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Defence Explosive Factory Maribyrnong

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139-551: Defence Explosive Factory Maribyrnong is a heritage-listed military installation and former munitions factory at Cordite Avenue, Maribyrnong , Victoria , Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004. The site comprises the Explosives Factory Maribyrnong (EFM) and the adjacent Materials Research Laboratory (Explosives Ordnance Division) (MRL)(EOD) and

278-650: A bullet or shell to its target, but not so quickly as to routinely destroy the barrel of the gun . Cordite was used initially in the .303 British , Mark I and II, standard rifle cartridge between 1891 and 1915. Shortages of cordite in World War I led to the creation of the "Devil's Porridge" munitions factory ( HM Factory, Gretna ) on the English–Scottish border, which produced around 800 tonnes of cordite per week. The UK also imported some United States–developed smokeless powders for use in rifle cartridges. Cordite

417-456: A completely new roof clad in corrugated iron in place of the original slate. Barracks accommodation was also erected. The use of this section of the EFM site for remount purposes continued until 1945 when a remount unit and an army veterinary hospital were still located there. The outbreak of World War I led to an enormous increase in the demand for cordite and other munitions, while at the same time

556-524: A factory should be part of a Central Arsenal. Suggestions had been made in Victoria in 1896 that a change should be made to a rifle using a cordite based propellant. One consequence of this decision was the need to import both cordite and new rifles. In Victoria new .303 rifles were issued to infantry with ammunition made at the Colonial Ammunition Co. Factory. The new Short Magazine Lee-Enfield .303

695-816: A horseshoe bend of the Maribyrnong River , below the basalt plain, is important as the seminal example in Australia of the design and development of a cordite factory, on which all later factories and production methods in Australia were based, including the Salisbury Explosives Factory in South Australia. The Maribyrnong Explosives Factory (EFM) comprising the functional areas, roads, industrial buildings, administration and storage buildings, service and transport systems, blast mounds, open spaces and magazines

834-530: A large new set of brick stables which are still standing. Charles Brown Fisher sold the western portion of property in about 1892 to the three Cox brothers of horseracing fame, Archibald Robert, William Samuel and Albert Cox. The Cox brothers established a private racecourse, the Maribyrnong Racecourse, and held race meetings there until c. 1900–01. The track continued to be used for training purposes as late perhaps as 1908, while in 1904 it served as

973-404: A massive increase in the demand for explosives and a need for the construction of new factories in Australia to meet the demand. One of the main challenges in expanding the military explosives industry was to provide properly trained technical staff to run the new factories. In the words of David Paver Mellor 's World War II Australian official history volume, The Role of Science and Industry , "It

1112-710: A mothballed World War I Government-owned cordite factory. 35% of British cordite produced between 1942 and 1945 came from Ardeer and these agency factories. ICI ran a similar works at Deer Park (which was also confusingly known as Ardeer after the adjacent suburb) near Melbourne in Australia and in South Africa. Additional sources of propellant were also sought from the British Commonwealth in both World War I and World War II. Canada , South Africa, and Australia had ICI-owned factories that, in particular, supplied large quantities of cordite. Canadian Explosives Limited

1251-451: A new ballistite-like propellant in 1889. It consists of (by weight) 58% nitroglycerin , 37% guncotton (nitrocellulose) and 5% petroleum jelly . Using acetone as a solvent , it was extruded as spaghetti -like rods initially called "cord powder" or "the Committee's modification of Ballistite", but this was swiftly abbreviated to "Cordite". Cordite began as a double-base propellant. In

1390-538: A number of functional areas, separated for safety by open space, which illustrate the production of cordite and chemicals and materials used in the manufacture of explosives and propellants and munitions. The former Maribyrnong Explosives factory complex comprised over 500 buildings at peak production. As a manufacturing facility, EFM Maribyrnong is characterised by a range of predominantly single storey, industrial cellular buildings, which in their architectural expression changed relatively little after 1912, and which reflect

1529-431: A return, too, to its pre-war role of manufacturing non-munitions products for the general market. In this period, the EFM played an important role in employing post war immigrants, many of whom lived in the nearby Midway Migrant Hostel. Very little building activity took place at the site during this time and what buildings were erected are typified by the instrumentation building (No. 999) a plain structure of red bricks with

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1668-418: A ridge of high ground on the south side of the site. The production of cordite required nitroglycerin production, acid and chemical production, gun cotton production, incorporation of gun cotton and cordite with mineral jelly and acetone, pressing and reeling of cordite, drying and storage of cordite and associated areas accommodating laboratory functions and administration. In 1917 the former Fisher stables, on

1807-537: A shallow pitched roof. In 1960 the role of the factory changed as it became involved in the design and manufacture of plastic explosives, rocket propellants, the assembly of rocket motors and the manufacture of igniters and other explosive devices for rockets. By the 1980s, however, it had become clear that the site could no longer be safely used for the production and filling of modern high explosives. The EFM's functions were progressively relocated to other sites and, in May 1994,

1946-519: A smokeless propellant that had some success. It was made out of collodion ( nitrocellulose dissolved in ethanol and ether ), resulting in a plastic colloidal substance which was rolled into very thin sheets, then dried and cut up into small flakes. It was immediately adopted by the French military for their Mle 1886 infantry rifle and called Poudre B (for poudre blanche , or white powder ) to distinguish it from black powder (gunpowder). The rifle and

2085-460: A stud for thoroughbred horses such that Maribyrnong Stud became a celebrated name in Melbourne racing circles. In 1875, two years before his death, Petty sold the property, which was re-purchased by Charles Brown Fisher who continued to operate it as a stud for thoroughbred horses. Fisher also purchased the original Johnston holdings on the western side of the current EFM site. In 1888-89 Fisher erected

2224-504: A very large extent... pioneered, developed and brought into production at Maribyrnong. The range and diversity of manufacture and filling at this factory was unapproached by any other factory in the British Commonwealth , for it made and filled almost every type of ammunition". The expansion of the war effort led to the construction of other armaments and munitions factories based on the processes developed at EFM Maribyrnong, including

2363-449: A way as to make it suitable for both land service and naval propellants and it was the first factory in the world to go into regular production of this form of nitrocellulose. Other pioneering work in manufacturing munitions followed. In 1942, the EFM researched and developed a new method of making cordite while a crash research and development programme at the factory enabled it, by early 1943, to produce so called flashless cordite for use by

2502-560: Is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant . Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance . These produce a subsonic deflagration wave rather than the supersonic detonation wave produced by brisants, or high explosives . The hot gases produced by burning gunpowder or cordite generate sufficient pressure to propel

