Atomic Testing

by Alan Tucker

  The journalist’s plane didn’t fly through the dust cloud caused by the explosion, but other planes did. Some Australian Air Force bombers flew straight into it to measure the radiation, while some bigger US Air Force planes followed the cloud as it drifted right across Australia. Imagine being able to fly that far without refuelling.

  Kenny was mentioned in the paper. A report said he personally escorted Lord Penney, the chief British scientist, when he first toured the Emu site. Dad reckons that was the time he and his mates drove those eight brand-new Land Rovers out into the desert and left them there. He knew they had to be for someone important. Lord Penney designed and built the bomb. How can anyone be that smart?

  Friday, 16 October

  Jonathon told us all about how they exploded the bomb yesterday. It wasn’t dropped from a plane. It was suspended from a tower, then detonated. A scientist had to climb the tower and connect it to some batteries or something. Wouldn’t that be scary? He had forty minutes to make the connection, climb down and drive to safety thirteen miles away. I bet he drove as fast as he could.

  We joked about what could go wrong. Dave said he could slip on the tower ladder and end up hanging upside-down by his shoelace while the fuse burned down. BLAM! Or he could connect the wires the wrong way around and only realise when he was halfway to safety, drive back to fix the problem then not have time to get away. KABAM! Robert thought his jeep could get a flat tyre or run out of petrol so he couldn’t escape. KABOOM!

  I wondered what would happen if you were too close to the blast. Would you really melt like glass and become mixed up with the sand?

  I guess most of the equipment the Army left behind was melted. Dave thought it was a waste of good planes and tanks, but Jonathon said the scientists needed to find out which metals can withstand the blast. Then they can make new weapons and vehicles out of that type of metal in preparation for an atomic bomb attack by Russia.

  He also told us the bomb was built in England, but he didn’t know if they got it to Australia by plane or ship. It would be dangerous whichever way they moved it. Imagine if the plane got struck by lightning or the ship hit a reef. BOOM!

  I told them I’d read in the paper that the bomb blast had caused big electrical storms in Sydney. That’s more than a thousand miles away. If that’s true then maybe Mum’s right about how dangerous atomic bombs are.

  Everyone at school wants to know when the next test will happen. I hope it’s soon. If they tell us in advance Dave and I are going to go outside and listen for it. The newspaper said farmers near Ceduna heard yesterday’s blast and that’s as far away as here. If we’d been outside we might have heard it. Dave wants to climb up on his roof to try to see the next one. I had a better idea. I think we should climb up onto the village water tank. That’s the highest thing around here. We should be able to see for miles from up there, if we can get up. There’s a ladder, but it doesn’t reach the ground.

  Later

  Dad’s really excited because some of the Air Force planes that flew through the bomb cloud landed in Woomera. Our ground crew washed them down so they won’t be radioactive when they land back at their home base.

  They probably didn’t get radiation on them anyway. They’d be moving too fast for it to stick. Mum only mentioned stationary things like rocks and grass collecting radiation.

  The scientists and journalists haven’t flown back to Salisbury, so there must be another bomb test happening soon.

  Saturday, 17 October

  I got picked as twelfth man for today’s game. Everyone turned up so I didn’t get to play. I scored. I don’t mind. The coach said I’ll get a game next week. He’s going to rotate us weaker players. The good ones will get a game every week.

  When I was scoring I heard some of the parents talking about the planes that landed here yesterday after flying through the bomb cloud. One man was really cross. He said the British wouldn’t have allowed their men to wash down the planes without wearing protective outfits. ‘The Brits don’t care two hoots for our servicemen!’

  I’m not sure why they’d need protection. The planes had only flown through the cloud, not the bomb blast. If they did collect any radiation it would have blown off before they landed. And the ground crew would have had a shower afterwards. That would’ve washed away any specks of radiation that were left.

  Jonathon’s father asked me how my Bosies are going. I told him I’d practised the last two nights and finally made a couple spin. He told me to keep up the good work.

