Army Fire Walls (Herbert's Paddock)

Statement of Significance

The fire walls at the site of No. 5 Army Base Ordnance Depot are significant in the pattern of history of Australia, being representative of technical achievement during wartime. The remains of the walls and foundations are a unique reminder of Nungarin's association with the defence of the nation.

Physical Description

Until the dismantling of the Nungarin Depot in 1960-2, it was the largest storage facility for Army Ordnance in Western Australia, built at a total cost of approximately ten million pounds. Some of the storehouses had a floor area of over 42,000 square feet, with the total floor space of the twelve major buildings measuring 376,230 square feet. The storehouse portion of the Depot covered 615 acres (see table Army 5BOD Precinct). It is still possible to see the location of most of the camp from the concrete floors, roads and railway formations. The brick buttressed walls in Herbert's paddock are all that remain of the central fire-walls of five large storehouses. Four of the walls are complete, but the fifth only partly remains. Attempts at demolition were mostly unsuccessful because of the method of construction which entailed the use of cement mortar.

History

Because of fears of a Japanese invasion of Western Australia, it was decided to move three of the Australian Army's ten divisions to this state. As a consequence of this build-up, there was a need for considerable support facilities, including ordnance depots. These needed to be on established road and rail routes, with good water supply and telephone communications, and far enough inland to be out of the range of carrier-borne enemy aircraft. Nungarin was selected as a suitable site for an ordnance and stores depot, and in September 1942, the Army acquired 1720 acres (697 hectares) of land in the town. Construction at the base continued until as late as 1946, and was said to be the largest Army camp in Western Australia. The facility incorporated the Army Vehicle Workshop, as well as a multitude of other workshops, shelters, offices, stores, medical facilities, a powerhouse, and post office, as well as administration blocks and a vehicle park; all built and equipped at a cost of more than ten million pounds. After the war, there was considerable activity as depot stocks were reorganised to meet peace-time requirements, and surplus stores disposed of. Operations were gradually scaled down, with sales of buildings and property from 1949 until the caretaker left in May 1962. In October 1955, an area of approximately 85 acres was sold to the State Government of Western Australia, and some of the buildings, fences and gates were disposed of locally. Avon Locations 27058, 27059, 14233, 22419 were returned to the Herbert family.

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