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| Cosmos Observatory |
Sue
Peter and I separated this morning; he went on a WWII Tour to a secret base and I looked at the sun through a telescope at
the Cosmos Centre during the Sunviewing Tour. My guide showed us different photos of the sun and explained
how it came to be and lots of interesting facts.
There was only two of us so we took turns looking at the
sun through the telescope hoping to see flecks fly off but not today. We were
given special eclipse glasses so we could look directly at the sun outside.
That was cool.
Peter
... and from all that excitement, we catch up with me. My tour followed a variety of dirt tracks around the airport to discover the second world war history of Charleville, which began in 1942 and carried on until 1946. In 1942, the Australian government gave the the government of the USA a 100 year lease over the Charleville airport and proceeded to have the Australian Civil Construction Group build three runways and more than a hundred buildings for the three and a half thousand American Air Force personnel who were stationed here. The US 43rd Heavy Bombardier Group with their B-17 Flying Fortresses were stationed here, along with the 63rd and 65th Bomb Squadrons. In all, aircraft (heavy and light bombers and fighters) flew out of Charelville. The airport's major contribution was as the staging post for bombers in the battle of the Coral Sea. More than 250 B-17's gathered at Charleville before flying to Charter Towers for fuel and the loading of bombs and then out to the battle.
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| Norden bomb sight |
A key part of the tour was viewing a Norden Bomb Sight, the hyper accurate device designed by Carl Norden and used by bombardiers in B-17's, B-29's and later Australia's Canberra Bombers. The rest was a drive around a variety of sites and having their uses explained. Very few buildings remain as they were either raised to the ground before the Americans left or sold to local residents.
Our guide, James, had many tales to tell about life on the base, included the delousing baths all enlisted men had to have once a week. The "baths" were six foot ditches dug in the earth and lined with asphalt, into which a 50/50 mixture of water and DDT was filled and each man had to completely immerse himself. Goodness knows what the long terms effects were!
There also stories of dances held on the base. As enlisted men were not allowed off the base, local women were bused it. There were no bands or musicians, just anyone among the men who might play an instrument. Several war brides rose from among these dances, including the daughter of Charleville's leading businessman, Harry Corones.
Corones was keen on aviation and was instrumental in making sure Charleville was a stop over in air races, some of which spanned the world. He began catering for fledgling QANTAS flights and was the first to provide in-flight meals to an airline in the world. His hotel still stands in town, after being completed in 1929. Stain glassed windows, high ceilings, a sweeping staircase to the first floor and an elegant dining room are hallmarks of another time. The hotel runs to this day - in all its capacity - and was our delightful spot for lunch and a cold beer. Corones was the first Greek to hold a public licence to serve alcohol in Australia.
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| Click to see today's photos |
We went on a mission to find a new pair of boots for me but to no avail. There were some good choices but none either fitted well or had the right tread. Golders, in Alfred St, couldn't have done more to help me, with the shop assistant even suggesting a store in Longreach which might have what I wanted. Amazing: invested 45 minutes in me, got no sale but gave me a pointer to another town and another store. Not sure I'd get that service at home. A subsequent phone call appears to have secured the boots I need down the road a bit.
Dinner tonight with other travelers at the caravan park and then bilbies in the morning.
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