Maralinga

Maralinga

Maralinga, South Australia in the remote western areas of South Australia was the home of the Maralinga Tjarutja, a southern Pitjantjatjara Indigenous Australian people. Maralinga was the site of the secret British nuclear tests in the 1950s. The site measures about 3,300 km² in area. In January 1985, the Maralinga Tjarutja native title land was handed back to the Maralinga people under the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act, 1984 passed by both houses of the South Australian Parliament in December 1984 and proclaimed in January 1987.

Under an agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia, efforts were made to clean up the site before the Maralinga people resettled on the land in 1995. They named their new community Oak Valley Community. The effectiveness of the cleanup has been disputed on a number of occasions.

The population is generally around 23–50. During special cultural activities with visitors from neighbouring communities, it rises to 1,500 people. Coordinates: 30°12′S 131°35′E / 30.2°S 131.583°E / -30.2; 131.583