There has been b-aus discussion of Iron Range access in the wet
season. My comments are largely historical and not about the birds - in
case you wish to delete now.
In the 1960s when I was involved in some trips up the Peninsula,
conventional wisdom was that if travelling by road vehicle, you should make
sure to be out by the beginning of November - 'cos once the wet season
starts you won't be able to get out until after it's over.
Recent postings to b-aus indicate that is probably still sound advice. The
roads may have been improved since then, but the creeks won't all be bridged
to above flood height.
Greg Little referred to the 'mostly gravel' roads in the Iron Range area.
It might be of passing interest to know that there used to be a sealed
(bitumen) road from Iron Range to Portland Road. How come?
It was a relic of WW 2. The Iron Range airstrip was constructed by the
Americans and I think I'm right in saying that it played a decisive role in
the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 7 & 8, 1942). The Angus & Robertson
Encyclopaedia states that, "Not a shot was fired by opposing ships."
(Japan: 3 Carriers, 7 Cruisers, a destroyer, plus subs. US/Australia: 2
Carriers, 8 Cruisers, 11 destroyers.) The Americans had intercepted
Japanese messages which alerted them to the proposed attack on Port Moresby,
and attacked the invasion fleet from the air.
Iron Range was the major American air-base, and Portland Road was the port
that served it. Hence, the sealed road. In 1960s the bitumen was badly
broken up but still obvious; probably no sign of it at all now.
And in passing, Iron Range was the location of "Operation Blow-down" - in
the mid 1960s. What I was told, is that the Americans wished to know what
would be the effect of an atomic bomb on a rainforest site. (Presumably
relevant to their Vietnam action.) They didn't use an actual atomic bomb,
but tried to simulate one by exploding an appropriate number of tons of TNT
placed on top of a steel tower.
When I saw the site (a couple of years later) there was a clearing of a
couple of hectares with a fringe of dead trees. But I don't think it was
really equivalent to an atomic bomb: the rusty twisted remains of the steel
tower were still there. Surely a nuclear device would have vaporised it?
(I wonder if any of the tower still remains?)
Cheers
Syd
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