2641-530: Is classified as an explosive , it is not employed as a high explosive. It is designed to deflagrate , or burn, to produce high pressure gases. Alfred Nobel sued Abel and Dewar over an alleged patent infringement. His patent specified that the nitrocellulose should be "of the well-known soluble kind". After losing the case, it went to the Court of Appeal . This dispute eventually reached the House of Lords , in 1895, but it

2780-470: Is closely associated with the main site alignment, which develops as an urban avenue in conjunction with the associated planting, creating an introduction and focus for the site. The initial focus of the factory, established to produce cordite. Includes buildings and structures associated with nitroglycerine production, acid and chemical production, gun cotton production, incorporation of gun cotton and cordite with mineral jelly and acetone, pressing and reeling

2919-565: Is currently an Australia Post shop at Highpoint Shopping Centre . Maribyrnong is home to the Department of Defence ammunitions factory and storage facility. Although many of the buildings are now disused, the site has now been earmarked for development by the State Government for housing and low density commercial infrastructure. Maribyrnong contains several schools, both Catholic and State Government run. Maribyrnong College (est 1958)

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3058-682: Is evident in the remains of ARP shelters for wardens. Archaeological sites include the Joseph Raleigh's house and the foundations of the Barracks and Stables associated with The Remount. There is limited evidence of planting except in the area of the original Administration building (346), the Mess building, and the area of the Fisher Stables and the remains of Joseph Raleigh's house and driveway . The latter includes Scots Pine , windbreak trees, associated with

3197-489: Is important as the site of the first Commonwealth munitions factory, the Cordite Factory, established by the newly formed Commonwealth Government in 1910. The manufacture of cordite and armaments had been high on the agenda for Federation and were national considerations consequent on Australia's isolation. The Lithgow Small Arms Factory began production of short magazine Lee-Enfield .303 rifles in 1912, in parallel with

3336-458: Is important for its association with the history and development of horse racing in Victoria. This is implicit in the alignment of the main avenue, which reflects the main straight of the former, private Maribyrnong Racecourse, associated with the Cox Brothers 1892–1901, and the area of The Remount, which includes the former Fisher Stables, erected 1888–89 by Charles Brown Fisher, the foundations of

3475-468: Is purported to include the burial site of General Bridges ' horse, Sandy. Afton Street Conservation Reserve This area across the river from the main site was purchased by Moonee Valley City Council in 2003 and remediated as a conservation reserve. This area used to be a part of the DEF site, to which it was connected by a military bridge, which no longer stands. The bridge was used to transport munitions to

3614-466: Is the 128 hectare Maribyrnong Explosives Factory site, bounded by the Maribyrnong River. 3,000 new homes are expected to be built, along with open parkland, shops and the inclusion of many decades old defence buildings in keeping with heritage. Construction was expected to commence in 2012 but has not yet started, the project should take 10 – 15 years to be fully completed. Cordite Cordite

3753-1077: Is the sole high school in the suburb, which recently underwent significant renovations by the State Government. St Margarets Catholic Primary School and nearby Footscray North Primary School both cater for primary school aged children in the area. There are also kindergarten and child care centres within Maribyrnong. The most common ancestries in Maribyrnong were Australian 13.4%, Chinese 13.4%, Australian 12.4%, Vietnamese 10.4% and Italian 7.5%. The most common countries of birth outside Australia were Vietnam 11.1%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 5.0%, India 2.5%, Italy 1.8% and England 1.8%. 45.5% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Vietnamese 13.1%, Cantonese 6.8%, Mandarin 5.1%, Italian 3.8% and Spanish 2.0%. The most common responses for religion in Maribyrnong were Catholic 33.1%, No Religion 22.4%, Buddhism 11.7%, Eastern Orthodox 5.4% and Anglican 4.9%. Many native species exist along

3892-502: The 105 mm L118 Light Gun ) is now manufactured in Germany. Gunpowder , an explosive mixture of sulfur , charcoal and potassium nitrate (also known as saltpeter ), was the original propellant employed in firearms and fireworks . It was used from about the 10th or 11th century onward, but it had disadvantages, including the large amount of smoke it produced. With the 19th-century development of various "nitro explosives", based on

4031-640: The City of Maribyrnong local government area . Maribyrnong recorded a population of 12,573 at the 2021 census . Located in the River Ward of the City of Maribyrnong, Maribyrnong takes its name from the Maribyrnong River which bounds the suburb to the north and east. Its other borders are Williamson Road, Rosamond Road, Mephan Street and Owen Street to the south. Maribyrnong contains Highpoint Shopping Centre , one of Australia's largest shopping centres. Maribyrnong lies on

4170-452: The Department of Supply , under which the EFM then operated, gained approval and funding for an expansion of this part of the complex. A new area for the filling of naval mines and depth charges was consequently built on the flats within the northern loop of the river and even the high ground of Remount Hill, though not overly convenient for handling explosives, was utilised for process buildings and magazines. Apart from mines and depth charges,

4309-471: The Explosive Company of Stowmarket introduced EC Powder , which contained nitro-cotton and nitrates of potassium and barium in a grain gelatinised by ether alcohol. It had coarser grains than other nitrocellulose powders. It proved unsuitable for rifles, but it remained in long use for shotguns and was later used for grenades and fragmentation bombs. In 1884, the French chemist Paul Vieille produced

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4448-551: The Federal Government for the Department of Defence , the land is now seen as a prime opportunity for housing developments. The most notable development recently under construction is the Delfin Lend Lease Edgewater Estate, located near Highpoint on Gordon Street, which takes in city views and is adjacent to the historic Jack's Magazine . The largest development to be announced by the State Government

4587-724: The Martin-Baker Company . Cordite was also used in the detonation system of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima in August 1945. The term "cordite" generally disappeared from official publications between the wars. During World War II, double-base propellants were very widely used, and there was some use of triple-base propellants by artillery. Triple-base propellants were used in post-war ammunition designs and remain in production for UK weapons; most double-base propellants left service as World War II stocks were expended after

4726-608: The Ministry of Supply (MoS). The company of ICI Nobel , at Ardeer, was asked in 1939 to construct and operate six factories in southern Scotland. Four of these six were involved in cordite or firearm-propellant manufacture. The works at MoS Drungans ( Dumfries ) produced guncotton that was converted to cordite at MoS Dalbeattie (triple-base cordite) and at MoS Powfoot (monobase granulated guncotton for small-arms). A smaller site at Girvan, South Ayrshire, now occupied by Grant's distillery, produced cordite and TNT . The ICI Ardeer site also had

