Point Cook: Population, history, sights, shopping, RAAF Williams

Point Cook is home to lots of young families but it’s also the birthplace of Australian military aviation and provided the setting for the 1948 Australian Grand Prix. Here’s a look at postcode 3030.

Four CT4 trainers fly over the Point Cook RAAF base in 1989.

Point Cook may be one of the fastest growing suburban developments on Port Phillip Bay, but it wasn’t long ago when it was all farmland.

Developers recognised the area’s potential in the 1990s and in the blink of an eye housing developments started springing up.

Today, the area is home to 49,929 people, including many families with children, according to the latest Census data.

The area was initially named after John M Cooke, a ship’s mate on the H.M.S. Rattlesnake, but the “e” on the end of “Cooke” was dropped from popular usage, resulting in the suburb’s current spelling.

The first load of equipment, including tents and buckets, is unloaded at Point Cook in 1913.

The first Half-Flight of the Australian Flying Corps in camp at Point Cook just before going overseas in 1915.

Thomas Chirnside, a successful businessman and Werribee landholder, owned much of Point Cook in the mid 1850s and early 1900s.

He released deer, fox and rabbits on the land for hunting, and built stables and three racetracks at Point Cook for his extensive collection of Thoroughbred horses.

A Chirnside family homestead at the Point Cook Coastal Park is now heritage listed.

But Point Cook’s biggest claim to fame is its status as the birthplace of Australian military aviation.

Former Governor-general Sir John Kerr attends the RAAF graduation ceremony at Point Cook in 1975.

The Australian Government bought 300 hectares from the Chirnsides in 1913 and used it to establish the Australian Flying Corps, the country’s first military flying school, now known as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

RAAF Williams is still located in Point Cook today and the RAAF Museum has a number of old and retired aircraft on display.

Lieutenant Richard Williams in the cockpit of a BE2A aircraft when he was a trainee pilot at Point Cook in 1914.

Three generations of training aircraft over RAAF base Point Cook in 1983, front to rear: Tiger Moth, Winjeel and CT4 planes.

Warriors of the sky celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first pilots course at RAAF's Point Cook base in 1989.

A Winjeel plane over Point Cook RAAF base in 1966.

In 1948 the Australian Grand Prix was also held at Point Cook’s RAAF base and it was won by Frank Pratt in a BMW 328.

Other notable locations in Point Cook include the Cheetham Wetlands, which is home to a number of migratory birds and native wildlife, as well as the Alamanda Wetlands Park and the Saltwater Coast Crocodile Park.

Popular shopping destinations include Stockland Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre.

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