A
new era opens at Townsville
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Air Vice-Marshal Chris Spence and MPs Fran Bailey and Peter
Lindsay talk with cadets of No. 101 Squadron – which
parades at the base – at the official opening.
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Bindal
people perform the brolga dance. The brolga is represented
on the RAAF Base Townsville crest.
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A
FRESH era for Australian Defence Force capability in North Queensland
was ushered in earlier this month when Stage One of the RAAF Base
Townsville redevelopment project was officially opened.
Completed at a cost of $70 million, Stage One of the redevelopment
includes ordnance-loading aprons for aircraft and new operational,
technical, maintenance and fuel tanker facilities.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence Fran Bailey,
Deputy Chief of Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Chris Spence, Townville-based
Defence personnel and the city’s Air Force Cadets came together
to celebrate the official opening on October 4.
The event featured a traditional ceremony by the Bindal and Wulgurukaba
People, who have Indigenous Land Use Agreements with Defence as
part of the redevelopment. Air Combat Group supplied an F-111
and F/A-18 as static displays.
RAAF Base Townsville plays an important role in supporting air
operations conducted by the ADF as well as allied and regional
forces. The redevelopment will enhance the capability of the base
to support these operations by providing appropriate ordnance
loading areas for fighter, strike, maritime patrol and transport
aircraft.
Work has already begun on Stage Two of the redevelopment, which
will include transit accommodation, a gymnasium and a swimming
pool, a combined mess complex, an air movements facility and a
new main entrance and Security Police complex.