  Mum was here when I got home. She’s really cross about the bomb. And she’s really upset that Australian personnel had to wash down the planes. She thinks it’s very dangerous and that the British Government should get into trouble for exposing men to radiation.

  She asked Dad if he’d been anywhere near the planes. He laughed and told her to calm down. ‘We should be proud of Australia’s contribution to the atomic test. Now that we have an atomic bomb no-one will attack us.’

  Dad’s fought in a war so he should know.

  Mum said she wanted to change the topic to something less distressing. She’s trying not to argue with Dad like she said she would. She told us about life in the wards and dormitory and what good fun the other nurses are. She feels like an oldie because most of the other nurses are straight out of high school. Some of them have never been away from home before and find it lonely living in a dormitory. One girl even cries some nights. That’s funny, isn’t it? The nurses who looked after me seemed like big bullies, not cry-babies.

  This afternoon Dave and I rode out to the water tanks. We left our bikes behind some bushes and crawled closer until we were sure no grown-ups were working there. Wouldn’t it be funny if one of them was working up on the top of the tank? He would easily have seen us wriggling along the ground. That’s probably how Superman catches criminals so easily. He looks down on them like a hawk about to swoop on its prey.

  We found the ladder that goes up to the top, but we couldn’t reach the bottom steps. If we can think of some way to get up to the base of that ladder, and if we can find out when the next bomb test is, we’ll have a grandstand view. If they do the test on a weekday I’ll be able to sneak out, especially while Mum’s away. I’ll tell Dad we were up early checking rabbit traps if he asks. Dave’s parents don’t care what he’s up to.

  We’re going to set a few traps every night from now on so we have a perfect alibi. We might get really lucky: catch some rabbits and see the bomb go off. What a great start to the day that would be.

  10.00 pm

  We had a barbecue at Dave’s house tonight. We’ve been invited before but Mum would never go. That was always weird. The neighbours would be talking and laughing on one side of the fence and we’d be sitting quietly on the other side. Rusty was the only one from our family who went. Dave didn’t have to call him. He’d smell the meat and appear. He’d follow Dave around all night, because Dave feeds him bits of sausage.

  Tonight we all went. It was good fun until the men started talking about the bomb. They were pleased that the test was successful and that we’d done our bit for the British Empire.

  Mum almost had an argument with them, but held her tongue. Dad told her off when we got home. He said she shouldn’t listen in to the men’s conversation. She should stay with the women.

  ‘What! And talk about who’s going to have the next baby while you men talk about blowing up the world or at the very least poisoning it with radiation. Who wants to bring a baby into a world that’s uninhabitable?’

  ‘That’s right, Beryl, throw in the big words to confuse the issue.’

  That really got Mum mad. They shouted at each other. Then Dad said he was going back to the party. He SLAMMED the door as he went.

  I sneaked off to my bedroom. I was cross they’d argued. They’d said they wouldn’t.

  Sunday, 18 October

  I didn’t sleep very well. I was awake when Dad arrived home. It was very late. I could hear the crows cawing, and they
don’t do that until just before dawn. I hope he doesn’t have to work today. He’ll be too tired to drive safely.

  I must have fallen asleep after that because when I woke up it was nearly ten o’clock. Mum must be asleep too. I haven’t seen or heard her. It’s very quiet this morning after all the shouting last night. I don’t know why Mum keeps arguing about the bomb. Now that we’ve got it no-one will attack us. Dad reckons it’s a bit like having a savage guard dog.

  ‘The bigger and meaner the beast, the less chance anyone will come into the yard.’

  Rusty wouldn’t scare anyone away.

  Dave asked me about Mum and Dad’s argument. He heard Dad talking about it when he went back to the party. He reckons no-one agrees with Mum. Everyone else is really excited we’ve got the bomb. They feel safer. I do too. I just wish Mum could see that.

  This visit’s been a disaster. Even Rusty was upset by all the shouting last night. He started whimpering.

