The flare was cordoned off before being detonated in situ under the supervision of Police and ADF personnel.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

A spokesperson from Defence confirmed that a Marker Marine Mk58 was located on Scotts Head Beach.

“The unexploded ordnance (UXO) was assessed as live and unsafe for transport and therefore was disposed of onsite using routine measures,” the spokesperson told NOTA.

When suspected unexploded military ordnance is found in public areas, Defence routinely assists state and territory policing agencies in its safe recovery or disposal, however the public are urged to contact local Police upon finding such items.

The discovery of the device in shallow water on Sunday prompted Police to warn members of the public not to “approach, touch, tilt or tamper with suspicious devices” but to immediately call ‘000’.

Unfortunately, it could not be retrieved that day before being washed back out to sea, only to return the following day.

One Scotts Head local said while her home is quite far from the beach, the “whole house shook” with the detonation.

Others as far away as Macksville claimed to have heard the blast.

A resident of the nearby caravan park told NOTA that although she had been made aware of the flare’s discovery the day before, the noise of the explosion which shook the park came as a surprise.

Flares are used for both military and commercial purposes and often contain explosives along with coloured or phosphorescent powders which are visible over large distances.

Some of their uses include signalling distress, illumination and more recently, as part of military aircraft defensive countermeasures, flares can be used to deter heat-seeking missiles.

The Marker Marine Mk58 is a current in-service pyrotechnic marker, used by both Navy and Air Force for all types of air-to-sea surface marking that uses smoke and flame.

The Mk58 can be launched day or night from aircraft, helicopters or surface ships to provide a long-burning, smoke and flame reference-point on the ocean’s surface.

It is used for various operations including anti-submarine warfare, marking a survivor in the water during search and rescue operations, man-overboard markings and as a target for practice bombing at sea.

By Ned COWIE