On 30 March 2022, a new memorial was dedicated at the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force to mark its 101st birthday and the end of the Air Force Centenary Year. Dedicated at the RAAF Base Point Cook, the new memorial honours all who have served across the past 100 years of the RAAF and those who will go on to serve in the future.
The Memorial has been constructed opposite the existing Memorial at Point Cook, dedicated to the Australian Flying Corps. In the new build, three major elements come together to create a memorial that honours all those who have served with the Royal Australian Air Force over the past 100 years. Bringing together a wider semi-circle at the base, two stone walls, and a spotlight.
The semi-circle echoes the opposite AFC Memorial and symbolises the earth, coming together with the AFC Memorial to create the complete circle (Image courtesy of the RAAF)
Written along this curved wall are the words, ‘For all those who serve have served and will serve in the Royal Australian Air Force’.
The two walls within the semicircle stand in the centre. One wall in the shape of a chevron and the other in the shape of an officer’s rank slide, coming together to represent all enlisted and commissioned aviators of the RAAF. Both walls are sloped to direct your eye towards the heavens. Between the stone walls is a searchlight pointing directly up. On special occasions, this spotlight will be illuminated, pointing forever skyward and honouring the 3143 Air Force Members who are still classed as missing in action.
The Memorial stands to honour the dedication, service, and sacrifice of the more than 350,000 Australians who have served with the RAAF since 1921 and the 11,191 who paid the ultimate price serving the nation.
In a subtle but poignant nod to history, the 2022 Memorial was constructed by Lodge Brothers Stonemasons, the same organisation commissioned to construct the opposing AFC Memorial in 1938.
The new Memorial was dedicated on Wednesday 30 March to everyone who has worn the RAAF uniform over the past 100 years and marked the close of the Air Force Centenary year, leaving a permanent legacy to remember this remarkable year.
As the Air Force Centenary was formally brought to a close with the dedication ceremony, we look back on an incredible year of events and moments honouring the past 100 years of Air Force, while looking ahead to the future for the next 100 years and beyond.
"Then. Now. Always." triptych on display at the Awards Dinner for all the retired AMs and AVMs at the 1930s Point Cook Officers Mess
Own your piece of history and commemorate the end of the Air Force Centenary with the incredible final collection, 'Then. Now. Always.'
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