4865-569: The Quebec Arsenal . By November 1915 production had been expanded to 350,000 lb (159,000 kg) of cordite per month (approximately 1,900 tonnes per year). The Canadian Explosives Limited cordite factory at Nobel, Ontario , was designed to produce 1,500,000 lb (681 tonne) of cordite per month (approximately 8,170 tonnes per year). HM Factory, Gretna , and the Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath , both closed after

5004-751: The Roman Catholic tradition. St Margaret's, which is the namesake of the Catholic primary school , is part of the Parish of Ascot Vale and shares the same priest which conducts services at St Mary's in Ascot Vale. The Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre was established in 2006. Tracey's Speedway (formerly Kirjon Speedway) on the Maribyrnong Reserve on Horetense Street was utilised as a racetrack for various motor sport events. It opened in 1946 and closed in 1964. There

5143-516: The Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath . Acetone for the cordite industry during late World War I was eventually produced through the efforts of Dr. Chaim Weizmann , considered to be the father of industrial fermentation . While a lecturer at Manchester University Weizmann discovered how to use bacterial fermentation to produce large quantities of many desired substances. He used the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum (the so-called Weizmann organism) to produce acetone. Weizmann transferred

5282-618: The Salisbury Explosives Factory in South Australia completed in 1940. By early 1941 the EFM had developed and commenced production of another initiator besides fulminate of mercury, uncoated lead azide . Later in the same year, the factory succeeded, after a lengthy research programme, in replacing cotton with paper-wood cellulose from Australian-grown pine trees to produce nitrocellulose for propellants. The EFM further succeeded in nitrating this nitrocellulose in such

5421-807: The Scotland - England border at Gretna , and the Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath . A factory was also established by the Indian Government at Nilgris. Both the Gretna and the Holton Heath cordite factories closed at the end of World War I. By the start of World War II, Holton Heath had reopened, and an additional factory for the Royal Navy, The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent , opened at Caerwent in Wales . A very large Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Bishopton,

5560-507: The South Australian pastoralist Hurtle Fisher acquired Raleigh's property and set about turning it into one of Australia's most famous stud farms for racehorses. Fisher sold most of the farm to his brother Charles Brown Fisher in April 1866 and he in turn sold the property to George W. Petty two years later. Petty, who had amassed a fortune as a butcher, ran the property very successfully as

5699-476: The "Explosives Committee", chaired by Sir Frederick Abel , monitored foreign developments in explosives and obtained samples of Poudre B and Ballistite; neither of these smokeless powders was recommended for adoption by the Explosives Committee. Abel, Sir James Dewar and W Kellner, who was also on the committee, developed and jointly patented (Nos 5,614 and 11,664 in the names of Abel and Dewar) in 1889

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5838-409: The 1930-33 period of the EFM's activities. These structures are the fuse filling and assembly house (EFM Building No 73), solder and packing house (No 130), detonator stove building (No 131), high explosives shell filling building (No 150), and conditioning houses (Nos 224 and 225). A number of structures dating from the period of the rearmaments programmes of the 1930s are still standing. These include

5977-445: The 1930s, triple-base was developed by including a substantial proportion of nitroguanidine . Triple-base propellant reduced the disadvantages of double-base propellant – its relatively high temperature and significant flash. Imperial Chemical Industries 's (ICI) World War II double-base AN formulation also had a much lower temperature, but it lacked the flash reduction properties of N and NQ triple-base propellants. Whilst cordite

6116-542: The 1960s, so there was a discontinuity in the propellant geometry numbering system. An important development during World War II was the addition of another explosive, nitroguanidine , to the mixture to form triple-base propellant or Cordite N and NQ . The formulations were slightly different for artillery and naval use. This solved two problems associated with the large naval guns fitted to British Navy's capital ships : gun flash and muzzle erosion. Nitroguanidine produces large amounts of nitrogen when heated, which had

6255-554: The 215, 223, 406, 407, 408, 409, and 468. Weekend night bus 952 runs through Maribyrnong as well. The suburb adjoins the Maribyrnong River Trail which is used by commuting and recreational cyclists along the Maribyrnong River. There are also numerous bike and walking trails which link the suburb to various other suburbs and take in some of the western suburbs greatest natural beauties, such as Pipemakers Park , Afton Street Conservation Reserve and Footscray Park . In 2020,

6394-475: The Australian munitions industry), persuaded local Australian companies to manufacture these substances and taught them how to go about it. Apart from its importance in maintaining and enhancing Australian munitions production, this stimulatory and educative role also proved a significant factor in helping to develop an industrial chemistry industry in Australia. The second major consequence of the war for Maribyrnong

6533-628: The Colonial Ammunition Company's factory at Footscray, an independent national supply of arms and ammunition. The military development of the eastern part of the current EFM site commenced in 1912. At that time the Army's Director of Artillery put forward a proposal that the Federal Government purchase an additional segment of the former Clarke estate and convert in into a remount depot to be used for breaking in and training horses mainly for

6672-534: The Commonwealth Government's announcement in September 1933 of a major rearmament programme for Australia's defence forces. As it turned out this was to be the first of a series of five major rearmament programmes instituted in the period leading up to the outbreak of World War II , all of them aimed at modernising Australia's defences and making the nation more self-sufficient in this area. Significant impetus

6811-510: The Commonwealth's Maribyrnong Cordite Factory in Melbourne , which first produced cordite in 1912. These complementary munitions facilities marked the end of the use of black powder propellants by Australian troops, placed Australia on a par with other modern defence forces, ensured the future self-sufficiency of Australia's Armed Forces and demonstrated Australia's technical skills and military capabilities. The Maribyrnong factory supplied much of

6950-427: The EFM management had foreseen in the mid-1930s, the production of munitions at the factory could not be achieved under the conditions of a future total war without the labour of women. Thus, women were employed in large numbers at the EFM during the war and, at the time the factory reached its production peak in 1942, women formed 52% of the workforce engaged in production and 45% percent of the workforce overall. Despite

7089-544: The EFM was detailed to manufacture solventless cordite for big gun ammunition as used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in its naval guns. Up to this point the RAN had relied completely on Britain for its supplies of solventless cordite. To house the manufacturing process for this substance, new buildings were erected at Maribyrnong and, in late 1935, the first supplies were produced. The successful manufacture of naval cordite

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7228-694: The Engineering Development Establishment (EDE) and Army and Airforce Canteen Services areas. The site is bounded on the west, north and north-east by the Horseshoe Bend of the Maribyrnong River , in the east by the western and southern boundaries of the former CSIRO research station (but including the sites of Fisher Stables and Raleigh House), the Maribyrnong Community Centre and the Migrant Hostel, and Cordite Avenue in

