Defence Establishment Orchard Hills
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Royal Australian Air Force| Defence Establishment Orchard Hills | |
|---|---|
| Orchard Hills, Sydney, New South Wales in Australia | |
| Site information | |
| Type | |
| Owner | Department of Defence |
| Operator | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Location | |
  Defence Establishment Orchard Hills Location in Greater Sydney | |
| Coordinates | 33°48′44″S 150°41′31″E / 33.812264°S 150.6918705°E |
| Area | 1,740 hectares (4,300 acres) |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1940s – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Defence Explosive Ordnance Training School |
Defence Establishment Orchard Hills (abbreviated as DEOH) is a tri-service munitions storage base of particular importance to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Located in Orchard Hills, in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the main role of the establishment is for storage, maintenance and distribution of Explosive Ordnance such as Bombs, Bullets, Missiles, and other military explosives. The base is also home to the RAAF-run Defence Explosive Ordnance Training School, which provides training in handling explosives to all branches of the Australian Defence Force, public servants and contractor personnel.[1]
As well as the storage of munitions, other activities carried out on the 1,740-hectare (4,300-acre) site include the use of weapon ranges, firing ranges, fire training areas, and fuel storage and distribution from above ground and underground storage tanks. The site also contains a sewerage treatment plant, and two landfills for waste disposal from both site operations and general non-putrescible refuse, including building rubble.[2]
Also located on site is the privately owned Thales Ordnance Training Centre, an accredited registered training organisation that provides qualifications specific to explosives, and covering the disciplines of storage, transport, manufacture and proofing of explosive ordnance.[3]
Concerns
Defence Establishment Orchard Hills encompasses a significant area of critically endangered and protected Cumberland Plain Woodland,[4][5] which is endemic to the Western Sydney region.[6]
During siting and construction of the Western Sydney (Nancy Bird-Walton) Airport, it was announced that Defence Establishment Orchard Hills would serve as an environmental offset to compensate for destruction of the woodland associated with clearing of the airport; over 900-hectares of Defence Establishment Orchard Hills was set aside for this purpose.[7]
Part of the area established as the environmental offset has since been cleared to allow construction of a carpark for a new facility within the establishment.[8]
Other groups have raised concerns that because the property is owned by the Federal Government and was already listed for protection and conservation, it does not serve as an effective offset for the new construction.[9]
