Irwin Barracks is an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

located in , a suburb of ,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It occupies a site on the western side of the Fremantle railway line. It was previously known as Karrakatta Camp and Irwin Training Centre.

History

The barracks were originally named the ''Irwin Training Centre'' on 5 December 1948 in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin, the first military commandant of

(1829–1833). Prior to this the area was known as ''Karrakatta Camp'' and was set-aside as a military training area by the Western Australian Colonial Government in 1895. The site was used for short camps (in tented accommodation) and courses for Militia and School Cadet units until the beginning of World War II. In 1896 a

rifle range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

was constructed at Karrakatta and equipped with seven sets of Jeffries patented "Wimbledon" targetsonly the fourth range in the world so equipped. The range replaced the original rifle range located at Mount Eliza, which was used by all metro-based troops including the Western Australian contingents, which trained at Karrakatta camp for the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902). On 6 October 1898 completion of buildings for use as magazines for storage of powder and ammunition for Perth No.1 Battery were completed. The buildings were constructed of local coastal limestone with slate roofs. These buildings have walls thick and floors of concrete lined with timber flooring. They still exist within the Barracks. The magazine buildings are included on the Commonwealth Heritage List as evidence of colonial defence infrastructure. Following

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, the site was transferred from the State of Western Australia to the Commonwealth for A£750. The site formed part of the 5th Military District and was also used for the training of citizen forces (militia) under the Commonwealth. In 1913 the range was formally closed as it was deemed "unsafe", following the earlier death of an army cadet in November 1909, with the range relocated to a new site in Swanbourne. The camp was modernised and expanded during World War II, housing various units, as well as 1,000 Italian prisoners of war. After the war the camp served as an accommodation centre for former members of the Polish forces who had elected to migrate to Australia. In mid-1948 the camp was chosen to serve as a training camp for the Citizen Military Forces, and on 5 December 1948 it was ceremonially renamed the Irwin Training Centre. Most of the original wooden buildings were replaced by modern brick buildings during the 1950s and 1960s, though the last wooden buildings were not demolished until the 1980s.

Current

Irwin Barracks is the headquarters of 13th Brigade, an Army Reserve formation of the Australian Army. The 13th Brigade currently consists of the following units: *Headquarters 13th Brigade * 10th Light Horse Regiment * 13th Engineer Regiment *109th Signals Squadron * 11th/28th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment * 16th Battalion, Royal Western Australia Regiment * 13th Combat Service Support Battalion The barracks also house: * 3rd Light Battery, Royal Australian Artillery. Formerly (until 2018) a component of the 13th Brigade. *3 Squadron, Pilbara Regiment. * Western Australia University Regiment.This unit has moved to Leeuwin Barracks in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. *Headquarters Western Australia Australian Army Cadets Brigade *502 Army Cadet Unit Karrakatta

Stolen APC incident

On 27 April 1993, 27 year old Gary Alan Hayes stole an M-113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) from the barracks. He drove it through the Perth central business district, ramming police targets and government buildings, causing damage to police and government buildings, 7 police vehicles, 5 private vehicles, and a bus stop. He was subsequently forced out of the APC with tear gas dropped into the tank. Hayes was charged with 19 counts of criminal damage, burglary and assault of police officers and was sentenced to four and a half years in Casuarina Prison with the possibility of parole after 17 months. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

History

Current

Stolen APC incident

See also

References

Further reading