Funny Square Things in the Outback

[Daifly]

Hi all,

This may seem a bit of a strange question, but to the locals it might be an easy one to answer which will put me out of my misery!

Last October I was a passenger from Brisbane to Alice Springs on Quantas 737.

Whilst flying over the Great Australian **** All I saw, in the absolute middle of knowhere, a couple of these squares on the ground. I am intrigued as to what they are as they are so remote to anywhere (no farms/stations in the vicinty) and yet they stand out because there are no other straight lines out there!

I've uploaded two pics to:

www.daifly.flyer.co.uk/DSCF0005.JPG
and
www.daifly.flyer.co.uk/DSCF0016.JPG

If anyone can give me a clue it would stop 9 months of wondering!

Many thanks, Daifly.

PS - I loved Australia, everything about it was ace :D

[rgmgbg01]

They are turkey nest dams.

[Lord Snot]

It's a dam so the sheep can just walk up and drink.

The kiwis don't like this sort of arrangement because, as you can see, there aren't that many trees to hide behind and then jump out from when Flossy walks up and puts her head down to drink...:ooh:

[The Voice]

They'd both look to be man made dams for the watering of stock in the area. Most likely there is a bore pump/windmill somewhere near by to pump water up from the underground if it doesn't rain sufficiently when it should!

[tinpis]

Id know those bores anywhere here they are on a BORE map of Aus.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/tinpis/boremap.jpg

[bushy]

You WERE flying over a cattle station. That's why the bores were there.

[OpsNormal]

Ahhhh, you've all swallowed the guvmints hyperbole on the subject as they want you to think that. If fact you are only seeing now how much the Liberal leadership is "in" with the Bush Administration.:hmm::=

Nope, they're ICBM Silos (relics from the Cold War).:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Honestly!;) ;) :ok: :ok::E

[disco_air]

thats what i was gonna say OpsN ;)

...disco

[gaunty]

See they got you ALL fooled.

If you look at the map you will see that the fake "ICBM Silos" are almost everywhere except where the REAL ones are.

Have a look around the Woomera area chaps and why do you think it is still a restricted area.:rolleyes:

Just remember kiddies it's "flash..then drop".:uhoh:

[OpsNormal]

See they got you ALL fooled.
If you look at the map you will see that the fake "ICBM Silos" are almost everywhere except where the REAL ones are.
Have a look around the Woomera area chaps and why do you think it is still a restricted area.:rolleyes:
Just remember kiddies it's "flash..then drop".:uhoh:

Just as intriging are the multitude of concrete bunkers on many stations in the SE of the NT and in the North of SA that I've seen. When I asked about them at the time the answer came back..... "Well, y'know them spooks in Woomera.... well they never used to be too good at aiming some of those things they used to test down there y'know....":eek: :eek:

I can remember the "Duck, then cover" ads. I'm not too sure many here would those type of early "infomercials" in this day and age gaunty. ;):}

OpsN;)

[tinpis]

Just as intriging are the multitude of concrete bunkers on many stations in the SE of the NT and in the North of SA that I've seen.

Did they have grow lights in em ? :E

[bushy]

Yes, many stations in the N.T. and S.A. did have shelters built in order to shelter from falling bits of rocket. i remember one time the SAR people got active, because someone reoported aluminium structures found in the desert. When they brought it in it was a large part of a rocket, not an aeroplane. They also had a large bit of one at Giles weather ststion.

Also, the "radio Telephones" that many atations had were a hybrid HF radio/telephone system, developed specially so they could be warned of firings, etc.

[tlf]

Id know those bores anywhere here they are on a BORE map of Aus.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/tinpis/boremap.jpg


Judging by the map it would appear that South Australia is the least bored state in the nation, or should that be boring :)

[Pinky the pilot]

tlf; Don't know if it is relevant to the map posted but I remember that back in the 1980's the SA Govt adopted a policy of permanently stopping off all free flowing bores in the state, with only a few exceptions.

[OpsNormal]

tlf; Don't know if it is relevant to the map posted but I remember that back in the 1980's the SA Govt adopted a policy of permanently stopping off all free flowing bores in the state, with only a few exceptions.

That map for some reason it doesn't seem to show the many bores around the Dalhousie and Mt Dare area and environs that I know are there. There are seemingly too many around the Curtin Springs, Ernabella, Victory Downs and Mt Fraser areas too.

