The Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) was established by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) in 2009. It lies in a designated radio quiet zone located near Boolardy Station in the Murchison Shire of Western Australia, about north of Perth on the traditional lands of the Wajarri people.
It is one of two core sites for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, the other being located in South Africa. As part of this project, there have been two technology and science pathfinders, both established by 2012: the radio telescopes known as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), a low-frequency array operating in the frequency range 80–300 MHz; and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Construction on the main large SKA telescope started in December 2022. The SKA site has been officially named Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, meaning "sharing sky and stars" in the Wajarri language.
Several smaller experiments (CORE, EDGES, PAPER and SCOPE), unrelated to SKA, are also sited at the MRO.
History
Radio quiet zone (2005) The MRO was designated a protected radio quiet zone by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in April 2005, and in July 2011, an enhanced radio-quiet zone was imposed. The initial radio-quiet zone (renamed to the "inner zone") was a protected zone in a radius around the MRO, in which all radio apparatus licences needed to be made with the approval of the MRO governing body. The enhanced radio-quiet zone adds a second zone, effectively extending the license approval governing area from a radius of 70 km to . , the outer "coordination" zone extends for a radius of . Within the radio quiet zone, there are restrictions on all radio communications equipment, including television transmitters, mobile phones, CB radios, and other devices, so as not to interfere with radio telescopes.
As of 2020, the CSIRO and the shire council have been investigating and discussing various internet connectivity possibilities with the shire, such as a small mobile network, or the use of optical fibre.
MRO created (2009) The CSIRO purchased the Boolardy Station for in 2009, then a working cattle station. The Murchison Radio-Astronomy Observatory was founded by the CSIRO in 2009, near Boolardy, a former cattle station in Western Australia.
By 2012, it comprised the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP).
Land use issues
Indigenous Land Use Agreement
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the ASKAP office have been working with the Wajarri Yamatji people to enable the projects to proceed while respecting the cultural needs of the traditional owners of the land, and also to deliver some benefits to them, in particular the tiny and remote Pia Wajarri Aboriginal community, next to Boolardy Station. For several years leading up to 2020, negotiations have been taking place ahead of the signing of an Indigenous land use agreement between the Wajarri people and the CSIRO, guided by the federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (now the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources).
About 15 traditional owners are involved in the negotiations, representing different groups within the Wajarri. There are challenges involved in working out how to respect the cultural significance of the area, and how to build the infrastructure with minimal disruption to the landscape. Surveys of heritage sites have been undertaken, but the work and negotiations were somewhat disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wajarri people are able to move freely across the land, so long as they respect the radio silence.
Tourism
With the Boolardy Station no longer in use as a cattle station since the owners left the region around 2014, the loss of seasonal work in cattle mustering, as well reduced pest control and reduction in community activities has been felt by the people living in the area. The neighbouring Wooleen Station has facilities for guests, and the owners are working with local governments to develop its tourism potential. An interpretive centre situated from the MRO, at the Murchison Settlement, is one idea under consideration.
Telescopes
Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP)