Banjawarn Station - The Cult

The Cult

Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese doomsday cult responsible for a range of criminal and terrorist acts.

In April 1993 they purchased Banjawarn and built a facility there. "The Chairwoman for the aboriginal community living near the sheep station, Phyllis Thomas, said that she and other Aborigines saw about five people wearing full-length suits and helmets on the remote site in late August 1993. The suited sect members were standing by a twin engine airplane and others were in the plane."

In September 1993 a team of Aum scientists arrived in Australia with mislabeled hydrochloric acid among other chemicals.

The Aum group traveled with chemicals and mining equipment on which they paid over $20,000 in excess baggage fees. According to the Australian Federal Police report, among the baggage was a mechanical ditch digger, picks, petrol generators, gas masks, respirators, and shovels. A Customs duty of over $15,000 was paid to import these items. Because of the large amount of excess baggage being brought in by the group, Australian Customs searched the entire group. This search revealed four liters of concentrated hydrochloric acid, including some in containers marked as hand soap. Among the other chemicals that Australian customs officials found were ammonium chloride, sodium sulphate, perchloric acid, and ammonium water. All of the chemicals and some of the laboratory equipment were seized by Australian authorities.

New chemicals were purchased in Australia, and a research facility of unknown purpose was established at the site. When raided by the Australian government in 1995, it contained computers and laboratory equipment.

The Australian government, finding that the wells in the region were not operating properly, demanded that a manager be hired to take care of the sheep. The Aum group complied. In early 1994 the research equipment was removed and replaced with sheep farms. The Aum group demanded that they would be the only ones to shear the sheep. 2000 sheep were shorn and sold to a slaughterhouse. "The manager did not witness any experiments or mineral exploration."

The site was sold in October 1994. On 20 March 1995, the Aum group released toxic sarin gas into part of the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 people and injuring over 1000. In the subsequent investigation, it was revealed that they had purchased the Banjawarn Station, and so the AFP examined the site.

The site also contained the corpses of a number of sheep that showed signs of exposure to sarin. The soil in the area contained traces of methylphosphonic acid, a residue of sarin use. The conclusion was that Banjawarn had been used as a test site for chemical weapons use.