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

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

(RAAF)

military air base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

, located in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's national capital,

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

. 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. It serves Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital ...

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, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...

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 bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

, 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 (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

-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 or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

personnel, who had been evacuated from Japanese occupied Indonesia to either RAAF Archerfield, Queensland or Melbourne. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel B. J. Fiedeldij of the

Military Aviation of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until 1950. It was an entirely separate organisation from the Royal Netherl ...

(''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 Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

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, its mandate Territory of New Guin ...

. 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 No. 5 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force training, army co-operation and helicopter squadron. The squadron was formed in 1917 as a training unit of the Australian Flying Corps in Britain, readying pilots for service on the Western Front ...

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, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on Ground warfare, land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include avia ...

, 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 No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) VIP transport squadron. It operates Boeing 737 Business Jets and Dassault Falcon 7Xs from Defence Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra. The squadron was formed in February 1942 f ...

, which is responsible for the operations of the RAAF's VIP transport aircraft that are used to transport Australian officials such as the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, cabinet ministers, the

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, 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. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

visits Canberra,

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

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 26 ...

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 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, Disability and Ageing, the TGA regulates the safety, quality, efficacy and advertisi ...

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 of ...

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. They are used as on demand vehicles by many transport authorities, such as Translink. First generation (2002-2005) The first-generation Poncho was based on ...

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

Sports

Fairbairn Golf Club is an 18-hole golf course open to members and visitors.

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