was used from 1942 to 1945 by the US military forces for the storage of large ammunition with the first ammunition arriving on 5 October 1942. Initially, the facility was for conventional munitions, but in June 1943, the facility was converted to store chemical munitions including mustard gas in artillery shells and aerial bombs. After the war, local residents occasionally found munitions at the site which were removed or destroyed by the Australian Army. When a mining company surveyed the site in 2009 with a view to establishing a coal mine, they identified a number of burial pits on the site. With the assistance of US military experts, the contents of the pits were determined to be 144 mustard gas munitions, the largest find of abandoned chemical munitions in Australian history. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention to which Australia is a signatory, the government had to report the find and the Australian Safeguards and Nonproliferation Office had to cooperate with the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to plan and implement the safe destruction/disposal of these munitions. A transportable munition destruction facility was brought to the site from the USA. Between April and May 2011, each munition was detonated in a controlled explosion inside a chamber in the computer-controlled facility, destroying both the munition and its chemical content. The project cost $34 million. In 2012, a memorial plaque was placed to commemorate the international collaboration involved in the destruction of the chemical weapons. In the , the locality of Columboola had a population of 72 people. Education Columboola Environmental Education Centre is at 25 Boort-Koi Road (). There are no mainstream schools in Columboola. The nearest government primary schools are Miles State School in neighbouring Miles to the west and Chinchilla State School in Chinchilla to the east. The nearest government secondary schools are Miles State High School in Miles an Chinchilla State High School in Chinchilla. Attractions There is a memorial plaque at the environment education centre to commemorate the international collaboration in the safe destruction of the chemical weapons (). References Further reading External links Towns in Queensland Western Downs Region Localities in Queensland