Majura Training Area
The Majura Training Area is a facility belonging to the Australian Department of Defence located to the east of Mount Majura in the Majura district in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The MTA is operated by the Australian Army for the conduct of field exercises and weapon qualification shoots. The MTA is located near to the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy and is frequently used by these training establishments. Accommodation and support on the range is through 'Camp Blake', which consists of headquarters buildings, Q-Store, Mess, Staff accommodation and amenities and trainee accommodation and amenities.
The MTA contains a number of shooting ranges including the 600m Marksmanship Training Range, 25m Pistol range, Grenade
History
The decision to locate the Royal Military College Duntroon in the Australian Capital Territory, the then Federal Capital Territory, required the acquisition of land for the college and for field training areas. Initially the Duntroon Estate of Robert Campbell (Australian politician, born 1796) was leased by Defence on 7 November 1910. This only included the buildings and the approximately 350 acres of land in the vicinity. The college was then opened on 25 Jun 1911. The whole of the Duntroon Estate was acquired by the Government in a larger acquisition of freehold (Freehold (law) land so that it could be converted to leasehold owned by the Commonwealth. In the Majura Valley, the Duntroon Estate was the largest land holding, but only included the south-western portion of the valley and only included a small area of the most southern parts of the current Majura Training Area. The remaining Freehold land in the Majura Valley was acquired by the Government in stages, being completed by approximately 1917. The majority of the land acquired by the Government was excess to Commonwealth requirements and was leased back to the community for farming purposes.Royal Military College, Duntroon Manoeuvre Area and Pialligo rifle range (Mount Ainslie)
The lack of field training areas including a rifle range was noted in an initial report on the college. This was remedied with the construction of a classification rifle range on the southern slopes on Mount Ainslie to the west of and in approximate alignment withe the existing Mount Ainslie Drive. This range was opened on 14 Aug 1914 and was commonly referred to as the "Pialligo Range". A declaration was then made on 18 August 1915 to create the Royal Military College, Duntroon Manoeuvre Area/College Reserve of approximately 1600 acres encompassing the rifle range and an area from:- at approximately the modern intersection if Fairbairn Avenue and Mount Ainslie Drive, a line following northerly along the natural ridge to the summit of Mount Ainslie then
- north-easterly for one mile then
- south-easterly to the Woolshed Creek for one mile and then
- easterly to the Majura Road then southerly along that reload until it meets the Yass-Queanbeyan Road then
- along the Yass-Queanbeyan Road to the point of commencement. This area had been fenced by a rabbit proof fence for public safety.
Other manoeuvre areas in the ACT
Other permanent and temporary declarations were made for the Military to give them authority to enter upon and use land for training, manoeuvres or other military purposes were declared with the Australian Capital Territory which was at that time mostly rural farm, natural grasslands and woodland. This included:- A temporary authority issued on 20 January 1914 for access between 2 February and 7 March 1914 for the Royal Military College to conduct its annual camp at Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory at Yarralumla House which is now Government House, Canberra. The camp would also include an artillery practice from the southern slopes of Green Hill to its intersection with the Urayarra-Queanbeyan road, thence on the south by that road to the Murrumbidgee River; on the west by that river to the point of commencement"
- * This would allow the Royal Military College, Duntroon a further artillery practice 29–30 November 1920 at Green Hill, this time at targets between Coppins Crossing and Deep Creek one mile North of the Molonglo River.
Majura Valley declared part of the permanent manoeuvre area
It was not until 1920 that a permanent order was issued that pushed the eastern boundary of military access to Sutton Road to encompassed the current Majura Training Area. A further permanent order was declared on 17 November 1921 that also included the parish of Goorooyarroo located to the north of the Australian Capital Territory border possibly to accommodate an RMC artillery practice near Sutton, New South Wales. The Royal Military College Duntroon however would remain using the Mount Ainslie Manoeuvre area and there is no evidence they used land in the vicinity of the Majura Training Area.Artillery practice at the Woolshed paddocks
Live artillery practice would commence in the Mount Ainslie manoeuvre area on 23 November 1922. The artillery range was situated in the Woolshed paddocks, from the rise near the Duntroon Woolshed, firing at targets placed due north to a distance of 2750 metres. The use of the whole Manoeuvre would continue until the Royal Military College Duntroon relocated to Sydney in 1931 during the depression.The Royal Military College Duntroon relocated back to the Australian Capital Territory in 1937. It is in the period 18-19 Nov that the first use of the Majura Training Area is recorded with the danger area described as being bounded by the roads Duntroon-Queanbeyan Queanbeyan-Sutton Federal High-way and Majura Lane. The entry of Australian in to World War II 3 September 1939 would see increasing use of the area as a range, noting that the area was being used as leasehold farmland and access for the military was through permanent or temporary authorities to enter the land when required.
Air Gunnery Range, Canberra (Majura)
On 5 February 1941 the requirement for the Royal Australian Air Force for a live firing range catering to aircraft at the Canberra Aerodrome led to "Air Gunnery Range, Canberra" being declared in the north of the Majura Valley and extending into New South Wales:- All that piece or parcel of land in the Parishes of Goorooyarroo and Pialligo, County of Murray, in the Australian Capital Territory and the State of New South Wales, situated approximately 41/2 miles north east of Canberra, and bounded by lines commencing at a point 2,460 ft. distant and of a bearing of 50° 0' from the " Plains Trigonometric Station " thence successively 1,200 ft.—8° 13', 35,242 ft.—338° 13', 17,042 ft.—08° 13', 15,242 ft.—218° 13', 1,200 ft.—188° 13', 1,800 ft.—278° 13', to the point of commencement.
- A subsequent order on 6 February 1914 declared that air gunnery practices would take place any anytime during the day without any further special notices.
- The previous boundaries of the range proclaimed in 1941 were revoked 28 February 1945 and a new boundary was proclaimed.
- The previous range boundaries proclaimed 1945 were revoked and a new range boundaries were declared 4 August 1952.
- The range was finally rescinded on 6 November 1970