Emu Field is located in the desert of South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, at 28°41′54"S 132°22′17"E (ground zero Totem 1 test). Variously known as Emu Field, Emu Junction or Emu, it was the site of the Operation Totem

Operation Totem

Operation Totem was a pair of British atmospheric nuclear tests which took place on 15th October 1953. The only ones conducted at a temporary site in Australia, Emu Field, they followed the Operation Hurricane test of the first British atomic bomb which had taken place at the Montebello Islands a...

 pair of nuclear tests conducted by the British government in October 1953.

The site was surveyed by Len Beadell

Len Beadell

Leonard Beadell OAM BEM FIEMS was a surveyor, roadbuilder , bushman, artist and author, responsible for opening up the last remaining isolated desert areas of central Australia from 1947 to 1963. Len is sometimes called "the last true Australian explorer"...

 in 1952. A village and airstrip were constructed for the subsequent testing program.

Two atomic tests were conducted at the site. Totem 1 was detonated on 15 October 1953 and Totem 2 was detonated on 27 October 1953. The devices were both sited on towers and yielded 9 kilotons and 7 kilotons respectively. The site was also used in September–October 1953 for some of the Kitten series of tests, which were conventional (rather than nuclear) explosions used to evaluate neutron initiator

Initiator

An initiator can refer to:* A person that takes an initiative in making something happen.* Modulated neutron initiator, a neutron source used in some nuclear weapons...

s.

It was later found that the radioactive

Radioactive contamination

Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...

 cloud from the first detonation did not disperse as expected, and traveled north-east over the Australian continent.

The site at Emu Field was considered too remote for future use, and the search for a more convenient location led to the survey of Maralinga

British nuclear tests at Maralinga

British nuclear tests at Maralinga occurred between 1955 and 1963 at the Maralinga site, part of the Woomera Prohibited Area, in South Australia. A total of seven major nuclear tests were performed, with approximate yields ranging from 1 to 27 kilotons of TNT equivalent...

, where a further series of atomic tests was conducted in 1956.

There are now stone monuments at the ground-zero points, which can be visited by tourists (with the written approval of the RAAF Woomera Test Range who now control access to the area), though the location is still extremely remote (see Anne Beadell Highway

Anne Beadell Highway

The Anne Beadell Highway is an outback unsealed track linking Coober Pedy, South Australia, and Laverton, Western Australia. The track was surveyed and built by Len Beadell, Australian surveyor, who named it after his wife. -Overview:...

). Evidence of the explosions may still be seen at ground-zero in the form of vitrified sand

Vitrified sand

Vitrified sand is sand that has been heated to a high enough temperature as to partly melt the silicon dioxide or quartz that is the main ingredient of common sand. When sand is used to make glass, soda ash or potash are added to lower the melting point. Pure quartz melts at 1650°C...

and concentric blast rings.