Warbird Information Exchange

FYI

The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence has announced the "Way Forward" for Point Cook, Australia's most important Aviation Heritage site, declaring the intention to retain it in Defence ownership and management as an open working heritage site, with public and defence precincts and ongoing civil aviation use.

Point Cook was created in 1913, with its first flight in 1914, as the Australian Flying Corp's Central Flying School, it is the site of many historic first flights and the departure point of many pioneering trailblazing flights including Kingsford Smith.

It is the birth place of Australian Military Aviation and the cradle of Australian Civil Aviation.

With RAAF Flying training halting in 1992, it was slated for disposal and likely sale for property redevelopment.

Subject to a community based lobbying campaign which included an 11,000 signature petition to Federal Parliament demanding its retention, it is now nominated onto Australia's National Heritage List.

It is the home of the RAAF Museum, this decision opens the way to a "Duxford" outcome at Point Cook rather than a "Hendon" outcome.

An electronic copy is pasted below and is available at the ParlSec Website at

http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Lindsaytpl.cfm?CurrentId=7085



regards

Mark Pilkington




RAAF WILLIAMS POINT COOK TO REMAIN IN DEFENCE OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Mr Peter Lindsay MP, announced today that Defence will retain RAAF Williams Point Cook as an open working heritage base.

Mr Lindsay said Defence’s future use of RAAF Williams Point Cook would balance the operational, heritage, and community needs of the base.

"RAAF Williams Point Cook holds an important place in the history of Australia’s military aviation. Not only is it the home of the RAAF, it is also the longest continuously used Air Force base in the world," Mr Lindsay said.

"The significance of the heritage value of the Point Cook site is demonstrated by its recent nomination for listing on the National Heritage List – the highest level of heritage recognition in Australia."

RAAF Williams Point Cook currently attracts over 100,000 visitors a year. It has the potential to improve general public awareness of the aviation industry in Australia and Defence’s aviation history in particular.

"I have agreed with a recommendation to separate the Defence operational and public areas of the base into discrete precincts with appropriate levels of access.

"The public precinct will accommodate authorised commercial leases that use spare capacity of the airfield, the RAAF Museum and heritage buildings, and the Point Cook Primary and Pre-schools," Mr Lindsay said.

RAAF Williams Point Cook will continue to be maintained by Defence as an operating airfield able to support military flying operations when required, as well as by the RAAF Museum.

The airfield will continue to be used, under arrangement, by civilian flying operators, although over time, commercial arrangements will be put in place similar to those at other airfields.

"Defence is taking steps to ensure that RAAF Williams Point Cook is a safe environment in which the Australian Defence Force, licensed stakeholders and the general community can coexist, while also maintaining the estate and the environment in a manner which improves the many heritage values of the site."

Defence will conduct a series of stakeholder briefings today and tomorrow.

Media Contacts: Niki Lyons (Mr Lindsay)

(07) 4725 2066

0418 762 307

Defence Media Liaison

(02) 6265 3343

0408 498 664

_________________
20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

That is fantastic news! When I was a little boy my Dad took me there and I was so young I could only name half of the planes there.

I'm hoping to get down to Australia in a years time and will definitely make a stop at Point Cook.

Again, I'm really glad to hear that Point Cook is getting the treatment it deserves.

Cheers,

David

It's a good move on the political chessboard, which is to be appluded and recognised. The real work by real people still remains to be done, unlike this step in the political manouvering.

Hi David,
Let me know when your plans advance, and you do get here, we'll tee up a couple of visits. (Any other WIX members feel free to drop me a PM if you hit Melbourne.)
Cheers

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

I have to agree with James. This is, essentially, a political decision relating to deals that have already been done; ie the future of Point Cook and the future of the RAAF Museum.

The new aspect of the arrangement is the recognition of continued and expanded civilian operations at Point Cook and while the announcement didn't detail it this means a development known as the Duigan Centre. This centre would be built at Point Cook to house historic aircraft, civil, commercial, agricultural and some military machines. The aircraft would come from the Moorabbin Air Museum and the Victorian Glider Museum, amongst others.

