Huge Explosion in Giralang?

niftydog said :

These came from the pathway behind my street. They appear to be some kind of home-made mortar. When you’re are close enough you can hear the sound of it being launched, then two seconds later you hear the boom and see a blinding white flash. There was a ball of smoke slowly drifting over my house seconds after the second boom.

The cops visited, but not much you can do unless you catch them red-handed… or, with any luck, no-handed.

That is exactly what I heard from a massive explosion in Queanbeyan 2 weeks ago. A small explosion, a rattling sound, then a massive explosion with an accompanying white flash in the sky about 2 seconds later

If the cops think that was just “fireworks” then they are sadly misinformed.

This was a substantial detonation, and as I said originally, I have some experience with substantial detonations. Any kaboom that is sending the dogs barking (ours did too) from Evatt to the inner north would require more than just some fireworks.

I suppose the idea that it was an airburst, thus scattering the residue and diffusing the sound would explain why it was hard to locate.

In any case, I would say that the people who are doing this are either not long for this world, or if they continue in this world then it will be with various bits of their bodies in widely separated locations. I just hope nobody else gets hurt.

Perhaps it was an architect nuking the whole of Gungahlin? Or the final stage of the Government’s kangaroo cull?
I heard the noise in my ‘trendy inner North’ abode, as did my ‘trendy inner North’ dogs, aka mongrels. So it was indeed a huge noise, although I have never ‘heard artillery bursting’, (and hope I never do).

dungfungus said :

This activity is safer than hoons doing burnouts and we know that the police are not interested in the latter so I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

How many injuries or deaths have resulted from low speed burnouts? It’s not the smartest thing (and it’s not something I do), but I think comparing burnouts to handling explosive material is a bit unrealistic.

dungfungus said :

This activity is safer than hoons doing burnouts and we know that the police are not interested in the latter so I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

Interesting info, dungfungus, thanks. The police apparently thought there was enough of a fuss to respond.

Jivrashia, it could be a spud cannon, but I don’t think I’d like to put these “spuds” in my oven sprinkled with peri peri seasoning!

dungfungus said :

niftydog said :

These came from the pathway behind my street. They appear to be some kind of home-made mortar. When you’re are close enough you can hear the sound of it being launched, then two seconds later you hear the boom and see a blinding white flash. There was a ball of smoke slowly drifting over my house seconds after the second boom.

The cops visited, but not much you can do unless you catch them red-handed… or, with any luck, no-handed.

You have passed on some strong clues here.
I would say that the explosion is a cluster of fuse detonators containing fulminated mercury implanted in an orange or grapefruit which is fired (like a motar) from one of those PVC/hair spray/spark plug cannons.
A short fuse is lit and the missile is then fired upward from the cannon. This explains the two explosions in close sequence. If the culprits are responsible scoundrels they should have fired the device over a lake in the vicinity in case there was a mishap as the missile could cause serious injury if found by children.
This activity is safer than hoons doing burnouts and we know that the police are not interested in the latter so I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

No particular fuss. Just personally I could do without people letting off explosions for no reason which wake the children up. I’m sure the rest of the neighbourhood with animals/children/a sense of self respect probably feel the same 😀

niftydog said :

These came from the pathway behind my street. They appear to be some kind of home-made mortar. When you’re are close enough you can hear the sound of it being launched, then two seconds later you hear the boom and see a blinding white flash. There was a ball of smoke slowly drifting over my house seconds after the second boom.

The cops visited, but not much you can do unless you catch them red-handed… or, with any luck, no-handed.

You have passed on some strong clues here.
I would say that the explosion is a cluster of fuse detonators containing fulminated mercury implanted in an orange or grapefruit which is fired (like a motar) from one of those PVC/hair spray/spark plug cannons.
A short fuse is lit and the missile is then fired upward from the cannon. This explains the two explosions in close sequence. If the culprits are responsible scoundrels they should have fired the device over a lake in the vicinity in case there was a mishap as the missile could cause serious injury if found by children.
This activity is safer than hoons doing burnouts and we know that the police are not interested in the latter so I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

…these happen at the end of Macgregor regularly too; mostly on weekends (though less now since it has been developed into MacGregor West). A friend’s tween (at the time) son was walking out there a couple of years ago, and saw a small group of young men with a ‘potato cannon’ (most teenagers will know what this is). A search of the term on YouTube might help you work out if it was a similar device (from the accompanying noise).

These devices are probably unlikely to remove user’s limbs if something “goes wrong” with that type of device as they are reasonably innocuous (usually using compressed air)… the best you could hope for is that the builders/operators diversify their interest into other YouTube phenomena like flaming air horns, or home-made incendiary devices… of course, the risk to locals expands with that potential foray too…

Probably just another meth lab.

damien haas said :

Must be something else we can ban.

PVC pipe, hair spray, potato, which makes a perfect…

buzz819 said :

pipe bomb or similar.

This