The Army at Oakey DPR/TV/1519

One hundred and two miles west of Brisbane on the lush rolling plains of the Darling Downs lies the small prosperous township of Oakey. Since its settlement last century Oakey (population 2,100) has been a dairy and wheat farming area. However over the past three years the township has assumed importance nationally as the eventual home of the Army Aviation Corps. On the outskirts of Oakey, on 570 acres which encompasses the old civil airfield, the Army Aviation Centre is gradually taking shape. Begun in 1969 the Centre will cost $8 million to build and will eventually house all major operational headquarters and administrative elements of the Corps including the present School of Army Aviation at Amberley. By the time the Centre is completed in 1974 there will be accommodation for 600 married and single men and maintenance and hanger facilities for 70 fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. Sandwiched between the Bunya Mountains to the east and the Great Dividing Range to the west the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey is a mixture of temporary prefabricated metal buildings and the partially completed multi storey steel and concrete structures that will be the new Centre. The present huts serve as the administrative offices and the aircraft engineering and servicing workshops. The huts will be phased out as each new building is completed. At present there are more than 50 Army families from 1 Aviation Regiment and ancilliary units at Oakey. All the families live in married quarters in the town. Many of these families have developed strong social and sporting links with the towns people. Some are active members of service clubs such as Lions, Jaycees and Rotary and the RSL. Others are active in youth clubs like the Scouts and the National Fitness Council. Army teams play in the local football and cricket competitions. In football the Army field teams in both the Rugby League and Australian Rules competitions. Many of the 270 Army personnel at Oakey are actively helping in the welfare of the town. The young Army doctor at the Aviation Centre spends his spare time teaching first aid to the local ambulance association. Some of the young single men work as voluntary life guards at the town's swimming pool during their leisure time. Others give up their spare time to coach school children in cricket and football and tennis. Everywhere there is an effort by the men from the Aviation Centre to participate and contribute to the very fabric of life in Oakey. The Army has members in the local Chamber of Commerce and on the Agricultural Show Committee. Army wives are also taking an active part in the town's life. Two wives are teachers. One teaches at the High School and the other at the Primary School. Three other wives work as nursing sisters at the local District Hospital. Still another plays an active role in the running of a local kindergarten. To the Army men and their families Oakey is their town and they intend to contribute to its development. Oakey is not an isolated case of an Army base integrating into the social and business life of the community. This happens in varying degrees at all Army establishments throughout Australia. Where ever bases are established, particularly in the country areas, new jobs are created and economic benefits flow on to the local business houses from the influx of Army personnel and their families. Also identified: 166901 Sergeant (Sgt) Brian Francis Spilsbury, 27, a fireman, his wife Annette, 24, a nursing sister; 5715740 Sgt D. J. Price, 25, a stores clerk; Sgt Page; Nurse Ann Hitchener; Matron Rita Hele; Major David Millie of Hawthorn, Vic, former OC of 16 Aviation Squadron; Captain (Capt) Richard Neville, 26 of 16 Aviation Squadron, wife Sharon, 22, teacher; 15903 Sgt Brian John Lewis, 32, of Brisbane, Qld; Corporal Phil Clark of Salisbury, SA; 42780 Capt Robert Warren Thomson, 31, of Sydney, NSW; Capt Don Trick.