I was born at Woomera rocket range base hospital in 1965. It's great to see this footage. Thank you.

Thanks for uploading! Much appreciated 👍

It is very nostalgic for me. I was stationed in Woomera from 1965 to 1967 to provide Meteorological support. It was an exiting time for me, my son was born in the Woomera district hospital in 1966. Those were the days.

Much of the equipment shown has been preserved and is on display at Woomera today, including some of the aircraft and rockets. Well worth the visit.

This is really all about what might have been. It's a shame such obvious expertise and the ability to manufacture cutting edge technology has been lost to Australia over the decades since the film was made.

That old test gear is epic!

Served at a joint US-Australian radar site in Woomera in the late 80's. A great experience and a great bunch of people! The site where I worked has since been dismantled.

As usual in Australia. Become the worlds best then shut it down & destroy every thing connected with the Product.

I saw the house I spent three years as a child there in the film over woomera village, also I remember the pool

My parents still have a large rocket tail fin section sitting in their yard. Was one of two that my father scored back in the Woomera/Andamooka hey days. One was a pot plant for 30 years and the other completed the missing piece of the whole rocket that used to be displayed in the Barossa Valley out the front of the Kev Rohlach personal collection museum. Was close to throwing out boxes of the specific telemetry paper they used the other week but happy to gift them on to a collector if you live in Australia and can collect yourself or pay for shipping.

That was absolutely gripping! Filmmaking at its best.. technology is stunning too.

I remember using those Cossor oscilloscopes shown in several parts of this film. They did not have the modern appearance and overall high performance of the rival American made Tektronix oscilloscopes. But they could do what the American oscilloscopes could not do - measure a waveform very precisely.

Thank you for this gem. So many familiar faces from my time on Range E in the late 50s. Takes me back to a wonderful adventure.

I'm currently at work, watching the video in the Woomera prohibited zone on a mine site 🙂👍

My grandfather flew the Bristol freighter around this time. I'll be sure to show him!

I used to live in Woomera between 1981 and 1985. I remember a few of the building had been modernised but that church was still there!

❤❤❤ there is something so hopeful in this film. it's a little heartbreaking.

Excellent documentary, Woomera is a fascinating place to visit and I imagine an exciting place to live during its hay day. Great museum to explore if you are lucky to be there when its open, I always seem to end up there when it’s closing for the day or not open on certain days. Seems a pity Australia is falling behind in the technology race, at least we can make good coffee.

At Woomera's peak, Australia was third in the world in launch capability. Due to a lack of vision by the Menzies government, we gave it all away. Very sad for our lost opportunities.

Fantastic to see this old footage and see what happened at Woomera over the years. Thanks very much for sharing this.

Cool documentary video,I was born there in 1969,my father operated tracking cameras during launches.

Australia was the third country to send a satellite into orbit, from its own land. USSR, USA, then Australia. Launched from Woomera.

Went to school there in the late 60’s. Lived in Carcoola Street.

Tell us about an ABC Documentary series called 'Overseas and Undersold" which is about Technologies we were working on in the sixties, but were advised by the Americans and the British to stop wasting our time and to focus on Primary Produce instead. This happened during the Menzies era, who was Pro British and the Prime Minister of Australia at the time.

One of your best and in HD as well but i am biased and love the old teck stuff especially if in an outback setting. Using an Australian made Byer Mk1 tape recorder to record data, they were introduced in 1956 in time to be used for the extensive broadcast coverage of the Olympic games and like most of the equipment in the film were made here.

When I was an apprentice, a couple of the older fitters I worked with had been to Woomera with Blue Streak. They were based at Spadeadam and worked for either Rolls or De Havilland. One of them had got himself a "girlfriend" on the base, I don't know what story he told her, but he must have thought he was "safe" with his missus being twelve thousand miles away back in Blighty, but she must have had better radar than he thought as she managed to find out. Cue a heat seeking knee to the goolies when he got home !😂

There's a good book called Fire Across the Desert I stumbled across a while ago. Would have been an amazing time to have been involved.

Magnificent, thank you. As an adjunct to this may I recommend reading the Wikipedia account of the role of Mr Walter MacDougall, a Patrol Officer connected to the work done at Woomera.

Brings tears to the eyes.

There was another film made and released ( ABC ) called Woomera, with interviews and more rare footage, released mid 1990s.

Fascinating film. I had no idea about most of this.

Two interesting anecdotes. In the Film there was a Fire Flash missile on a test stand. In the RAF at RAF Newton we had a small Missile museum and one of those stands But had no Idea how it worked, going through some old Photos We found a Picture of an RAF Sgt Demonstrating this rig and recognised him as being on one of the Aircraft courses there. We found, him and asked what the rig did ? " NO idea; I was just walking by and this guy with a camera asked me to stand there and point" In the 80s I was at the test range Aberporth in Wales . As in the film the Kini Theodolites were driven by ladies on one firing the missile broke up and the range officer was on the Radio ? Comms " Has anyone got that ?" aver laconic " I've got a bit of it". I was at the Bloodhound School and The only 'demo' bits we had were recovered from down range Woomera.

I love how all the women are dressed as thought they are going out for Sunday lunch.🙂

Good show old chap!

Great 👍 video as always!!!!

This is awesome, do you have any more of this type of footage, technology in Australia in the post WWII era before 1970?

Excellent film quality from the period

1957 's simple pleasures for a small population .

I love this channel. Thank you

So,What did Australia do with all the research! Or was it backed by The UK!

In reply to sueneilson, the museum at Woomera is not very accurate. I worked at Woomera in 1957 and from 1960 to 1962 on Bloodhound. Very few details of this highly successful missile are available there and the final indignity was to describe Bloodhound as "also known as Thunderbird". Bloodhound was the missile accepted over Thunderbird as the main deterrent by UK, Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore et al. Great times and a pity to see Woomera today.

A lot of comments about Australian tech. It’s really UK tech being undertaken in Australia by BAE.

Woomera looks like a very nice place. Does it look the same??

Wow the older computing machines are super creepy along with that music, I wonder what the future kids looking back on our ipads and pcs will think of our stuff. Really appreciate this film, I was always really interested in woomera and the bases as a kid travelling thru there.

In 1957 Au was on par with UK in the space race

Woomera, smack bang in the middle of the GAFA.

What's that big machine with all the dials they've got the rocket sitting on at 10:50? I can't even imagine what it does.

So sad that most of the equipment and facilities were sold at a fraction of their cost, essentially scrap value. Or just destroyed Lucky to have bought an Askania Kinetheodolite for $40 completed with all lenses.

Was a hustle bustle community hub in the middle of nowhere back in the hey day but sadly is nothing more then concrete slabs a a handful of houses left now.

Music reminds me of Forbidden Planet

Classic.

And now you know how Australia won the space race.

And what do we make now?

Greed has destroyed it all. The enemy has become our master.

The Woomera Wocket Wange.

Tela metri!!!

If only!

Cost the equivalent of 5 Billion Dollars in today's money to establish.

Huh, did Australian English really once pronounce "telemetry" like that?

800 babies in 5 years, no TV then, hey? hahahahaha.

Same old story. Too expensive too run for little return. I know there would have been a report to the Federal Government saying just that & Australia does not have the expertise to operate such a facility.

Narrator sounds like Brian Henderson.

Lost you say....... 😂

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