Corunna Downs air base has been abandoned since 1947. Tucked away amid the rocks and Pilbara scrub, the site, known as No.73 Operational Base Unit performed many missions to the north of Australia safely. Long range B24 Liberator Bombers were able to fly fourteen hour operations and are heralded with helping to nullify any potential invasion of Western Australia by the enemy. And camouflaged with netting, the natural heat haze and the trusty spinifex, the base was never discovered...
Conditions at Corunna Downs were primitive and brutal. Temperatures could reach fifty degrees Celsius during summer, along with heavy rain, snakes, flies and a myriad other beasties. Showering to become cool wasn't possible until after nine at night, given the water was from heated artesian wells. The base, populated by Australians and Americans, was vital to the Pacific war effort. One could only imagine how these brave men and women coped in this harsh location with basic supplies and housed in tents with no airconditioning of course. Apparently, morale was high throughout the entire tenure of Corunna's existence.
The journey to Corunna was breathtaking. We travelled through the extraordinary colours of the Pilbara, with dramatic ironstone hills, the occasional startling tree indicating water, fields of spinifex that resembled benign powder puffs from a distance, a brilliant blue sky and the odd and possibly unwelcomed sign of civilisation, such as an almighty communications tower in the middle of nowhere.
And then, we arrived at Corunna. Signage had varied from adequate to hilariously hand written on a drum. First impressions were of its huge size. I had no clue of the dimensions of such an enterprise and I was blown away by the site. At first glance, there isn't much to see, except the remains of the hangers, spaced widely apart within the spinifex. Then we began noticing the presence of the gun pits, which would have been continuously manned to scan the skies for any foreign aircraft. Plus lots and lots of lids from forty-four gallon drums, but few drums. Curious. The runways were immense straight strips, one north-south, a longer east-west and a taxi way. I could almost hear the giant bombers thundering down the tarmac before rising into the sky, departing on more sorties.
Then, tantalisingly, some unexpected relics. A neatly paved spot, perhaps belonging to an officer, that may have held a small garden. Straight lines of thick shrubs, that may have been planted to conceal the "Picture Garden", which played movies at night. An ironstone ridge with flattened areas for water tanks. Fabulous views from the top. Down the other side, the hospital foundations, an abandoned double concrete sink, more gun pits and most importantly, a terrific collection of weird and wonderful bits of metal left at the location of the workshops. Michael was in his element.
We took nothing. We wished to honour this amazing place by leaving the remains for everybody to enjoy. Corunna Downs is full of surprises, but only if you slow your pace to appreciate its treasures. We stopped frequently, strolled through the spinifex and rocks and marvelled at facilities such as the hospital foundations and the metal and concrete reminders of the vitally important workshops.
We left Corunna Downs in the lazily warm mid afternoon. The shadows of the Pilbara hills beckoned us to stop frequently to photograph. We were dazzled by the rich palette of the landscape. I understand the outback is not for everybody. I used to think that the Goldfields was somewhere to drive through en-route to somewhere else. Then Michael took me on our first adventure together. I'd never slept on a camp bed in a swag. I'd never listened to the remote bush noises or closed my eyes under a stunning star show. I learnt how to fossick and fell in love with this slightly offbeat pastime. We learnt that slower and slower travel allowed us to fully appreciate the country. We started stopping for longer in favourite places.
Hence, we welcomed the opportunity to immerse ourselves in Corunna Downs and truly step back in time for a very special afternoon. And we will return.
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