The stumbling block is,as always, money. Such a development will require State and Federal Government funding and we have a Federal election looming. The outcome should not affect decisions already made but it could seriously jeopardise future funding decisions. A lot of little duckies have to line up in a row before all of this comes to pass.

If it does happen it will be great. It will certainly be more than a "Hendon" but maybe a little less than a "Duxford" and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I hear that there is movement on the big hangar project as well....good news for RAAF Museum..

_________________
..defeat is never an option!

JDK

Having been involved in the real work by real people over the last 9 years to achieve this "political manouvering" I can assure you this is both very real, and very very significant, and very much more than a simple political statement of deals already done.

Hats off particularly to Deputy Chief of Airforce AVM Blackburn and ParlSec Peter Lindsay who have worked on a very detailed master plan to accomodate all aspects of stakeholder interests, and arranged the allocation of $80M into defence planning in the 2010-2012 window including coverage of the RAAF Museum Pegasus Project.

This is definately not election window dressing, but is in fact the result of significant work inside Defence over the last 18 months, and the results of even longer work outside defence reaching back well before the Fran Bailey announcement of 2004 and the Don Heyward Steering Committee of 2001.




Regards

Mark Pilkington

_________________
20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

Great news for Australians, well done to all those involved and thank you.

Can you elaborate on what "Project Pegasus" involves?

Regards Croweater

Mark,
Perhaps I owe you an apology; my phrase was ill-chosen. Certainly there has been much good work done to secure a minimum good future for an historic aviation site. Also this is clearly a statement of intent to develop something a good deal better than the minimum.

However, as you are as aware as I am, there has been at least a decade of talk and bull given out about developing the site, whether for aviation or inappropriate housing. The fact remains, and my comment was intended to point out, very little has actually been done in terms of actually developing the site; and those few physical steps forward are also coupled with steps back. An obscene amount of cash has been spent on proposals and political manoeuvring (not by you or groups you are associated with, but by Governmental and state organisations who don't get out of bed for anything without lots of zeroes in it) none of which went to preservation, and given most of the cash was to and fro in a dubious and clearly non-transparent process, was cash pissed away by and for politicians.

As you know as well as I, the major physical action (rather than talk) recently was the eviction of all the (civilian) tenants on the southern tarmac to enable the re-roofing of the W.W.I era buildings and the (still promised) razing of the W.W.II Bellman hangars. Not only were the tenants kicked out with little notice, there was no attempt at negotiation, no possible return to the site and no accountability by the evicting organisation. Several hangars have been re-roofed, which is good. It appears that empty hangars were re-roofed before other buildings used by the RAAF Museum were tackled by the contractors; but, as ever, actual facts are almost impossible to come by; hardly a auspicious situation. It's clear that the cost so far is far too much, both in terms of goodwill, credibility, actual achievement for cash and and the actual work done lies in the hands of a body that are a quango, and demonstrably disinterested in doing a job useful for all stakeholders.

You know you have my support for the work you've done, which is for the best of causes, and I appreciate the effort and heartache you, and others have been through to get here.

But in an election year, all bets are off, and I'm afraid that I want to see some 'walk' from those on the Air Force and estates and political arena garnering our thanks instead of more 'talk'. I'll be positive when the action happens at Point Cook.

Regards,

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

Again I have to agree with James. During my time in this business I have seen 3 incarnations of the National Air and Space Museum of Australia; the Drome Project; the Western Region Aviation Museum and several flights of fantasy involving Wangaratta and Albury/Wodonga all of which came to precisely nothing.

I have no doubt that the future of Point Cook is assured as an operational base and I have no doubt that Project Pegasus (the expansion of the RAAF Museum) will go ahead which will be marvellous.

As for everything else, especially the Duigan Centre; I reserve my judgement because the essential mathematics of it is this
no hangar+no money=no museum.