7367-418: The Federal Government into action. Melbourne was selected as the site for a factory to produce cordite for small arms ammunition because it was the headquarters of Australia's defence forces and, being the centre of the nation's emerging chemical industry, could supply the necessary raw materials. For the particular location for the factory the Commonwealth settled on the disused Maribyrnong Racecourse and part of

7506-514: The Fisher family which bought Petty's stud and from 1875 to the mid-1890s ran a successful stud farm for racehorses on Joseph Raleigh's former property, building on the reputation established by George Petty. The site of the cordite factory is associated with the Cox brothers who established a private racecourse, the Maribyrnong Racecourse, in 1892 and which ran until 1901. [REDACTED] This Misplaced Pages article

7645-488: The Maribyrnong City Council implemented a 10-year strategy to motivate locals to ride their bikes more in their daily activities by developing infrastructures and public education. Maribyrnong contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Despite being an inner city suburb, like many western suburbs, there are significant areas of land within Maribyrnong that have not yet been developed. Mostly owned by

7784-405: The Maribyrnong River. Some species thrive in the area. The most noticeable are; Maribyrnong has a number of parks mostly near the Maribyrnong River. These reserves are typically unsuitable for development due to the risk of flooding and have been established as gardens and reserves for locals to enjoy. There is only one place of worship throughout the entire suburb of Maribyrnong – a church in

7923-409: The Maribyrnong complex was then known, that it was in fact the centre of the chemical engineering industry in Australia in this era. Its chemical products were the most complex made by any chemical manufacturer in Australia, its technology was the most modern and the technology was kept up to date by a constant flow of technical information from England. A new phase of development opened at the EFM with

8062-447: The RAN. This was the first time that this type of cordite had been manufactured in Australia. Not surprisingly, a range of new structures were erected at the EFM complex to accommodate both the production of these new munitions and an enormous expansion in the production of existing munitions. A similar building programme occurred in the ammunition filling section of the factory to cope with the vast increase in work in this area. In May 1940

8201-599: The Remount Depot. The separation of functional areas required a safe transport system around the site. Initially this was achieved by hand propelled narrow gauge railway, and later by concrete cleanways (roads). Elements of the rail system remain in place, including rails, turntables, cuttings and embankments, in addition to the cleanways. This transport system was complemented by major service systems including steam lines, which are major landscape features with elevated trestling and expansion loops. Earth mound blast walls within

8340-534: The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Under Leighton's energetic leadership the complex's range of commercial products was further expanded in the period 1930–33, with manufacture commencing of acetone solvents, collodion (gun cotton), paper cartons (target centres), TNT charges, salt cake and nitrobenzene . Such was the range of chemical processes performed by the Explosives and Factory Filling Group, as

8479-512: The Royal Australian Field Artillery. The Federal Government duly purchased a parcel of land of approximately 30 acres in extent adjoining the cordite factory site and erected timber stables, exercising yards and associated structures for a Remount Depot, on the crown of the hill that became known as The Remount. The original Fisher stables (EFM Building 248) were also incorporated into the remount depot and, in 1916, they were given

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8618-491: The Victorian Government which was engaged in underwater blasting at Port Phillip Heads. Such civilian use of an EFM product was another highly significant feature of the factory complex's work in the 1920s and early 1930s. Commonwealth Government policy allowed EFM to manufacture chemical products for sale in the commercial sphere where there was no source of supply from private enterprise within Australia. The only proviso

8757-567: The World War Two period are the concrete magazines (EFM Building No 240), processing house (No 342), inspection office (No 394), rolling mill house (No 400), blocking house (No 401), pressing house (No 402), augmentor control room (No 403), detonator stoving building (No 516), conditioning house (No 519), detonator filling house (No 569), heating building (No 647), ARP Chief Warden's Post (unnumbered) and ARP concrete structures (unnumbered next to No 346). The Maribyrnong Explosives Factory, located in

8896-503: The addition of stabilizers, which was based on German RP C/12 propellant featuring significant amounts of centralite (Called "carbamite" in British parlance) and led to the type commonly used in World War II as the main naval propellant. In Great Britain this was known as Cordite SC (= Solventless Cordite), and it required production facilities separate from classical cordite. Cordite SC

9035-420: The adjacent former CSIRO land. This species is considered vulnerable in Victoria, the grouping constituting one of the southernmost populations in Australia. Some demolition has taken place as part of an ongoing program of decontamination and demolition towards a probable disposal of the site. Demolition has also included the removal of much of the asbestos cement roof cladding. Most of the buildings dating from

9174-469: The background of practical experience which enabled them to turn out products meeting the stringent requirements of service specifications." As the largest and longest established explosives factory in Australia, the EFM, now under the management of Arthur Albert Topp, also played the leading part in the research and development of new munitions and manufacturing processes. Again in Mellor's words, these were "...to

9313-429: The benefit of reducing the muzzle flash, and its lower burning temperature greatly reduced the erosion of the gun barrel. N and NQ were also issued in limited amounts to ammunitions used by the British 25-pdr and 5.5-inch land-based artillery pieces. After World War II production of double-base propellants generally ended. Triple-base propellants, N and NQ, were the only ones used in new ammunition designs, such as

9452-493: The cartridge developed to use this powder were known generically as the 8mm Lebel , after the officer who developed its 8 mm full metal jacket bullet . The following year, 1887, Alfred Nobel invented and patented a smokeless propellant he called Ballistite . It was composed of 10% camphor , 45% nitroglycerine and 45% collodion (nitrocellulose). Over time the camphor tended to evaporate, leaving an unstable explosive. A United Kingdom government committee, known as

9591-869: The cartridges for 105 mm Field and for 155 mm FH70 . In Great Britain, cordite was developed for military use at the Royal Arsenal by Abel, Dewar and Kellner, Woolwich , and produced at the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills from 1889 onwards. At the start of World War I, cordite was in production at Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills and by seven other suppliers (British Explosives Syndicate Ltd, Chilworth Gunpowder Company Ltd, Cotton Powder Company Ltd, Messrs Curtis's and Harvey Ltd, National Explosives Company Ltd, New Explosives Company Ltd and Nobels Explosive Company Ltd). Existing factories were expanded and new ones built, notably by Nobel's at Ardeer, HM Factory, Gretna , which straddled

9730-490: The character of similar buildings at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. Dominant building characteristics, which create a consistent character, include the use of red-bricks, weatherboards , corrugated iron or asbestos cement cladding and roof coverings, large roofscapes, cellular or self contained building designs, dividing walls expressed externally through the roof and a scale generated by the single story nature of

