COMD 3Bde BRIG Chris Field thanks Senator Ian Macdonald after the unveiling of the commemorative
plaque to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the barracks
T
OWNSVILLE soldiers
turned on a parade bigger than
any before it to mark the 50th
anniversary of the opening of
Lavarack Barracks in July.
The Barracks, controversially
brought to North Queensland
to help stimulate a flagging
economy, was officially opened
by Prime Minister Harold
Holt on July 29, 1966.
NQ senator, Ian Macdonald
unveiled a plaque
commemorating the opening
after the parade which was
conducted on the 1RAR parade
ground and along Melton
Black Drive, the main entrance
to Lavarack Barracks.
Guests at the opening ceremony
and function afterwards on
the lawn in front of HQ 3Bde
included Neville and Ian Smith,
whose father Angus Smith was
Mayor of Townsville in 1996 and
instrumental in agitating to bring
the barracks to North Queensland.
He was very successful in
winning development for
the city - PM Holt opened
Lavarack Barracks and
James Cook University on
the same day in 1966.
Lavarack Barracks this year
boasts at least one more direct
connection to the establishmet
of the facility here - SGT David
Nicholas, an instructor at the
NQ wing of the WONCO-A.
PM Holt chose to name
the barracks after SGT
Nicholas’ great, great uncle
GEN Sir John Lavarack.
The anniversary parade was
attended by three former Brigade
Commanders - MAJGEN
(retd) Mike Smith, MAJGEN
(retd) Mick Slater and LTGEN
(retd) John Caligari.
Soldiers based at Lavarack
Barracks have deployed on a
wide range of missions in the
50 years since it was opened,
including: the Vietnam War,
INTERFET in East Timor,
UN missions and support to
other peacekeeping operations
including deployments
to Somalia, Cambodia,
Rwanda, Solomon Islands
and Bougainville; Disaster
relief missions in Australia
and overseas; deployments to
Iraq, Afghanistan and other
Middle East deployments.
Photos: DAVID BROCK and CPL SEBASTIAN BEURICH
SEPTEMBER 2016 | 41