In May 2002 Sinclair Knight Merz was commissioned by the Department of Defence to develop a Strategic Land Use Plan and Disposal Strategy for the RAAF Base at Point Cook, Victoria, in south-eastern Australia.
Established in 1913, just ten years after the first aircraft flight in history, Point Cook is the first Flying RAAF Base in Australia and is believed to be the oldest continually operating and intact military airfield in the world today. Point Cook retains intact 1914 and WWI buildings, a 1920s seaplane jetty and hangars, together with its WWII and post war landscapes.
The Strategic Land Use Plan was developed in close consultation with the community and relevant local, State and Federal Government agencies. The Project involved issues such as the preservation of heritage infrastructure and precincts, aircraft noise, existing facilities and contamination. The opportunities for the long-term use of the site include aviation training, educational precincts, tourism, accommodation, industry involvement and further possible development.
On the 29th February 2004, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Fran Bailey announced that Point Cook will be retained in public ownership with the airfield and majority of the land being leased for 49 years to a not-for-profit National Aviation Museum Trust..
Sinclair Knight Merz is continuing to assist the Department of Defence.