Interview with Elizabeth Tynan, The 70th Anniversary Of Britain's Atomic Tests At Emu Field

Uncommon Sense – Triple R FM

To mark the 70th anniversary of Britain's atomic weapons tests at Emu Field in South Australia – the first on terrestrial land in Australia – author and academic Dr Elizabeth Tynan speaks about her book, The Secret of Emu Field: Britain’s forgotten atomic tests in Australia. It was at Emu Field, SA on October 15, 1953 that a terrifying black mist spread across the land after an atomic bomb detonation (Totem 1), bringing death and sickness to Aboriginal people and other people in its path. Secrecy around the testing activities and its effects still exists today. Totem 2 was detonated on October 27, 1953. Elizabeth is an Associate Professor at James Cook University. Her previous book, Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga Story, won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Australian History and the CHASS Australia Book Prize in 2017. Read about ICAN's Black Mist campaign here: https://icanw.org.au/media-release-black-mist-and-ban/ Read Nic Maclellan's long-form article on the Emu Field tests: https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/black-mist-across-the-desert/ Broadcast on 17 October 2023. First aired on 17 May 2022.