Our Journey

RAAF Williams - Laverton is located beside the Princes Highway next to the Laverton railway station, Victoria, about seven kilometres away from RAAF Base Point Cook. Since the airfield was decommissioned in 1996 there have been no flying units or flying activity at Laverton.

In May 1921, the Australian Air Force (AAF), acquired 160 acres of a Closer Settlement Farm allotment at Laverton intended as the future permanent home of No. 1 Aircraft Depot. The depot’s official formation took place at Point Cook on 21 July 1921 and it became the first unit to occupy Laverton when it moved from Point Cook on 1 March 1926.

In 1927, the Northern and Papuan Survey Flights were formed at Laverton and proceeded to carry out a reconnaissance of the coastal district of Papua and the Mandated Territories using two Seagull amphibian aircraft.

No. 1 Squadron relocated to Laverton on 16 January 1928 and carried out Army co-operation duties. In March 1935, Recruit and Training Section formed within 1AD at Laverton. As well as recruit training, the section provided Armament training and became the basis for the 1AD Armament School which formed into a separate unit in January 1940.

As the RAAF expanded during the 1930s, the number of units stationed at Laverton grew. No. 21 (Cadre) Squadron, a Citizen Air Force unit, was formed on 20 April 1936 and was later renamed No. 21 (City of Melbourne) Squadron on 1 July. On 3 May 1937, No. 2 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron and No. 23 (General Purpose) (Cadre) Squadron were formed at Laverton. General Reconnaissance School moved to Laverton on 1 July 1940.

In response to a rapid escalation of operations in the Pacific theatre, Australia imported and also undertook local manufacture of aircraft and airborne systems. In response, on 21 July 1941, 1AD formed a Special Duties and Performance Flight at Laverton to provide technical and flight test support services for the introduction of new aircraft and systems. This flight was absorbed into the new No. 1 Aircraft Performance Unit formed at RAAF Base Laverton on 1 December 1943 to provide a more focused support organisation.

The Equipment Training School formed as a separate unit at Laverton on 30 November 1942, with the role to train personnel in equipment and stores procedures, administration and accounting. Several more flying squadrons were formed at Laverton in 1943, including No. 67 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in January, No. 79 Squadron in April, and No. 37 (Transport) Squadron in July. No. 150 Radar Direction Finding (RDF) Station formed at Laverton on 17 April 1943 before relocating to Darwin in June.

The origins of air traffic control training in the Air Force can also be traced back to Laverton in the early 1940s. Although the exact date of its establishment is obscure, a Flying Control School was operating at Laverton at least from 1943.

In January 1945, there were more than 800 personnel on posted strength at Laverton including members of the Womens’ Auxiliary Australian Air Force and the RAAF Nursing Service. The end of the war in August was celebrated by the station band playing in Melbourne, festivities in the various messes and an air display at Laverton. By the end of 1945 the number of personnel at Laverton had dropped to 635 and to 179 by the middle of 1946 as the RAAF demobilised.

As the post-war Permanent Air Force organisations took shape, Laverton also evolved. The Central Photographic Unit moved to Laverton from Brisbane in May 1946, where it was disbanded in July 1947 before re-activating as Central Photographic Establishment on 14 June 1949. In September 1947, No. 1 Aircraft Performance Unit temporarily relocated to RAAF Base Point Cook and was renamed Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU). The unit moved back to RAAF Base Laverton in October 1948, before moving to RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia in February 1977. No. 6 RAAF Hospital moved to Laverton and commenced operations as a separate unit on 23 May 1949 after relocating from Heidelberg, Victoria.

Laverton entered the jet age on 5 June 1946 with the first demonstration flight of a Gloster Meteor Mk III aircraft, that had been assembled at the base. Less than a year later, on 15 May 1947, the first Vampire jet aircraft assembled by 1AD at Laverton, made its debut flight. The first Australian-built Canberra Mk20 landed at Laverton on delivery to 1AD. In November 1959, a Dakota equipped fir jet-assisted take-off was tested by ARDU at Laverton. Also fitted with retractable skis, the Dakota had been modified by the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Bankstown, NSW to accompany RAAF’s Antarctic flight to Mawson, Antarctica in December.

