britain asked Australia to provide facilities to carry out experiments in chemical warfare to determine the effects of various poisonous gases, including mustard gas, on personnel and equipment in tropical conditions. The Australian government responded by forming the Australian Chemical Warfare and Research Section, later renamed 1 Australian Field Experimental Station. A British scientist, Frederick Gorrell, was sent to Australia to train scientists and medical officers and to supervise the trials and evaluate the effects. After initial tests which were held at Townsville in 1942, Gorrell returned...
Share
Copy Link