Australia and Weapons of Mass Destruction - Chemical Weapons

Chemical Weapons

Australia conducted extensive research into chemical weapons during World War II. Although Australia has never produced chemical weapons, it did stockpile chemical weapons sourced from the USA and Britain. Chemical weapons known to have been stockpiled included mustard gas, phosgene, lewisite, adamsite and CN gas.

Some of the stockpiled weapons in the form of mortar and artillery shells, aerial bombs and bulk agents were sent to New Guinea for potential use against Japanese tunnel complexes. No actual use of the weapons was recorded although there were many trials using 'live' chemical weapons (such as shown in the picture to the right).

After World War II, the chemical weapons were disposed of by burning, venting (for phosgene) or by dumping at sea. Some 21,030 tons of chemical weapons were dumped in the seas off Australia near Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. This has been covered in a Defence report by Geoff Plunkett. A complete history of Australia's involvement with chemical weapons - titled Chemical Warfare in Australia - has been published in book form by the Army History Unit (Defence Department) in 2008. Again it is authored by Geoff Plunkett .

A stockpile of 1,000 pound phosgene bombs was discovered at Embi Airfield in 1970 and disposed of by Australian Army personnel, and, up to 1990, drums of mustard gas were still being discovered in the bush where they had been tested. Another stockpile of chemical weapons was discovered at Maxwelton, Queensland in 1989. Australia signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in January 1993 and ratified it with the Chemical Weapons (Prohibition) Act in 1994.