No. 1 National Service Training Course commenced at Laverton on 30 July 1951 as part of the National Service Training Scheme. No. 5 National Service Training Unit was formed at Laverton on 11 November 1953 and was disbanded on 27 June 1957, after compulsory training for RAAF was discontinued from the previous month.

In 1952, Laverton hosted the ceremonial parade at which the RAAF received the Queen’s Colour, the first honour of its type presented to the Air Force. Almost every Air Force unit was represented at the Colour Parade held on 17 September which was attended by the Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the General Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, members of the Air Board, and other Air Officers together with about 3,000 guests.

In the following year, the RAAF School of Radio commenced moving to Laverton on 11 April 1961, departing Ballarat, Victoria ending its association of 21 years with that city. In October 1964 the RAAF Printing and Publications Unit moved to Laverton from Albert Parks Barracks in Melbourne.

In December 1962, work was completed on the northern run-up of the North-South runway and was ready for use by the United States Air Force USAF U-2 detachment engaged in upper atmosphere sampling as part of Operation Crowflight. The USAF detachment operated from Laverton for several weeks sampling the atmosphere south of the Australian continent using equipment designed by the Radiophysics Division of CSIRO.

On 4 March 1963, the Freedom of the Shire of Werribee was conferred on RAAF Bases Laverton and Point Cook at a ceremony held at Chirnside Park during which a scroll outlining the rights conferred was presented by the Shire President.

Laverton welcomed the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) Training Flight at Laverton on 10 January 1977 before being renamed Women’s Training Unit on 23 May 1977 when the WRAAF and Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service were integrated into the Air Force.

RAAF Williams formed on 31 March 1989, from the amalgamation of RAAF Bases Point Cook and Laverton under a single command and management structure. The new formation was named in honour of Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams, KBE, CB, DSO, the most significant figure in the establishment of the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the restructure RAAF Base Laverton became RAAF Williams – Laverton, and the headquarters and base squadrons of the two bases were disbanded and replaced by Headquarters Williams and Base Squadron Williams.

Further changes were to come, the 1991 Defence Force Structure Review examining the disposition and functions of all Defence units, led to the civilianisation and commercialisation of some Defence functions. This led to the disbandment of the RAAF School of Radio on 31 December 1993. No. 1 Aircraft Depot also phased-down its operations and disbanded on 2 December 1994.

In January 1992, a government-sponsored report was released that recommended the disposal of the Laverton airfield, while Laverton base would be retained. Units to be based at Laverton were No. 6 RAAF Hospital, Central Photographic Unit, the Defence International Training Centre, No. 21 Squadron, the RAAF Central Band and Headquarters Training Command. In 1997 Headquarters Logistics Command functions were absorbed by the tri-service Joint Logistics Command organisation. On 14 December 2002 No. 6 RAAF Hospital disbanded at Laverton, having celebrated its 60th anniversary on 29 November.

In 2017 RAAF Base Point Cook once more regained its separate identity, leaving Laverton to carry the RAAF Williams designation. Today Laverton is the home of Headquarters Air Force Training Group (formerly Training Command) and RAAF Central Band as well as several Defence and joint organisations, including the Defence Force School of Languages, Defence International Training Centre, Defence Publishing Services, Headquarters Joint Logistics Command, and Joint Logistics Unit - Victoria, and elements of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.

RAAF Base Curtin is a joint use military air base and civil airport located on the north coast of Western Australia about 35 kilometres south-east of Derby and 170 kilometres east of Broome, and covering an area of more than 25,000 hectares. Curtin is one of 3 RAAF bare bases that form an arc across the north of Australia, the others being Scherger on Cape York and Learmonth on the North West Cape peninsular of Western Australia. Although, during peacetime, Curtin is maintained by a small caretaker staff permanently stationed there, the base is activated for Defence Force exercises and operations by units deploying to the base from other parts of Australia.

During the 1930s, the RAAF developed a network of airfields around the Australian coast to provide protection for Australia's sea lanes of communication. As part of that program, the Minister for Defence, announced in 1934 that land would be acquired from the West Australian government of a site near Derby for constructing an all-weather landing ground. As the likelihood of war approached, existing airfields at Broome, Derby and Wyndham were upgraded along with other defence facilities in Western Australia.

