News Archive

On Saturday, 18 November 2017, the Friends of the RAAF Museum hosted a lecture on the RAAF Phantom F4 E. The lecture was part of the annual Merz series of lectures and was held in the former Officers’ Mess RAAF Point Cook.

The guest speakers were AVM (Retd) Dave Rodgers, AM (pilot) and WGCDR (Retd) Lance Halvorson, MBE (navigator) who shared their experiences as crew members on the F4-E Phantom aircraft.

Remembrance Day 2017 marks the centenary year of the 1st (Training) Wing’s arrival in Tetbury, and on this day Group Captain Carl Schiller OAM CSM (Retd), presented on behalf of the Air Force Association a bronze plaque commemorating the airmen who died during the Wing’s operation from nearby Leighterton and Minchinhampton airfields.

On 9 November a team of Air Force Association Victoria volunteers gathered at the Association’s Hawthorn office to assemble and dispatch 705 care parcels for deployed Air Force personnel in the Middle East and elsewhere.

This year the AFA team was joined by volunteers from 21 Squadron, led by their Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Nigel Leurs. As past recipients of the AFA’s Care Parcel Program, the 21 Squadron members know how important it is to receive a little something from home at Christmas.

Friends of the RAAF Museum are once again hosting the 2017 Merz Lecture at Point Cook. The topic for this year’s lecture is the McDonnell Douglas F4-E Phantom in RAAF service

Join AVM (Ret’d) Dave Rogers AM and WGCDR (Ret’d) Lance Halvorson MBE (Ret’d) as they share their experiences as crew members on the F4-E Phantom aircraft – and support Friends of the RAAF.

AFA (Victoria) President GPCAPT (Ret’d) Carl Schiller, OAM CSM, is travelling to Tetbury (near the Cotswolds) in the UK to take part in the annual commemoration on Remembrance Day of the fallen airmen of the 1st Wing Australian Flying Corps.

Eulogies for AVM (Ret’d) Brent Espeland AM were delivered by:

• Air Commodore Christopher (Noddy) Sawade
• Peter Colliver, National Secretary, Air Force Association

On Tuesday 10 October 2017, St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral was packed with family, friends and Air Force colleagues who came to pay their respects to farewell AVM Brent Espeland, who passed away on 29 September, 2017 following a short battle with cancer. He was aged 69 years

Alice Ross-King (1887-1968) was an Australian civilian and military nurse who served in WW1 and WWII. Alice was born at Ballarat, Victoria.In 1949, she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest award made by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Alice was one of two Australian nurses to receive the medal in 1949.
The Air Force Association (Western Australia Division) named its new, 102 bed, Residential Care Centre at Bull Creek ‘Alice Ross-King Care Centre’ in honour of this great Australian.

Brenton, ‘Brent’ as he was commonly known, was a retired senior RAAF officer and a former Deputy Chief of Air Force – the second most senior appointment in the RAAF. Sadly, Brent passed away on September 29th, 2017 following a short battle with cancer. He was aged 69 years.

The October to December 2017 460 Squadron (The G for George Squadron) Veterans and Friends Group newsletter. Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster, 60th anniversary of BBMF, BBMF Merlin engines pause in operations, 77th Anniversary of Battle of Britain Commemoration and 'Dinner with George'.

Most military aircraft have an ignominious end, rotting in a farmer’s back paddock, broken up and buried or, at best, sitting in an aircraft boneyard waiting to be cannibalised. Former RAAF Caribou A4-231 was fortunate to be purchased by the National Vietnam Veterans’ Museum at Phillip Island and is on display to continue the story of this aircraft’s role in Air Force’s airlift capability.

It was a ‘Boy’s Own’ day for Lachlan Davey who visited the National Vietnam Veterans’ Museum at Phillip Island with his grandpa Peter Colliver. Taking the controls of former 9SQN Huey A2-110, Lachlan was among 46 Association members and their guests visiting the museum as part of the Division’s ‘Meet-a-Mate’ Program held on August 22^nd.

In this comprehensive, thoroughly researched book Matthew Glozier describes the remarkable 75 year history of the Air Training Corps (ATC) and Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) and pays tribute to the over 150,000 cadets and staff
whose lives the organisation has positively influenced.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Dan Tehan MP today encouraged Australians to pause and reflect on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay.

The Battle of Milne Bay, from 25 August to 7 September 1942, saw a Japanese amphibious landing defeated for the first time in the Second World War, and marked a turning point during the Papuan campaign.

It has been a longstanding feature of the Australian superannuation system that military personnel and military invalidity pensioners are subject to tax on their superannuation income streams.

Read the joint media release from the Hon Dan Tehan MP & the Hon Kelly O'Dwyer MP

The following is a retrospective of the man that for many years fulfilled the task of being our Patron . The roll that will be difficult to fill as the likes of Peter Isaacson don't grow on trees.

In this comprehensive, thoroughly researched book Matthew Glozier describes the remarkable 75 year history of the Air Training Corps (ATC) and Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) and pays tribute to the over 150,000 cadets and staff whose lives the organisation has positively influenced.

Members of the Air Task Group pause from their busy workload to celebrate Christmas Day 2016 with a Bar B Que breakfast served to fellow members and coalition partners at the base Dining Facility and participate in distribution of care packages.

The Division’s AFC Centenary WW1 Commemoration held at Point Cook on November 13th, 2016 was indeed a milestone event for the Association and Air Force.

The event received wide acclaim from serving and former serving members and others who attended.

A highlight of the ceremony was the insertion of a capsule containing a scroll with the names of 11,401 AFC and RAAF personnel who lost their life on operational service