21/05/2026
Today marks 80 years since the Kapooka Tragedy.
On the afternoon of 21 May 1945, two groups were crowded within a dug-out during a routine demolition training exercise on the preparation of hand charges: one of 22 trainees and two instructors; another of three men and one instructor.
Inside the dug-out were 110 pounds of explosives, stored for day’s training exercise. In circumstances that remain unknown, the explosives ignited, and in the explosion 24 men were killed instantly, two died of injuries shortly afterwards, and two more were severely injured.
A mass funeral was held for the men in Wagga Wagga, where thousands of people lined the route of the funeral parade. The 26 flag-draped coffins were carried on four army trucks, and the cortége included more than 100 military vehicles carrying members of the army and air force. The dead were buried in the Wagga Wagga War Cemetery.
The names of the 26 men killed in the accident are listed on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial, among around 40,000 others from the Second World War.