You can have access to all the aircraft you desire but if that little equation doesn't work out you've got squat.

So as Tom Cruise said in that terrible movie; "SHOW ME THE MONEY".

JDK

thankyou James,

There is a lot more to all this than is stated in the Media Release or visible to those outside the process.

A stakeholder briefing was held on Friday at the base by Defence for representatives from the base units, Museum, existing and prospective tenants which provided more detailed information of the intentions for the site including the committment for civil aviation use and other developments for public use, while a Heritage Management Plan and detailed Defence "future use" report have also been developed by Defence.

regards

Mark Pilkington

_________________
20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

..now for a Liberator parked next to a Lincoln there perhaps????

_________________
..defeat is never an option!

Great news, and congrats to all you folks down in "Oz"!

Hope all goes well with the plans and "future intentions"!

_________________
Bob

FYI

The RAAF and Defence Department held formal briefings last week with Stakeholders as a followup to the Media Release issued earlier in the week by Peter Lindsay Parliamentary Secretary for Defence.


VISION:

RAAF Base Point Cook will be an open ‘Working Heritage Base’, capable of conducting operations while preserving and displaying Air Force and Australian aviation heritage.
•
It will be open to the public to promote public awareness of Australia’s aviation history.
•
It will inspire Australia’s youth by providing experiential learning in many facets of military and civil aviation.
•
It is proposed that Point Cook continue to be able to support military flying operations when required, particularly as a contingency to support national security requirements.


Underpinning Planning Principles

The following underpinning planning principles are agreed:
•
RAAF Base Point Cook will remain in Defence ownership and management.
•
The RAAF Museum will remain at RAAF Base Point Cook.
•
Future use of RAAF Base Point Cook is to have full regard to Defence’s responsibilities under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the site’s nomination for placement on the National Heritage List. Appropriate, adaptive reuse of buildings of particular heritage value is the preferred management strategy.
•
Point Cook is to continue to be maintained by Defence as an operating airfield. It is to be able to support military flying operations when required, as well as by the RAAF Museum. The airfield is to continue to be used, under arrangement, by civilian flying operators, but it is expected that over time commercial arrangements will be put in place similar to those at other airfields.
•
The future use and management of RAAF Base Point Cook (including the location of Defence functions and activities) is to be cognisant of, and facilitate, public access and use.
•
Future Defence use of the Base is to have regard to the location of the Point Cook State School and Pre-school.
•
RAAF Bases Laverton and RAAF Base Point Cook are to be retained in the longer term.
•
Funding will need to be sourced to undertake the necessary upgrade works to site facilities, to provide for the on-going maintenance requirements and to enable other Defence elements (predominantly Air Force) to re-locate to RAAF Base Point Cook.


Regards

Mark Pilkington

_________________
20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

Hello Oscar Duck

This is a little off topic, will definitely not endear me to certain contributors to this forum and will probably get me into trouble with the Moderator but sometimes one must simply put a little perspective on a subject.

You noted in your last post that you would like to see the much vaunted Lincoln at Point Cook. The simple answer is - not in my lifetime or yours.

The Lincoln is an incomplete, battered and corroded hulk and I realise that such restorations have been done in the past, witness the Yorkshire Museums Halifax, but the harsh, cold reality is that the aircraft is spread from one end of the Moorabbin Air Museum compound to the other (with more parts to come God help them) and there are no immediate prospects of storing the aircraft.

Moorabbin does not have the facilities, expertise or resources to carry out such a restoration and even if it did there is no possibility of housing the aircraft at Moorabbin or possibly anywhere else.

I spent 13 years as President of the Moorabbin Air Museum and had I been in the chair at the time the Lincoln was offered I would have rejected it and I make no apology for that.

There is a vast difference between what is desirable and what is practical. Acquiring an aircraft is often difficult, but that's the easy bit compared with what you do with it in the months and years that follow such an acquisition.

"SARS",

thanks for your support, most of us also hope things go well for these plans and future intentions.

regards

Mark Pilkington

_________________
20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"