Fairbairn (), formerly RAAF Base Fairbairn, is a former

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF)

military air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

, located in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

's national capital,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

. Over the years the name of the establishment, and the use of the land, has changed. The base was in use by the RAAF between 1940 and 2007, when the land occupied north and east of the

Canberra Airport Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the District of Majura, Australian Capital Territory serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital Te ...

runways was sold to Capital Airport Pty Limited for the purposes of advancing

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

and the development of a

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

. A speedway, motorbike and go kart track are present in the Canberra Motorsport Precinct located 2 km from Canberra Airport.

Defence use

RAAF base

RAAF squadrons were permanently based at the Canberra Aerodrome from 1939. The base was formally established as RAAF Station Canberra on 1 April 1940. In 1941 part of the airport was named Fairbairn Airbase after the late Minister for Air and Civil Aviation

James Fairbairn James Valentine Fairbairn (28 July 1897 – 13 August 1940) was an Australian aviator and politician. A World War I fighter pilot, he represented the United Australia Party (UAP) in federal parliament and served as Minister for Air and Civil ...

, Member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of ...

, who was killed in an aircraft crash in the proximity of the airfield on 13 August 1940. A joint

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

-Australian

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

unit, No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF was formed at Fairbairn on 4 April 1942, paving the way for other such units. 18 (NEI) Sqn was drawn initially from two groups of ethnic

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and Indonesian personnel, who had been evacuated from Japanese occupied Indonesia to either RAAF Archerfield, Queensland or Melbourne. Under the command of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

B. J. Fiedeldij of the

Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( nl, Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 unt ...

(''KNIL-ML''), the staff of 18 (NEI) Sqn was complemented by a number of RAAF personnel, including both aviators and ground staff. After it had become fully operational with

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

s, 18 (NEI) RAAF was deployed to, and carried out missions throughout the

South West Pacific theatre The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...

. The base became Headquarters RAAF Canberra in 1952. 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. Fairbairn was an important location for military helicopter training, with No. 5 Squadron RAAF being located there from 1966 until 1989. From 1990 to 1998 the

Australian Defence Force Helicopter School The Australian Defence Force Helicopter School (ADFHS) was an Australian Defence Force unit responsible for training helicopter pilots. It was formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1998. History The school was established at RAAF Base Fairbairn in Can ...

was located at Fairbairn. One of the school's successor units, the

Army Helicopter School An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, remained at Fairbairn until 2001.

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 Airport Pty Ltd.Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd
/ref> 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 RAAF, which is responsible for the operations of the RAAF's

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

transport aircraft that are used to transport Australian officials such as the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

, cabinet ministers, the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

, 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 special purpose VIP BBJ1s and Bombardier Challenger 604s, 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 The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

visits Canberra,

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and us ...

lands there. Fairbairn was also home to No. 28 Squadron (Active Reserve Squadron) until it was relocated to

HMAS Harman HMAS ''Harman'' is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base that serves as a communications and logistics facility. The main base is located in the Australian capital of Canberra, and is geographically recognised as the suburb of Harman (postcode 2 ...

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 Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

and other tenants. The

Therapeutic Goods Administration The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, the TGA regulates the quality, supply and advertising of medicines, p ...

proposed to relocate its offices and laboratories to Fairbairn from a site in

Symonston Symonston (postcode: 2609) is a primarily industrial and agricultural suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Symonston is named after Sir Josiah Symon a Legislator, Federalist and one of the Founders of the Constitution o ...

of which it had been a tenant since 1992 in 2020. The relocation began in 2022. In July 2022,

Transport Canberra Transport Canberra & City Services (TCCS) is a directorate of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory of the Australian Capital Territory, responsible for managing roads, footpaths and cycle paths and managing public transport in Can ...

and

announced a three-month trial for a shuttle bus loop service from the airport to Fairbairn. The route is served by

Hino Poncho The is a low-floor minibus produced by Hino Motors through the J-Bus joint venture. First generation (2002-2005) The first-generation Poncho was based on the Fiat Ducato chassis. *VF3ZCPMAC (2002) File:Tokyubus-kap10-hi23-20060302.jpg, Pon ...

buses and operates on weekdays from 7am until 10am and 4pm to 7pm.

References and notes

External links

National Trust concerns (PDF)
* RAAF New
Canberra International Airport official siteCanberra Airport Business Parks
{{RAAF Bases Buildings and structures in Canberra Fairbairn Airports in the Australian Capital Territory 1940 establishments in Australia Military installations established in 1940 2003 disestablishments in Australia