By Alesha Capone
The Department of Defence has proposed to demolish or remove 19 buildings from the Point Cook RAAF base, including structures which are mentioned on the National Heritage List.
In a proposal lodged with the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment, the DOD says that the 19 buildings “have been identified as unsafe and economically unfeasible to repair”.
The RAAF Base Point Cook is listed on the National and Commonwealth Heritage Lists for being the first military aviation base in Australia, dating from 1913, and the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force in 1921.
The National Heritage List includes more than 100 buildings on the RAAF site, as contributing to the overall historical value of the site.
The DOD proposal said there were no “current plans to re-develop the sites which will have buildings removed”.
The buildings which the DOD has proposed to demolish include RAAF standard huts, World War II huts and four Bellman Hangars dating from 1940.
Thirteen of these buildings are mentioned in the National Heritage List, while 11 are also mentioned on the Commonwealth Heritage List.
The proposal said that a heritage impact assessment (HIA) of the DOD proposal, prepared by Biosis last year, “recognises the removal is necessary due to the unsafe condition of the buildings and cost to repair the buildings is economically unfeasible”.
The HIA said several of the buildings to be demolished should be photographed for archival purposes.
In 2012, a report recommended the RAAF facility at Laverton should be closed and consolidated with the Point Cook base.
In 2016, the DOD released a plan which said its aim was for the Point Cook base to become a “multi-user, medium-sized operational heritage base”.
The plan said the base would provide “a secure military airhead” for the greater Melbourne region and aerodrome operations for Defence, the RAAF Museum and authorised civilian aircraft.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment is yet to make a decision on the DOD proposal.
