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Ground Zero

Director: Myles, Bruce and Michael Pattinson
Year: 1987
Type: Film
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Synopsis

An Australian cinematographer, Harvey Denton (Colin Friels), discovers that his deceased father had filmed the aftermath a nuclear test at Maralinga that had resulted in Aborigines being exposed to nuclear fallout in the 1950s. He journeys to the desert to search for evidence that the government covered up the mistake. 

Narrative Locations

Emu Field and Maralinga, Nullarbor, South Australia  

Temporal setting: Circa 1953-1963

Location notes:

Nuclear weapons tests were carried out by the British government at Maralinga and two at the nearby location Emu Field during the Cold War between 1953 and 1963. The film Ground Zero dramatises the aftermath of the nuclear tests in this location, but the film was shot at Coober Pedy and Woomera, rather than in the prohibited area around Maralinga.

The Australian Government conducted a Royal Commission in 1984 to investigate concerns about the safety standards during the nuclear trials, especially with regard to military personnel and Indigenous people in the area being exposed to ionising radiation. The Royal Commission also investigated the burial and clean up of radioactive waste around Maralinga.

Shooting Locations

The Breakaways, The Castle, Coober Pedy, Flinders and Outback, South Australia

Maralinga scenes were shot near Coober Pedy. The ASIO office has a photograph of The Castle at Coober Pedy Breakaways on the office wall. The Castle is also the location where the footage of the nuclear tests is hidden in a cave.

Prosper Gaffney's underground studio, Coober Pedy , Flinders and Outback, South Australia

Approximate location of Prosper Gaffney's underground art studio.

The Breakaways lookout, Coober Pedy, Flinders and Outback, South Australia

Prosper Gaffney paints The Breakaways from the vantage point of the lookout in Ground Zero. Panorama Hill can be seen in the middle distance.

Gallery


Moon Plain, Flinders and Outback, South Australia  

Temporal setting: 1980s

Location notes:

Moon Plain, near Coober Pedy, is where Charlie (Aboriginal activist Burnham Burnham) is buried in Ground Zero, and where Harvery Denton's (Colin Friel) vintage Holden is pursued by the helicopter about an hour into the film.

Shooting Locations

Moon Plain, Coober Pedy, Flinders and Outback, South Australia

Moon Plain is a barren, flat expanse of land near Coober Pedy that was once an inland sea.

Gallery


South Melbourne, Melbourne region, Victoria  

Temporal setting: 1980s

Location notes:

The set for Harvey's apartment was built in South Melbourne where the film production offices were. (Location accurate to suburb.)

Shooting Locations


Woomera, Flinders and Outback, South Australia  

Temporal setting: 1953-1964

Location notes:

Woomera is a shooting location for Ground Zero. It is the probable location of the 'Emu Creek' scenes showing Aborigines suffering and dying from radiation poisoning in isolated military facilities in the desert in the 1950s.

Shooting Locations

Woomera, Flinders and Outback, South Australia

Location accurate to town/region.

Gallery




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Narrative Locations
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