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Point Cook RAAF Complex

Other Names RAAF WILLIAMS ,  RAAF POINT COOK Location POINT COOK ROAD POINT COOK, Wyndham City File Number Original Hermes No: 4422 Level -

[1/23] H01969 1 pt cook south tarmac [2/23] H01969 pt cook bellman hangar [3/23] H01969 pt cook bellmans aug02 [4/23] H01969 pt cook bldg100 aug02 [5/23] H01969 pt cook caretakers [6/23] H01969 pt cook chapel aug02 [7/23] H01969 pt cook hangar store [8/23] H01969 pt cook harmony row [9/23] H01969 pt cook headquarters [10/23] H01969 pt cook inside seaplane [11/23] H01969 pt cook jetty aug02 pm1 [12/23] H01969 pt cook lukis house [13/23] H01969 pt cook married [14/23] H01969 pt cook south tarmac [15/23] H01969 pt cook waterplane [16/23] H01969 pt cook ww2 huts aug02 [17/23] H01969 pt cook tower aug02 pm1 [18/23] H01969 pt cook school of [19/23] H01969 pt cook south tarmac1 [20/23] h01969 diagram 1969a [21/23] h01969 diagram 1969b [22/23] h01969 diagram 1969c [23/23] h01969 diagram 1969d

Statement of Significance

DRAFT - NOT YET APPROVED BY HERITAGE COUNCIL
What is significant?
The Point Cook RAAF Complex is the birth place of Australian military aviation. The decision by the Commonwealth in 1911 to establish an aviation capability was taken at a time when the military value of aircraft had not yet been proved. The Commonwealth purchased land at Point Cook in December 1913. Point Cook was chosen because of its suitability for both land and seaplane operations. Building and flying commenced in 1914. During the First World War the facilities at the base were expanded. The remaining buildings from this era include hangars, officersÆ mess and accommodation, the jetty, water tower and married quarters. These early buildings, to the design of important Commonwealth architect John Smith Murdoch, are predominantly timber in a style which has come to be known as Commonwealth Vernacular. In the inter-war years the importance of military aviation was established and the Royal Australian Air Force was formed in 1921. Bases like the nearby Laverton were built during the lead up to the Second World War. Point Cook remained the home of initial flight training and additional operational, accommodation and married quarter buildings were constructed. As well, the layout of the base was fixed during this time. After the very earliest phase when flying was carried out in the area of what is now the parade ground, the south tarmac area became the operational and training heart of the base with seaplane facilities oriented toward the water and land based planes using the all over grass airfield to the north. Accommodation, messes, administration and married quarters were separated from the operational and training area until the Second World War when the development of the north tarmac area occurred. The war saw the greatest expansion of the base with characteristic temporary and pre-fabricated accommodation buildings and hangars. The post war era resulted in the development of the north base in its present form as the RAAF College. During its operational life Point CookÆs main focus was always on training. In the 1990s flying training was relocated leaving only the museum and college and the base was declared surplus to requirements.