  When they were really angry I heard Dad say he didn’t want her coming up here if all she was going to do was pick fights. She didn’t like that. She shouted back that she wasn’t picking fights, she was just saying what she believed and if he didn’t like it then she wouldn’t bother to come again. She’d stay in Adelaide where she could have some peace of mind and where it’s safe.

  She said we’re an obvious Russian target if another war breaks out. ‘They’ll fight fire with fire, Frank, and use an atomic bomb to wipe out a British test site like Woomera.’

  Dave and I met Robert at the nets this arvo. He told me I shouldn’t worry about the Russians attacking. Our scientists are testing rockets that will blast the Russian planes—KAPOW—out of the air before they get close enough to drop a bomb on us. Can you imagine that?

  Superman can fly fast enough to intercept a Russian jet and an atomic blast can’t hurt him. Only kryptonite can.

  8.00 pm

  Mum’s gone to Pimba to catch the train south. Mum and Dad didn’t speak much when we had tea. They both looked unhappy. Dad might have been hung-over. It wasn’t much fun sitting with them.

  Dad walked with Mum to the village square to catch the bus. I could have gone with them, but didn’t want to. I thought they might start arguing again.

  Mum kissed me goodbye.

  I asked her when she was coming up again. She said she didn’t know, but she’d write to me this week.

  Monday, 19 October

  I heard some better news today. Dave’s found a way to get up onto the water tank. He and Robert tested it yesterday. It’s really easy, sort of. One person stands on the other person’s shoulders, hooks the rope around the base of the ladder and pulls it down. Then you climb up.

  I told him I wouldn’t be strong enough to support his weight and I didn’t know if I could climb up onto his shoulders. He said it’s not difficult because you can keep your balance by leaning forward against the tank.

  We practised against the end of the classroom. I managed to do it, but only because Robert helped me get up and helped me keep my balance. Dave reckons we just need more practise. That’s okay if the next bomb test is months away because that’s how long I think it will take me to be able to climb onto his shoulders without falling off.

  The Prime Minister said in today’s paper that dust clouds blowing over Canberra are not radioactive and have nothing to do with the test at Emu. How could they? Canberra’s hundreds of miles east of here. The dust from the bomb couldn’t blow that far. Besides, it blew away in the opposite direction.

  Dad said if Mum hears that news she won’t ever come back.

  ‘She’ll argue that if the cloud blew over Canberra then it must have blown over Woomera too, on its way east. She thinks she knows more than the Prime Minister and Lord Penney put together. That’s the trouble with a bit of education, Anthony, people think they know everything. And now she’s off studying again. She’s already trained to be a nurse, why does she want to know more? She needs to relax and accept life for what it is instead of trying to change things all the time.’

  I know what he means about Mum. She loves reading and learning. When I first got polio and the doctors said I wouldn’t walk again, she read all about my condition and argued with the doctors and nurses about how to treat me. Dad believes that’s why she couldn’t get another nursing job in Townsville. She rubbed the doctors up the wrong way. Maybe that’s why some of the nurses were bullies to me. They treated me roughly because they didn’t like Mum.

  I miss Mum’s cooking. Dad’s not a bad cook, but he doesn’t have much imagination. He cooks the same meal every night: meat and mashed potatoes, plus sauce, salt and pepper, all topped with a big slice of butter. Dad’s cooking’s great when we eat outside at a barbecue, but it doesn’t taste as good when it’s eaten inside. Isn’t that funny?

  After tea I practised bowling Bosies and Rusty retrieved the ball for me.

  Thursday, 22 October

  At cricket practice tonight we had a scratch match. Everyone was allowed to bowl one over and to bat for one over, even if you got out. Once you had faced eight balls, you had to retire.

  I faced two balls from Dave. One was really wide. I’m glad it was, because it was also really fast. I don’t like facing fast bowling. I can’t move my feet quickly enough to get out of the way. If I hadn’t had polio I’d be able to move faster because I would have practised and played more. His second ball was straight and I snicked it for four runs. That was my first four ever. I made five runs altogether and got out once.