9869-803: The city to West Maribyrnong, running through Ascot Vale, Flemington and North Melbourne . Route 82 tram provides public transport from Moonee Ponds Junction to Footscray (Leeds and Irving Streets). It is one of only two Melbourne tram routes which does not travel through the Melbourne CBD . There are also several bus routes that pass through Maribyrnong, many terminating at Highpoint Shopping Centre. Buses operate to Caroline Springs , Avondale Heights , Keilor East and Essendon . The introduction of Melbourne's first orbital bus line, SmartBus route 903, runs just north of Maribyrnong along Buckley Street in Essendon. Bus Lines running through Maribyrnong include

10008-618: The complex's period of expansion during World War One, 1914–1918. These include propellant stores (EFM Buildings Nos 63–4, pressing room (No 65), incorporating room (No 66), magazine (No 70), fuse filling and assembly house (No 73), storehouse (No 77), assembling house (No 78), toluene refinery (No 84), acetate of lime building (No 85), propellant blending room (No 90), acetone recovery building (No 95), weighing room (No 101), magazine (No 122), filling, assembly and extraction house (No 123), rumbling house (No 126), store (No 127), packing room (No 128) and magazine. Several structures remain to represent

10147-411: The cordite (propellant) used in Australian made armaments during World War I and was the seminal example on which later explosives factories were based, including the Salisbury Explosives Factory in South Australia completed in 1940, and which with Maribyrnong played a key role in World War Two, when munitions production reached its peak. Although the quantity of material produced at the Maribyrnong factory

10286-502: The cordite and drying and storage of cordite. The original nitroglycerine plant was replaced in 1912; the replacement and a backup duplicate plant remain in place. Well separated from the explosives areas, the section was established for the production of initiators(priming caps) for shells and other explosive devices. Includes buildings erected for filling mines and depth charges, in addition to explosive artillery shells. Includes production buildings and storage magazines associated with

10425-449: The development of explosives technology and manufacturing processes and are important for the considerable information they contribute to an understanding of the growth of the armaments industry in Australia under the Commonwealth government. The Maribyrnong site is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of explosives factories developed for the production of cordite and cordite based munitions. These characteristics include

10564-417: The development of the EFM complex in the mid-to late-1930s was the provision of additional staff buildings to accommodate a projected major increase in the size of the factory's workforce when war broke out. As it was anticipated that a large number of women would be employed in this eventuality, specific facilities for women were built from about 1935 onward. As anticipated, the outbreak of World War II led to

10703-470: The establishment of a Federal ammunition factory for the Australian colonies, the Colonial Ammunition Company erected a plant next to Jack's Magazine. Apart from its proximity to the magazine, the factory's location was eminently suitable for a variety of other reasons: the widest range of raw materials in Australia was readily available; a good supply of labour existed nearby; the main customer

10842-606: The explosives factory. These fires burned local Flora , and buildings constructed with Asbestos including their various contents. In both incidents plumes of smoke blanketed the suburbs of Aberfeldie and Maribyrnong , with many fire trucks and firebombing aircraft responding on scene. Many residents in southern Maribyrnong were evacuated by local authorities in fear of the fire spreading to nearby homes. No damage has been recorded for either event, and no public statements have been given by authorities as of March 2022. The production of explosives required an isolated site with

10981-423: The factory all care was taken to reduce friction and prevent the accumulation of electrostatic charges mainly through the establishment of a network of cleanways. These were slightly elevated roads made of concrete and surfaced with wood or asphalt on which ran the factory's special electrically powered rubber tyred transport vehicles. In the laying down of footpaths in the factory complex, a high proportion of gypsum

11120-438: The factory closed. The entire Maribyrnong site is exceedingly complex and the built environment reflects the process of organisational and operational change. Buildings from virtually every era, from 1910 to the present, exist side by side. While some new buildings have been erected and much modification carried out to existing buildings since the peak of production reached during World War Two, there has been an overall reduction in

11259-581: The factory complex, which extended over the period 1909–12, was carried out by a single contractor, Richard Hamilton of Malvern and took place on the site of the former Maribyrnong Racecourse, on the western part of the current EFM site. The completion of the Maribyrnong Cordite Factory in 1912 mirrored the completion of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory in 1912, designed to produce Lee-Enfield .303 rifles, and ensured, in conjunction with

11398-512: The factory slackened off further from late 1943 by which time the tide of war had turned decisively against the Japanese and it seemed likely that they would eventually be defeated. In the post war years, the EFM complex continued to make explosives at Maribyrnong for Australia's armed forces, though on a much reduced scale. The factory was also engaged in this period in rendering safe its huge stockpile of unused wartime ammunition. It made something of

11537-422: The first decade of the twentieth century as the site of the Commonwealth's factory for the manufacture of cordite . Introduced in 1895 as a replacement for gunpowder , cordite was a smokeless, more powerful and more reliable propellant for firing missiles from guns. As early as 1895, the Victorian Government investigated the possibility of building a cordite factory and, the next year, an intercolonial conference of

11676-590: The former Raleigh homestead and a burial site for racehorses. The use of the Fisher Stables as focus of a Remount Depot before the First World War, and the erection of barracks accommodation for the Royal Australian Field Artillery, increased the Army's association with the Maribyrnong River. The Maribyrnong Factory expanded throughout its existence into a densely developed cultural landscape area containing over 500 structures. These structures, including magazines, processing plants and support systems, illustrate much of

11815-426: The high ground, were occupied by the Remount Depot, with the cordite factory approached from the south by an avenue located on the alignment of the former Maribyrnong racecourse straight, which acted as the main site alignment and planning generator. The hill (The Remount) also provided water storage for the cordite production process. The planning evident in 1917 continues to underpin a cultural landscape which comprises

11954-671: The indoor facilities. Today the ground acts as a soccer pitch during winter months, and is also utilised by St Margaret's Primary School for Australian rules football matches. No trains run through the suburb. The nearest train stations are Ascot Vale on the Craigieburn line , Footscray on the Sunbury , Werribee and Williamstown lines and West Footscray on the Sunbury line. Yarra Trams 's route 57 provides public transport from Flinders Street station ( Elizabeth and Flinders Streets) in

12093-740: The initial period of development are still standing. They include the original 1910 office and laboratories (EFM Buildings Nos 1 and 2) and a range of other important structures that reflect the various aspects of the manufacturing process and the working culture of the factory. Among these other structures are the boilerhouse, (EFM Building No 8) air compressor house (No 9), strand burner house (No 18), propellant magazine (No 19), store (No 20), press house (No 21), incorporating house (No 22), paste magazine (No 23), plastic propellant magazine (No 24), nitrating house (No 54), wash water settling house (No 55) wash house (No 56), stores (Nos 59–62), and charge acid house (No 294). A number of important buildings remain from

