Point Cook is a suburb 22 km south-west of Melbourne’s Central Business District within the City of Wyndham local government area. Located in Victoria, Australia, it is the site of the RAAF Williams Base.

The point cook Coastal Park is crossed by kilometres of mowed grass tracks perfect for a leisurely stroll, or at low tide there are mudflats to explore. A variety of shorebirds can be seen feeding on the mudflats at this time of year including the Double-banded Plover and Lesser Golden Plover.

Foundation for Success: Exploring Primary Schools in Point Cook

During the World War I years the Point Cook base was Australia’s main centre of military aviation and training. Famous aviators trained at Point Cook including William Williams (first Marshal of the RAAF), Duigan, Wackett, CWA Scott and Kingsford-Smith. The base was also the departure point for the first air sea rescue flight, the first aerial survey flight and the first trials of crop dusting.

After the war ended in 1918 the RAAF continued to use the Point Cook site as a flying school until 1925, when the first air force base was built at Avalon in New South Wales. During this period the base was used to train many of the first Australian airmen, who went on to become ace pilots.

The current Point Cook RAAF Base is still in operation as the headquarters of the RAAF College, including the Officers Training School. It is also the home of the RAAF Museum. Point Cook has an active cafe and restaurant culture that reflects that of greater Melbourne, with over 50 restaurants and cafés. These can be found all over the suburb, with several concentrated locations at Point Cook Town Centre, Featherbrook Shopping Centre, Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre, Soho Village and across the freeway from Williams Landing railway station.