Lengthy history of Point Cook down the years - sadly not a lot of info about the Winjeel era but given the 'history' otherwise provided this is an excellent read. Good to see that at last the history of the site is recognized and it will be preserved (for now anyway).
An Interesting Point a history of military aviation at Point Cook 1914-2014 / Steve Campbell-Wright
“...Australia’s commitment to the Vietnam War in the early 1960s increased the demand for pilots, and airline pilot recruitment campaigns accounted for many pilot discharges. So, pilot training at Point Cook was placed under considerable pressure as the expected annual graduation rate increased from 38 before 1964 to 100 by 1968. In addition to this, Point Cook trained pilots for the Navy and Army at a rate of 12 and 28 each year respectively. On busy days, it was not unusual to have four parallel runways operating at Point Cook as aircraft also departed for training at Laverton and Bacchus Marsh. There could be over a dozen aircraft in the circuit at one time....” (page 176)
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“...The last RAAF Academy graduation parade—that of No 35 Course—was held on 11 December 1985, and was reviewed by the Governor-General, Sir Ninian Stephen, in front of a record audience of 1500 dignitaries and family members. The Queens’ Colour for the RAAF Academy was laid up in the Officers Mess after the parade, and a handling display of the latest F/A-18 Hornet jet fighter was given by Flight Lieutenant Mark Binskin [ex-A4G now CDF]. Some 660 students had graduated from the RAAF College and RAAF Academy in their near four-decade existence...” (page 190)
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“...The move from the southern tarmac into the RAAF Academy buildings provided something of a breath of fresh air for Officers’ Training School, literally in fact, because the summer aroma of rotting seaweed provided a foul smell remarked on by all who worked there. It is debatable whether the seaweed was the cause, because once improvements were made to the Board of Works sewerage farm settling tanks at Werribee South in the late 1990s, the seaweed did not seem to smell as much....”
http://www.radschool.org.au/Books/An...ng%20Point.pdf (15Mb)