Fairbairn, Canberra
Encyclopedia
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF) located in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's national capital, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
. Over the years the name of the establishment, and the use of the land, has changed. The land occupies the "North East quadrant" of what is currently known as Canberra Airport; see that page for additional information.
RAAF base
RAAF squadrons were permanently based at the CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
Aerodrome from 1939. The base was formally established as RAAF Station Canberra on 1 April 1940. It became Headquarters RAAF Canberra in 1953 at the cessation of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and was renamed Fairbairn Airbase after the late Minister for Air and Civil Aviation James Fairbairn
James Fairbairn
James Valentine Fairbairn was a pastoralist, aviator, Australian politician and cabinet minister who was killed in the Canberra air disaster....
, Member of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
, who was killed in an aircraft crash in the proximity of the airfield
Canberra air disaster, 1940
The 1940 Canberra air disaster was a plane crash that occurred near Canberra, the capital of Australia, on 13 August 1940, during World War II. The six passengers, including three members of the Australian Cabinet and the Chief of the General Staff, and the four crew were all killed...
on 13 August 1940. In December 1960 the base was selected as the locality for the RAAF Staff College, and in 1962, the area was renamed RAAF Base Fairbairn.
Defence Establishment Fairbairn
The Defence Reform Program (DRP) determined the base was no longer required and on 28 May 1998 the lease on the base was sold to Canberra International AirportCanberra International Airport
Canberra International Airport , now trading as Canberra Airport, is the airport serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, and the city of Queanbeyan, NSW. Located at the eastern edge of North Canberra, it is the 8th busiest airport in Australia. The airport is the main hub for Brindabella Airlines...
Pty Ltd. Part of the base was sub-leased back to the (Australian) Department of Defence on a five-year lease to allow the progressive wind up of operations. The base was decommissioned on 27 June 2003 and the domestic area became known as Defence Establishment Fairbairn, with Canberra International Airport and the Capital Airport Group having full control of the airfield and the site.
The only remaining military unit is No 34 Squadron
No. 34 Squadron RAAF
No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force transport squadron. It is currently based at Canberra International Airport in the Australian capital Canberra, where it operates two Boeing 737 Business Jets and three Bombardier Challenger 604s.-History:...
, which is responsible for the operations of the airforce's VIP transport aircraft which are used to transport Australian officials such as the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, cabinet ministers, the Governor General, the leader of the opposition and high ranking defence force officers when travelling both internationally or within Australia.
Besides being the home base of No 34 Squadron's
No. 34 Squadron RAAF
No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force transport squadron. It is currently based at Canberra International Airport in the Australian capital Canberra, where it operates two Boeing 737 Business Jets and three Bombardier Challenger 604s.-History:...
special purpose VIP Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
s and Bombardier
Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...
Challengers, Fairbairn is also regularly used by other defence force aircraft.
The airport is used by official aircraft carrying foreign heads of state or government when visiting Canberra, for example when the US President visits Canberra, Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
lands there.
Fairbairn was also home to No 28 Squadron
No. 28 Squadron RAAF
No 28 Squadron is a RAAF Active Reserve Squadron, based at HMAS Harman in the Australian Capital Territory.It was raised in 1984 at RAAF Base Fairbairn, and relocated to Harman upon the closure of RAAF Base Fairbairn in May 2004....
(Active Reserve Squadron) until it was relocated to HMAS Harman
HMAS Harman
HMAS Harman is a Royal Australian Navy communications and logistics facility. The main base is located in the Australian capital of Canberra, and is geographically recognised as the suburb of Harman...
when Fairbairn was decommissioned.
Business Park
In 2006, Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd, and the airport management company Capital Airport Group Pty Ltd, jointly released a prospectus and embarked on a building program in the area now called "Fairbairn". These new buildings have been leased and are occupied by the Department of DefenceDepartment of Defence (Australia)
The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...
and other tenants.