$87m upgrade for Canungra

By Hugh McKenzie

THE Canungra Military Training Area is expected to receive a major refurbishment that will keep it effective for the next 30 years.

Subject to a successful hearing by the Parliamentary Committee on Public Works, an estimated $19.4 million will be spent in financial year 05/06.

Most of the funds will go towards construction of two new living-in accommodation blocks, engineering services and the education facility as part of a 14-element program costing a total of $86.7 million. The program is expected to be completed in 2007.

Much of the area will be brought up to the standard of Building Code of Australia requirements. Where possible, some buildings will be demolished or disposed of, while others will be reused or refurbished.

Bob Sheppard, Project Director Infrastructure, Planning and Environment CSIG, said the reconstruction “varies from building to building, with training facilities like classrooms dating from the 1950s and 1970s to be rebuilt completely”.

“Messing and support facilities and services infrastructure will be repaired and upgraded with two mess buildings combined to share a new kitchen with new equipment,” Mr Sheppard said.

“The gymnasium will be upgraded with the addition of a weight training area.”

The barracks will have its entrance re-established and a new visitors’ centre and museum on middle ridge will provide improved access to the Memorial Wall and Memory Hill for visitors.

Established in 1942 as the LHQ Trg Centre, Canungra trained troops for the war in the Pacific.

At the end of WWII the centre was scaled down and renamed the Jungle Training Centre (JTC).

With the commitment of ground forces in Korea and the Malayan emergency, JTC trained troops for Malaya and the Borneo Confrontation.

Renamed the Land Warfare Centre (LWC), Canungra is HQ Regional Training Centre, conducting career development courses for NCOs and officers and provides the colocated Defence Intelligence Training Centre with areas for training intelligence personnel.