A THRILLING aerobatic display over central Wagga by a Roulettes PC-9 on Friday set the scene for an even more exciting flyover on Saturday during a Freedom of the City parade along Baylis Street to mark the 75th anniversary of RAAF Base Wagga.
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Weather permitting, six PC-9s as well as a massive Globemaster C-17 will fly over the parade soon after it steps off from Morgan Street’s intersection with Baylis Street at 11am.
Late Friday afternoon the air force balloon arrived at Bolton Park where it will offer rides to the public on Saturday between 8am and 10am, again if weather permits.
One of the people who will definitely be watching the parade is Sergeant Deborah Harris, of the RAAF School of Administration and Logistics Training at Forest Hill.
Sergeant Harris will be minding her three grandchildren so her daughter, Aircraftwoman Rebecca Harris, can march in the parade along with more than 350 other Australian Defence Force personnel.
“I enjoy marching,” said Aircraftwoman Harris, who is about to undertake training in supply, the same field as her mother, who as been in the RAAF 13 years.
“I had never experienced it before, it brings me pride.”
The RAAF has organised a big day of celebrations to mark 75 years since the base was founded on July 1, 1940.
No 2 Service Flying School began flying operations then with Wirraways and Ansons during World War II.
Between 1948 and 2003 the base was the heart of the air force’s apprenticeship scheme.
Many former apprentices still live in Wagga.
The name of the base was changed in 1952 from RAAF Station Forest Hill to RAAF Base Wagga in recognition of its close association with the city of Wagga.
See the RAAF’s Facebook page: Royal Australian Air Force.
The base was threatened with closure in 1997, but a community fightback led by then member for Riverina Kay Hull and strongly backed by The Daily Advertiser reversed the proposal and, in fact, resulted in the base being upgraded and made the largest training base in the air force.
The base is now known as the Home of the Airman and employs about 500 people in addition to the people undergoing training there.
The head of Air Force Training Group, Air Commodore Brian Edwards, will be part of this weekend’s celebrations.
The air force band will play a concert in the Civic Theatre on Saturday night.
RAAF Base Wagga was granted Freedom of the City in 1961. At that time only former Member for Wagga Eddie Graham had been given the honour, conferred on individuals or institutions for outstanding service to the city.
