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Woomera is a village in South Australia, 450 km north of Adelaide, along the Stuart Highway.
Next to the village is the 'Woomera Prohibited Area' (WPA), a military area 127,000 square km in area; it is about the same size as England, making it the largest testing area in the world. The area has been used since the 1950s for joint Australia- United Kingdom weapons and aerospace testing (including testing of nuclear weapons). It was also home to the Nurrungar satellite ground station (closed in 1999, activities moved to Pine Gap) which was thought to be part of the global ECHELON intelligence gathering network.
From 1999 to 2003, Woomera was home to the Woomera Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, holding asylum seekers and refugeeUnder international law, a refugee is a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or politicals.