Pinky I think from memory the SA govt was showing great foresight as the flood of water coming up under its own pressure is now just a trickle of its former volume, even so many years after the attempts to stem the flow of water coming up only to flow away. Bear in mind the size of the basin to gauge just how much water has been lost already from it from untapped bores.

Putting meters on bores is a different story I feel. I think that is a step in the wrong direction. :=

OpsN;)

[pakeha-boy]

Lord Snot..... very good mate....obviously you are in-tune with our kiwi techniques and it would take a practicing sheep-shagger to suggest that.....so what Ive done ..Ive ordered me a camo-tree suit.(manuka)....and will make my way to said site and see if I can sneak up on those little beautys.....one missed out on is one never caught up on......probably see you there??: .....youll have a peach-fuzz out-fit on I presume?????..PB

[185skywagon]

They are turkey nest dams.
In Qld, we call them Dams or Earth Tanks.
The area looks like south west of Quilpie or north of Mungerannie.

[Daifly]

Cool - thanks for all the replies, I should really have just asked on here months ago!

As for flying over a cattle station all I can say is "wow" - having been brought up in the rather nice (and original) Wales I'm used to little fields with lots of green stuff for the cows to eat so assumed that the middle of nowhere wouldn't be the place for cattle - I take it all back!

Apologies if by revealing the ICBM locations of Australia I've actually pushed you all to the edge of a nuclear war with New Zealand ;)

Cheers, really helpful!

Dai

[pakeha-boy]

Daifly.....yeah mate!!!! the ossies should consider themselves lucky indeed....:}

[Torres]

The second photo is a ring tank, reasonably common out here. There will be either an artesian bore or a windmill there somewhere.

Tinpis. The ring on your map looks like it is centered on the Roma - Surat area. The Warrego may be in drought - but it's not that dry! If the photos are in Queensland they look to me to be in the south west of the state, possibly the lower Channel country in the Quilpie - Boulia - Birsdville triangle. The riverbed along side the second photo may be the Diamantina or Coopers Creek.

The other photo does not look like a ring tank. Walls are too thick and different colour to the surrounding area.

[Lodown]

The biggest bores in the country are congregated in Canberra.

[Pinky the pilot]

Re the first photo; There are a couple of dams of similar shape and size in the area between Bedourie and Birdsville. :hmm:

[Buster Hyman]

:cool: Now...if you keep it quiet...I'll show you where the Mothership is...:cool:

25 20 46.58 S / 131 02 05.37 E

[disco_air]

The same mothership that did this?

29°32'1.00"S 137°28'9.60"E

:cool:

...disco

[Buster Hyman]

No, that was Dick that did that! He was on a later ship.:E :ouch:

[kimwestt]

Turkey's nest is spot on - left over from exploration oil drilling days, all the discharge from the well hole gets(got) pumped into there and treated.
Usually there are some seismic exploration lines in the area -(verrry long straight tracks)

[Mr.Buzzy]

Speaking of motherships. I think I know where the mothership docks at night! Right near the threshold to Perth runway21.

Jeez that is one amazing looking contraption!

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzz z

[maxter]

Hi all,
This may seem a bit of a strange question, but to the locals it might be an easy one to answer which will put me out of my misery!
Last October I was a passenger from Brisbane to Alice Springs on Quantas 737.:D

They are dams ( they can be called tanks in some areas) on cattle stations. I would be very surprised if they had anything to do with mining. I have built a fair number of these in my various wanderings through life. (just spent a few hours today getting fitted for hearing aids as testament to my time spent in noisy buldozers and noisy a/c)

They could probably both be much the same dimension (walls etc) except that in photo #5 it is a lot closer and nearly dry (testament to the drought there). Photo #16 is in a water course and a lot further away and appears fairly full of water and that makes the walls appear less substantial. They would be both be dug into the ground to catch run-off water and I would think they would be unlikly to be filled from a bore. The dam in #5 has a small pondage area in the front of it by the look of it (right hand side of the photo). This is designed to stop the flow of water rushing into the dam carrying a 'load of silt/dirt' with it and filling up the dam with silt. There will be a pipe under the wall of the dam draining the pondage area into the dam after the flow of water has halted and filled the pondage.

Then again they may just be ICBM silo's as suggested also.:E

[Led Zep]

I've been told that is for radio communications Buzzy...but who knows? My hat is tin-foil lined. :}

[Roger Standby]

I am surprised that archangel7 hasn't discovered this thread yet.

Pakeha-boy, you want to get in early with that camo-tree suit, you wouldn't want to get an ugly one.:ok: