"It is a challenge to Australian men to show that the pioneering spirit of their forefathers who developed our country is still the driving force of achievement…The whole project is a striking example of inter-Commonwealth cooperation on the grand scale. England has the bomb and the know how; we have the open spaces, much technical skill and great willingness to help the motherland…Between us we shall help to build the defences of the free world, and make historic advances in harnessing the forces of nature." [RC 597].

Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia during atomic test operations.

There were five major atmospheric nuclear weapons operations in Australia during the 1950s. These occurred through the period of October 1952 - October 1957, and were primarily near surface blasts (NSB) although contact surface blasts (CSB) also occurred. Table 1 outlines the operational details and locations of these tests.
 

Operation and Location	Date and Time (GMT)	Site	Type	Height (m)	Measured Yield (kt)
HURRICANE; Montebello Island, WA	3 Oct. 1952; 00.01	Lagoon of 12 m depth HMS Plymouth.	CSB	-2.7	25
TOTEM; Emu Field, SA	A. 14 Oct 1953, 21.30. B. 26 Oct 1953, 21.30.	T1 T2	NSB, MS Tower; NSB, MS Tower.	31 31	9.1 + 0.4 7.1 + 0.3
MOSAIC; Montebello Island WA	A. 16 May 1956, 03.50; B. 19 June 1956, 02.14	G1: Trimouille Island G2: Alpha island	NSB: Al Tower NSB: Al Tower	31 31	13.5 + 0.2 56 + 0.8
BUFFALO; Maralinga Range SA	A. 27 Sep. 1956, 07.30 B. 4 Oct 1956, 0700 C. 11 Oct 1956, 05.57 D. 21 Oct 1956 14.35	One Tree Marcoo Kite Breakaway	NSB: Al Tower CSB: At ground surface Airburst: freefall. NSB: Al Tower	31 0.2 150 31	12.9 + 0.2 1.4 2.88 10.8 + 0.2
ANTLER; Maralinga Range, SA	A. 14 Sep 1957, 05.05 B. 25 Sep 1957, 00.30 C. 9 Oct 1957, 06.45	Tadje Biak Taranaki	NSB: Al Tower NSB: A1 Tower Airburst: balloon System Borne.	31 31 300	0.93 + 0.12 5.67 + 0.12 26.6 + 0.7

KEY: NSB= near surface blast; CSB = Contact surface blast; MS = mild steel; Al = aluminium alloy; for comparison Hiroshima (August 6, 1945; 08.15 was estimated at approx. 20 kt yield 580 + 15m burst height. A one "kt" kiloton unit is an equivalent to the energy released by one thousand tons of TNT.

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