12232-440: The key role played by women in this vital war industry, the factory reverted to an all male workforce at the end of the war. Safety measures instituted at Maribyrnong extended to the built environment. Many of the production, storage and filling buildings are still surrounded by earthen or concrete blast walls which were constructed as a means of containing any accidental explosions that might occur. For transporting materials around

12371-403: The majority of buildings. Pitched roofs predominate. Flat roofs are uncommon within the complex. Dividing walls, as an expression of the cellular nature of the single storey planning, are an important feature of many buildings. Explosives storage and magazines are characterised by their earth blast mounds, generally on three sides. The provision of safety for personnel during World War Two air raids

12510-443: The military commandants of the Australian colonies agreed on the importance of such a factory to the capacity of Australia as a whole to defend itself. From 1901 the new Federal Government struggled with the issues of a munitions supply. For the first few years Australia's sole supplier was the first and only manufacturer, the Colonial Ammunition Company, at Footscray. In 1902 Major General Sir Edward Thomas Hutton recommended that such

12649-623: The military. Prior to World War I , most of the cordite used by the British Government was produced in its own factories. Immediately prior to World War I, between 6,000 and 8,000 tons per year of cordite were produced in the United Kingdom by private manufacturers; between 1,000 and 1,500 tons per year were made by Nobel's Explosives , at Ardeer. However, private industry had the capability to produce about 10,000 tons per year, with Ardeer able to produce some 3,000 tons of this total. At

12788-524: The nation's ability to produce all of its own explosives should be overcome. Against the opposition of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in England, the EFM complex began research into the manufacture of nitrogenous products and established a pilot plant for producing nitric acid by the oxidation of ammonia. This initiative eventually forced ICI in 1939–40 to set up a factory at Deer Park in Victoria to make ammonia and nitric acid. A further noteworthy feature of

12927-415: The neighbouring stud farm because of their proximity to both the existing ammunition factory at Footscray and to a plentiful supply of labour. In 1908 the Commonwealth resumed the land and commenced construction of the factory complex in 1909. The factory was designed by its newly appointed manager, Arthur Edgar Leighton, who was to become one of the leaders of the Australian munitions industry. Construction of

13066-457: The number of buildings since that time. Some demolitions have occurred as a result of changes in production requirements, but most have been part of an on-going programme of decontamination and demolition leading towards redevelopment of the site. Since 2022, the Department of Defence is intending to sell the site, with the developer to remediate the site before any development on the site begins. On 28 February 2018, wildfires broke out inside

13205-489: The other parts of the British Empire put together. The programme of works naturally extended to the explosives factory complex at Maribyrnong. In the 1920s, capital works were undertaken at the factory to make it capable of producing the many components of modern high explosive artillery shells, including their fuses and trinitrotoluene (TNT) filling. The factory soon began to produce TNT, with its first major customer being

13344-489: The possibility of separating the various stages of production and storage from each other for safety. The extensive flood plain of the Maribyrnong River offered the possibility of separating industrial functions in the production of cordite. The topography of the site in a loop of the Maribyrnong River was dominated at its southern end by buildings associated with the former Fisher stables and the Raleigh Estate, which occupied

13483-449: The production of munitions, maintaining scientific and technical staff and preparing a scheme for the organisation of the whole industry of the nation in time of war. With all government munitions production now placed under the control of the MSB, the Commonwealth devoted some 3,000,000 pounds to capital works at its munitions factories and laboratories in the early 1920s, an amount larger than all

13622-512: The production of naval cordite. These areas also include a range of administration and workshop buildings associated with the main entrance to the site from Cordite Avenue. The Fisher Stables, listed as indicative in the RNE at 2/12/51/2, are associated with the remains of Joseph Raleigh's house and a reported burial site for racehorses on The Remount in the northern part of the MRL(EOD) and EDE areas. This area

13761-619: The property were probably continued after Clarke's death in 1897 by his son and heir, Sir Rupert Clarke , who was a leading racehorse owner and breeder in his own right and a member of his father's horse artillery battery. In 1878, the Victorian Colonial Government had built a large gunpowder magazine known as the Saltwater River Powder Magazine or simply Jack's Magazine on a site to the south in Footscray near

13900-518: The reaction of nitric acid mixtures on materials such as cellulose and glycerin , a search began for a replacement for gunpowder. The first smokeless powder was developed in 1865 by Johann Edward Schultze . At the time of this breakthrough, Schultze was a captain of Prussian artillery. Schultze eventually rose to the rank of colonel. His formulation (dubbed Schultze Powder ) was composed of nitrolignose derived from nitrated wood grains, impregnated with saltpetre or barium nitrate . In 1882,

14039-617: The rights to the manufacture of acetone to the Commercial Solvents Corporation in exchange for royalties. After the Shell Crisis of 1915 during World War I, he was director of the British Admiralty Laboratories from 1916 until 1919. Cordite RDB was later found to become unstable if stored too long. Research on solvent-free Cordite RDB technologically extremely similar to ballistite continued primarily on

14178-576: The river. Though by no means intended at the time, the building of this Magazine laid the foundation for the Footscray/Maribyrnong area to develop as the centre of Australia's armaments industry. A significant impetus towards this development occurred in 1889 when, following a proposal put forward by Victoria at the first meeting of the Federal Council of Australasia in Hobart three years earlier for

14317-515: The same muzzle velocity, due to the inherently less powerful nature of Cordite MD. During World War I, acetone was in short supply in Great Britain, and a new experimental form was developed for use by the Royal Navy . This was Cordite RDB (= R esearch D epartment formula B ); which was 52% collodion , 42% nitroglycerin and 6% petroleum jelly . It was produced at HM Factory, Gretna ; and

14456-679: The separation of functions, including the use of containing blast mounds and the use of single storey, cellular industrial buildings, linked by service and transport systems designed to maximise safety. The site of the Raleigh homestead is important for its association with George Petty who, in 1868, purchased the property from Charles Brown Fisher, and ran the property successfully as a thoroughbred horse stud. The Maribyrnong Stud became an important name in Melbourne racing circles. The Fisher Stables, erected 1888–89, are important for their close association with

14595-450: The site are functional landscape elements intrinsic to explosives establishments of this type, and which reinforce interpretation of the nature of the industrial processes. The site includes the following areas: Includes the first buildings, buildings 1 & 2, the Offices and Laboratories, notably different in their design to the production buildings, and Building 346, the mess. This section

