Military training has always been an important activity on Victoria’s State forests and public lands. Probably the most notable example was the takeover of Wilsons Promontory by the commandos in 1941.
Forests were used for both target aiming and live firing. The prominent Lollipop Tree on Mt Beckworth, west of Ballarat, was used by RAAF bomb aimers during WW2.
Manoeuvres by Army Reserve troops are still common.
Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) occasionally turns up in the bush. It ranges from small rifle shells and casings through to practice hand grenades and larger mortars and rockets.
There are many epic stories of departmental staff encountering dangerous UXOs during the handover of Point Nepean from the Army to become a National Park in the 1980s.
Bomb craters are still visible in the shallow mudflats of Lake Reeve near the 90 Mile Beach and scrub fires in the nearby Dutson bombing range can also be very problematic.
Not surprisingly, UXOs are most likely to be found around existing military bases. The land at Puckapunyal had become severely degraded because of prolonged use by the military and in the early 1970s a major soil stabilisation and revegetation program began. The Soil Conservation Authority took the lead role while the Forests Commission provided trees from its nurseries as well as planting crews.
In May 1989, a group of seven employees were planting trees on the Puckapunyal base near Tehans Hill and lit a small fire to keep warm. But the fire was on top of an old 105mm anti-tank shell buried in the ground which exploded seriously injuring the men, one critically.
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 