AS RAAF Base Wagga prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary at the weekend, eyes are also looking back at the contribution the defence force base has made to the city over many years.
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The anniversary is being marked with the Air Force Band performing concerts in the Civic Theatre on Friday and Saturday nights.
On Saturday at 11am, hundreds of RAAF personnel will take part in a Freedom of Entry to the City parade along Baylis Street from Morgan Street to the Civic Centre.
Weather permitting, a massive Globemaster C-17 transport plane and members of the Roulettes aerobatic team will fly over the parade.
The anniversary will also be a good excuse for former RAAF apprentices to get together again.
Thousands of young men as young as 15 trained as apprentices at Forest Hill between 1948 and 2003 and became the backbone of the air force.
“These were great days in my life,” said former apprentice Chris Ferman.
“The camaraderie and the trust you developed with your mates.
“You knew where you stood with your instructors.
“Most were strict, hard and firm but gave you plenty of director for the rest of your life.”
A good number of apprentices met their future wives in Wagga and at some point in their lives decided to return to the city to settle down.
Apprentices and other RAAF personnel have also come to the aid of city in times of crisis, such as floods and fires, and have helped build the city in various ways.
They have contributed to the economic well-being of the city and have provided sporting teams.
Many people recall the involvement of the RAAF with the 1954 visit to Wagga by a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Planning for the visit took months and put Wagga in the international spotlight as images of the Royal couple arriving at Forest Hill in a DC-3 were shown around the world. “The young men and women of the guard were proud to be part of the celebration, and as a bonus got a first-hand view of the Royal couple,” said base historian Wing Commander David Lavicka.
The RAAF is hoping as many Wagga people as possible support the base by watching Saturday’s parade. The base, threatened with closure in 1997, now has a secure future as the RAAF’s largest ground training facility.