  When I bowled I almost got two wickets. I beat the bat twice and got hit for a six. The fielder caught it, but he was over the boundary line so it wasn’t out. The batsman was a fifth year boy. He plays against the adults in the afternoon when they’re short of players. The bowl after the six he should have been stumped, but the wicketkeeper fumbled it. After that he slogged me for a four and a two. He looked really determined. He didn’t want to get out to a third year student.

  Even though he slogged me, I don’t think he knew which way the ball was going to spin. Mr Noblett told me afterwards I’d really improved and I was now the best spin bowler in the team. Dave pointed out that I’m the only one. Robert said Dave’s bowling is like some of the rockets his father is testing. It has plenty of power but it doesn’t always land where it should.

  I wanted to bowl my ‘secret weapon’ but didn’t want to waste it in a practice match. Also, I wasn’t confident I could bowl it accurately enough. I didn’t want to bowl a wide and embarrass myself.

  Friday, 23 October

  Dave and I practised our bowling after school. I’m really excited about being picked in the eleven for tomorrow’s match. If I do all right I’ll get a game more regularly. It’s only the weak players who have to go on the roster. Dave thinks that’s a dumb idea.

  ‘If you’re a weak player you need more practice than the good players, so you should be selected every game.’

  Dave says sensible things sometimes.

  After practice we set the traps, then practised climbing onto the water tank. The next bomb test has got to be very soon. I wonder how many tests they’ll do. I don’t care how many as long as I can see one of them, even if I’m miles away.

  Saturday, 24 October

  We got up early and checked the traps. We knew we’d caught something because Rusty raced ahead and barked. The rabbit was making noise too: a high-pitched squealing sound. It was terrible. Dave said he’d shut it up. He walked up to it with a big donger. I turned away when he belted the poor thing. I don’t mind shooting rabbits because slugs kill them from a long way away, but I don’t want to see them killed up close. Dave doesn’t care.

  After breakfast Dave and I rode up to the oval. The game was great fun. Each team were allowed to bat for thirty overs unless all the batsmen got out before then. We made 121. I made nought not out. I didn’t even face a ball.

  When my team fielded all the older boys bowled first. Only one bowled spinners and he wasn’t very good. He bowled t
wo long hops and got hit for eighteen runs. By the time I was asked to bowl, the other team only needed ten runs to win and had seven wickets left. I bowled one over and they hit three fours and won the game. Two of the fours were good shots, but one was scored because the fielder missed the ball. He said it hit a bump. It didn’t matter because they were going to win anyway. I don’t care if the batsmen belt my bowling around. I’m just happy to be part of the team. I wonder if I’ll be rostered to play the next game.

  When I got home Dad asked me how I went. I told him we lost and my bowling got clobbered. He told me no-one was making me play and asked if I thought I’d have more fun scoring. I said no.

  Dad spoke to Mum today. He wanted to know when she’s coming home next. She said that depends on when the next bomb test is expected to happen. She doesn’t want to be around when it goes off.

  She told Dad to tell me she’s got another Superman comic for me and if she doesn’t come back soon, she’ll post it. She also wanted to know how Rusty’s getting on. Dad said he’s very fit because he’s retrieved a lot of cricket balls around the backyard.

  Sunday, 25 October

  Dad reckons the next bomb test has got to be any day. I hope so. I really want to see it.

  Dave and I rode out to the water tanks again and practised climbing up to the ladder. I’m getting better. He lifts me up and I tie a rope to the bottom rung then climb up the ladder. He climbs up the rope without any help. Dave’s like a monkey. He can climb anything.

  The view from the top is amazing. We can see Lake Koolymilka and the rocket range in one direction, our creek and The Grave in another direction, and on the far side we can look down on Woomera and see Pimba and the railway line further away. We can also see little trails of dust where cars are driving south towards Port Augusta along the highway.