Great Barrier Reef Islands Recover from World War II Bombing Range

There is almost no sign of human interference on the remote islands on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, but that was not the case during World War II.

During that time, the sound of bombs exploding ricocheted around Fairfax Islands, which were being used as a military training site.

"You can still see the evidence," Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service senior ranger Damon Shearer said.

But "nature's definitely taken it back over" now, according to Mr Shearer, who helps to manage the conservation of the islands.

"The birds nest all over it, and the coral has recolonised any craters," he said.

World War II history

East Fairfax is a cay made of coral rubble and shingle and West Fairfax features sandy beaches, pisonia forests and casuarinas.

The Australian government gazetted the islands as a bombing range for the Royal Australian Air Force in November, 1943.

From 1952, amid the Cold War and Korean War, the islands were used as a navy bombing and gunnery range, and not without controversy.

In a 1953 edition of the Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, then-Minister for the Navy Sir William McMahon defended the practice.

"A naval party thoroughly inspected both islands comprising Fairfax Island on Sunday, August 2, and found only two dead birds and four dead goats, the goats having been dead for some time," he said.

Sir William described it as an essential site for training because of its proximity to Hervey Bay, reasonable distance to Sydney and its suitability for carrier flying training in winter.

By the early 1970s, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) stopped using the islands completely.

Now a protected conservation zone, both islands are off limits to the public.

Operation 'blowing up the reef'

Unexploded ordnance has been reported on the island and adjacent reef at least five times, with specialist explosive technicians attending each time to dispose of them.

One occasion was in 2008, when bombs were found on the island, and ADF personnel travelled there to remove them.

Gladstone Water Police officer-in-charge Jeff Barnett assisted in the operation.

He said because the items were unsafe to move, small, controlled explosions were used to break them up where they were found.

"I certainly didn't want them in my boat."

Sergeant Barnett recalled seeing a range of different ordnance, including two large bombs, small-calibre rifle rounds and ammunition.

"Sometimes though, the contents of that ordnance will actually ignite and explode itself, and that causes the type of eruption that would have been intended when it was originally made.

"Instead of a little hole you end up with a big hole, and we got a couple of big holes, unfortunately."

Sergeant Barnett said it was difficult to believe the island was ever used for bombing practice, but those were "very different times".

While he said sweeps were done on the island at the time for ordnance and that anyone passing through for safe anchorage should report suspicious items to police or the ADF and avoid picking up or moving them.

"We've got most of the big stuff … but the tide will move sand around and, particularly if you get a storm event, it may uncover something," Sergeant Barnett said.

'Chaotic' residents a sign of recovery

Mr Shearer said the islands formed part of the scientific section of the Capricornia Cays National Park because of significant conservation value, which included being a nesting site for brown booby seabirds and sea turtles.

"It's quite idyllic really," he said.

For most of the year, East Fairfax has been home to a large colony of brown boobys, which nest in their thousands.

"Obviously, with a lot of birds … you can't miss the smell of the place, the noise and the birds in the air. It's quite a chaotic island in that respect," Mr Shearer said.

He said it was difficult to tell how defence activities impacted the islands, as it was also impacted by guano mining in the 1800s for fertiliser production.

There were also populations of feral goats and rats, which the department eradicated in the 1980s and '90s.

"They've had several impacts over the years, but they've bounced back and are still very spectacular and unique islands," Mr Shearer said.

"It just shows if it's left alone what can happen."

Mr Shearer said no unexploded ordnance had been found since 2015, but rangers did check the remote island a few times a year.

"We're visiting to check on the birds and vegetation and clean up marine debris … so we always keep an eye out for UXOs [unexploded ordnances]," he said.