Within weeks of the first Japanese bombing raids against Darwin on 19 February 1942, Derby and Broome suffered the same fate. Following a morning reconnaissance on 20 March 1942, about an hour later a medium force of enemy bombers and fighters attacked the two towns almost concurrently. While Broome aerodrome was bombed, Derby was strafed with machine-gun and cannon fire from a low level. Fortuitously, the enemy’s three runs over the target caused no casualties and resulted in little damage. In any case, an Operational Base Detachment was deployed to Derby aerodrome. It was based there for some time before Western Area formed it into No. 80 Operational Base Unit on 3 July 1944. The unit mounted .303 Vickers (Medium) and .50 calibre Browning Machine Guns in pits to provide anti-aircraft defence, trained in their use and developed a defence plan for the base. The unit’s main activity was to maintain and refuel transiting aircraft and to aid in the transhipping of bombs and fuel to other units. After the war ended, No. 80 Operational Base Unit departed Derby for Broome on 14 December 1945 where it lodged on No. 79 Operational Base Unit before finally disbanding on 11 January 1946.

Some 36 years later, in 1982, the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Public Works (Public Works Committee) considered a proposal for the establishment of a forward defence air base at Derby to allow operations by all types of RAAF aircraft.  At the time, the nearest airfields that could accommodate the RAAF’s fighters were Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory and Learmonth, another bare base, near Exmouth in Western Australia. Darwin / Tindal and Learmonth are about 2000 kilometres apart and adequate air defence of the entire north west of Australia could not be provided from them. Therefore, an airfield about half way between them was needed to fill the gap in Australia’s air defence capability.

While a number of civil aerodromes were available in the Derby - Broome area, none had runways of sufficient length nor runway pavements of sufficient strength to accommodate modern fighter jets. Accordingly, the Public Works Committee concluded that there was a need for a new military airfield in the north-west of Australia.

Construction at the Derby South site commenced in 1983 and was completed in December 1987. On 11 June 1988, Prime Minister the Honourable R.J.L. Hawke, AC, GCL, attended by the Chief of the Air Force (CAS) Air Marshal R.G. Funnell, AC, and conducted the official opening. After the official opening, CAS issued a directive discontinuing use of the name Derby South, and formally naming the new base RAAF Curtin, in honour of the Right Honourable John J.A. Curtin, Member for Fremantle in Western Australia, who served as Australia’s 14^th Prime Minister from 7 October 1941 until his death on 5 July 1945.

After works associated with a civilian terminal and air service were completed in 1989, the civilian airport located near town of Derby was reduced to light aircraft status and is now used by charter and tourist operators, private craft and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. RAAF Curtin became a joint use, military and civilian airfield with Derby Curtin Aerodrome operating under a Civil Lease Agreement with West Kimberley Shire.

Curtin has been activated a number of times for large-scale exercises, including Kangaroo ’89 and ‘92 as well as Pitch Black ’91, a major air defence exercise. The base, which normally had a caretaker staff of 4, was able to expand to a fully functioning air base and headquarters with about 800 military personnel and fighter, strike and transport aircraft. Similarly, in 2016 No. 382 Combat Response Squadron outdid itself when within 48 hours it turned RAAF Base Curtin into a fully functioning airfield ready to support flying operations for Exercise Northern Shield 2016.

In 1995, the federal government established a detention centre at Curtin to accommodate asylum seekers arriving in northern Australia by boat. All operational activities, such as exercises programmed to involve RAAF Base Curtin during 1995 and early 1996, were transferred to RAAF Learmonth. The Curtin detention centre was shut down in 2002 but was re-opened again in 2010, before it was closed again in September 2014. At its peak, the detention centre held more than 1,000 detainees.

On 1 January 2013, responsibility for the provision of air base services at RAAF Curtin transferred to No. 13 Squadron. The occasion coincided with RAAF Curtin’s 25^th anniversary which was celebrated in June of that year.

While no RAAF units are permanently based at RAAF Base Curtin, it forms a vital element of Australia’s defence posture.

RAAF Base Scherger opened near Weipa, Queensland. Named after Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger, KBE, CB, DSO, AFC, the 'bare base' is designed to accommodate up to 1500 military personnel and about 40 aircraft. Air Chief Marshal Scherger was one of the earliest and strongest advocates of northern bases to protect Australia's air and sea approaches.