14734-429: The site for their storage, testing and disposal. Caves in the northern part of the reserve that had been filled in with earth were observed by researchers in 2005. Anecdotally, these caves were used for munitions testing. White Cypress-pine trees ( Callitris glaucophylla) occur on the upper areas of the site as evidence of pre-European vegetation. These are estimated to be 130–220 years old with similar trees occurring on

14873-461: The site, including concrete bunker style shelters and shelters for individuals. The latter consist of a concrete pipe sunk vertically into the ground and covered with a concrete slab. Zigzag slit trenches were also dug for members of the workforce to take shelter in, but these have long since been filled in. From its production peak in 1942, the output of the EFM gradually declined as other munitions factories in Australia commenced production. Activity at

15012-427: The south. The land on which the Explosives Factory Maribyrnong stands was put up for sale at an auction of Crown land in 1843. The allotments on the eastern part of the site were bought by Joseph Raleigh, while those on the western side were purchased by James Johnston. Raleigh used his property for agricultural and pastoral purposes and erected a house and stables on the top of what is now known as Remount Hill. In 1862

15151-589: The start of World War I, private industry in the UK was asked to produce 16,000 tons of cordite, and all the companies started to expand. HM Factory, Gretna , the largest propellant factory in the United Kingdom, which opened in 1916, was by 1917 producing 800 tons (812 tonne ) of Cordite RDB per week (approximately 41,600 tons per year). The Royal Navy had its own factory at Holton Heath . In 1910, Canadian Explosives Limited produced 3,000 lb (1,362 kg) of rifle cordite per month at its Beloeil factory, for

15290-475: The store (EFM Building No 11), ' rest room (No 15), high explosive shell filling room (No 151), change rooms (No 295), mess hall (No 346), labyrinth (No 365), casualty room (No 389) and, from the propellant (or cordite) section of the EFM complex, the weighing room (No 323), rolling mill (No 324), slitting and cutting building (No 325), blocking press house (No 326), augmentor control room (No 327) and press house (No 328). Important EFM structures remaining from

15429-520: The substance purely for small arms ammunition into making it for artillery shells as well. A further important development occurred in 1918 when Maribyrnong began to manufacture its own acetone from acetate of lime obtained from molasses produced at a purpose-built Commonwealth factory in Queensland. Acetone was a vital ingredient in the manufacture of cordite and one for which Australia had previously been totally reliant on imports for its supplies. In

15568-403: The supply of chemicals such as glycerine , cellulose and methanol , that Australia imported in order to produce its munitions, dried up. The consequences for Maribyrnong were twofold. Unable by itself to manufacture the basic chemicals that it had formerly imported, Leighton and his Assistant Manager at Maribyrnong, (the chemical engineer Noel Brodribb, who was also to become a leading figure in

15707-545: The traditional land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation . Aboriginal people have lived in the Maribyrnong River valley for at least 40,000 years, and the name Maribyrnong derives from the phrase 'Mirring-gnay-bir-nong', meaning 'I can hear a ringtail possum'. A Maribyrnong Post Office opened on 19 March 1881 and closed in 1887. It reopened in 1912 and closed again in 1975. There

15846-474: The venue for Victoria's first motor sports meeting. In the mid-1890s Charles Brown Fisher sold his stud farm on the eastern side of the current EFM site to Sir William John Clarke , the largest landowner in Victoria and a breeder of thoroughbred horses. It is highly likely that Clarke continued to use the property as a stud farm for racehorses and he may also have used it to breed and train horses for his horse artillery battery. The breeding and training of horses on

15985-480: The war years, in particular World War I, when there was an influx of workers into the area to staff the munitions factories. The factory also serves as a reminder of the change in the nature of the workforce during this period when women represented approximately half of the Maribyrnong workforce and then the return to an all male workforce after the war. The site of the Maribyrnong Explosives Factory

16124-589: The war. For small arms it has been replaced by other propellants, such as the Improved Military Rifle (IMR) line of extruded powder or the WC844 ball propellant currently in use in the 5.56×45mm NATO . Production ceased in the United Kingdom around the end of the 20th century, with the closure of the last of the World War II cordite factories, ROF Bishopton . Triple-base propellant for UK service (for example,

16263-525: The work of filling numerous other types of ammunition with explosives was carried out at Maribyrnong during the war. The peak of munitions production at Maribyrnong occurred in 1942 when the complex employed over 8,000 workers. One of the most notable features of the World War II workforce was the high proportion of female employees it contained. Prior to the outbreak of the war the factory had always been staffed wholly and solely by men and this situation had even been maintained throughout World War One. However, as

16402-600: The years immediately following the end of World War I, production at Maribyrnong declined to a low level. The war years however had demonstrated to the Australian Government the need for self-reliance and readiness in the area of munitions production. This prompted the Government, in August 1921, to set up the Munitions Supply Board (MSB) charged with the responsibilities of erecting laboratories and factories for

16541-470: Was a motorcycle speedway track located at Tracey's Speedway and it hosted significant events, including the Australian Solo Championship in 1947 and 1950. Still located at the ground are two free standing grandstands which have been refurbished at various times. In most cases the stands are rarely used for spectator events, and instead act as changing rooms for local sports clubs which use

16680-501: Was a considerable technical accomplishment for the EFM complex. One of the other notable achievements of the EFM in this period was its part in initiating the production of synthetic ammonia in Australia. Ammonia was essential for the production of nitric acid which was a vital ingredient in the manufacture of explosives and one for which Australia was totally reliant on imports. By the mid-1930s, Leighton, Brodribb and their colleagues at Maribyrnong were determined that this glaring gap in

16819-425: Was a vast expansion in the range and quantity of munitions it produced. In 1915 the factory complex began to manufacture initiating explosives such as were used in small quantities in percussion caps to initiate the firing of cartridge ammunition. The first such explosive produced at Maribyrnong was fulminate of mercury . Two years later, in 1917, the complex expanded its production of cordite, moving from manufacturing

16958-454: Was adopted in 1903 by the British Government. While the new Federal Government aimed at achieving a greater degree of self-sufficiency for the nation in the area of defence including munitions production, no progress towards the establishment of a cordite factory occurred until 1906 when investigations into cordite explosions in arsenals around the world revealed that the substance deteriorated with age and variable temperature. This finding stirred

17097-442: Was also used for large weapons, such as tank guns , artillery , and naval guns. It has been used mainly for this purpose since the late 19th century by the UK and British Commonwealth countries. Its use was further developed before World War II , and as 2-and-3-inch-diameter (51 and 76 mm) Unrotated Projectiles for launching anti-aircraft weapons . Small cordite rocket charges were also developed for ejector seats made by

