The Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS), located at Kojarena, about 30 kilometres east of Geraldton, Western Australia, contributes to Australia’s national security and defence. Officially opened on 10 September 1993, the station is managed in consultation, and with sensitivity, to the land’s traditional owners, the Southern Yamatji Peoples, Nhanhagardi, Wilunyu and Amangu.
ADSCS has a large surrounding buffer zone, owned by the Commonwealth Government, that helps to shield the station from electrical interference. The antennas, some of which are housed in ‘radomes’ (radar + dome), sit in stark contrast to the ancient landscape. Radomes are weatherproof structures designed to protect the highly sensitive equipment housed within them.
Particular care has been taken to preserve the site’s natural beauty and to foster native fauna and flora, including various protected species of flowers. There is an ongoing program designed to plant locally propagated native tree species that help control soil erosion.
In 2000, ADSCS staff adopted a stray dog found near the gate. They named her Stellar after the project name to build the site. Stellar was very protective of the station, and took to riding on the back of the patrol ute and chasing rabbits. Described as ‘mascot, security, crowd and pest control, gardener and waste management’, Stellar died from old age in March 2014.