17236-503: Was close at hand in the shape of the Victorian Defence Force, the largest such force in colonial Australia; and, while port facilities for shipping the factory's products to the other colonies were within easy reach, the factory was at the same time sufficiently far inland to render it safe from naval bombardment. The particular development of the current EFM property as a centre of munitions production derives from its selection in

17375-421: Was finally lost because the words "of the well-known soluble kind" in his patent were taken to mean the soluble collodion, and hence specifically excluded the insoluble guncotton. The ambiguous phrase was "soluble nitro-cellulose": soluble nitro-cellulose was known as Collodion and was soluble in alcohol . It was employed mainly for medical and photographic use. In contrast, insoluble in alcohol, nitrocellulose

17514-421: Was finished on 24 August 1918. It was designed to produce 1,500,000 lb (681,000 kg) of cordite per month. Factories, specifically "heavy industry" (Long, and Marland 2009) were important for the provision of munitions. Cordite factories typically employed women (Cook 2006) who put their lives at risk as they packed the shells. Large quantities of cordite were manufactured in both World Wars for use by

17653-759: Was formed in 1910 to produce rifle cordite, at its Beloeil factory, for the Quebec Arsenal . By November 1915 production had been expanded to produce 350,000 lb (159,000 kg) of cordite per month for the Imperial Munitions Board . The Imperial Munitions Board set up a number of additional explosives factories in Canada . It built The British Cordite Ltd factory at Nobel, Ontario , in 1916/1917, to produce cordite. Production started in mid-1917. Canadian Explosives Limited built an additional cordite factory at Nobel, Ontario. Work started in February 1918 and

17792-462: Was given to these programmes from the latter half of 1935 following an assessment by senior defence officials that war was likely to break out in Europe and East Asia by the end of 1939. The impetus was reflected at Maribyrnong in a doubling of production output at the EFM complex each year from 1936–37 to the 1939–40. As it was, the 1933 announcement had an immediate impact on the Maribyrnong complex when

17931-426: Was here that the Maribyrnong Explosives Factory played a role for which it had long been planned. It possessed the only body of officers trained in the manufacture of military explosives and experienced in the techniques of filling ammunition. For the first half of the war it was the school to which staff recruited for the new factories were sent for training. Maribyrnong provided the managers for these factories and also

18070-639: Was known as gun cotton and was used as an explosive. Nobel's patent refers to the production of Celluloid using camphor and soluble nitrocellulose; and this was taken to imply that Nobel was specifically distinguishing between the use of soluble and insoluble nitrocellulose. For a forensic analysis of the case, see The History of Explosives Vol II; The Case for Cordite, John Williams (2014). However, in her comprehensive 2019 biography of Alfred Nobel Ingrid Carlberg notes how closely Abel and Dewar were allowed to follow Nobel's work in Paris, and how disappointed Nobel

18209-422: Was much smaller than that produced at such emergency mass production factories as Albion , it included a much wider range of products. Maribyrnong also served as the parent factory for other armament factories during World War Two and was responsible for experimentation, specifications and standards of manufacture. The level of technological exploration and the standard of Australian developed manufacturing equipment

18348-412: Was often added to the concrete in order to minimise the risk of sparks. A number of other structures still surviving on the site owe their existence to a safety issue of a somewhat different kind. As one of Australia's most important centres of munitions productions, the EFM complex was considered a prime target for possible enemy air attacks. A range of Air Raid Protection (ARP) shelters were constructed on

18487-612: Was opened in Scotland to manufacture cordite for the British Army and the Royal Air Force. A new cordite factory at Waltham Abbey and two additional ROF's— ROF Ranskill and ROF Wrexham —were also opened. Cordite produced in these factories was sent to filling factories for filling into ammunition. The British Government set up additional cordite factories, not under Royal Ordnance Factory control but as Agency Factories run on behalf of

18626-596: Was originally based on Defence Explosive Factory Maribyrnong , entry number 105325 in the Australian Heritage Database published by the Commonwealth of Australia 2019 under CC-BY 4.0 licence , accessed on 9 March 2019. Maribyrnong, Victoria Maribyrnong ( / m ær ə b ə n ɒ ŋ / ) is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia , 8 km (5.0 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District , located within

18765-768: Was produced in different shapes and sizes, so the particular geometry of Cordite SC was indicated by the use of letters or numbers, or both, after the SC. For example, SC followed by a number was rod-shaped cord, with the number representing the diameter in thousandths of an inch. "SC T" followed by two sets of numbers indicated tubular propellant, with the numbers representing the two diameters in thousandths. Two-inch (approximately 50 mm) and three-inch (approximately 75 mm) diameter, rocket Cordite SC charges were developed in great secrecy before World War II for anti-aircraft purposes—the so-called Z batteries , using ' Unrotated Projectiles '. Great Britain changed to metric units in

18904-408: Was so high that Australia began exporting to countries such as Britain which had previously supplied much of the necessary equipment and training. The technical standards achieved during the 1920s and 1930s, and which underpinned its later technological role, gave the factory leadership in the chemical engineering industry in Australia during the interwar period. The factory is an important reminder of

19043-508: Was soon superseded, as it caused excessive gun barrel erosion. It has since become known as Cordite Mk I . The composition of cordite was changed to 65% guncotton, 30% nitroglycerin (keeping 5% petroleum jelly), and 0.8% acetone shortly after the end of the Second Boer War . This was known as Cordite MD (modified). Cordite MD cartridges typically weighed approximately 15% more than the cordite Mk I cartridges they replaced, to achieve

19182-721: Was that EFM had to withdraw from the market in any particular chemical product when private enterprise commenced manufacturing it. One major effect of this policy was that, as in the war years, the Maribyrnong complex played the leading role in stimulating the Australian chemical engineering industry in the interwar period. Among the products that the EFM manufactured for sale in the 1920s were various acids, twenty-nine varieties of lead free paints and enamels, lacquers, varnishes, cements, lutes, glycerine mixtures, soap mixtures, pitch composition and drawing paste. The factory complex also produced pigmented acetate, nitrocellulose, dopes and identification colours for commercial aircraft companies and for

19321-502: Was with how this trust was betrayed. The book argues for Nobel as the original inventor and that the case was lost because of an unimportant technicality. It was quickly discovered that the rate of burning could be varied by altering the surface area of the cordite. Narrow rods were used in small-arms and were relatively fast burning, while thicker rods would burn more slowly and were used for longer barrels, such as those used in artillery and naval guns. The original Abel-Dewar formulation

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