The Officer Cadet School, Portsea (sometimes referred to as OCS Portsea) was an officer training establishment of the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
. Established at Portsea in Victoria, Australia, in 1951 to provide training to officer cadets prior to commissioning, for many years OCS provided the Australian Regular Army with the bulk of its junior officers. However, following a review of military training establishments in Australia in the mid-1980s, the school was eventually closed in 1985, as the
Royal Military College, Duntroon
lit: Learning promotes strength
, established =
, type = Military college
, chancellor =
, head_label = Commandant
, head = Brigadier Ana Duncan
, principal =
, city = Campbell
, state ...
, assumed sole responsibility for training Army officers.
The motto of OCS Portsea was ''Loyalty and Service'', which was chosen by
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
(later
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
)
James Harrison during his time serving as OCS's first Commandant (1952–1954).
Location
OCS Portsea was located at
Point Nepean
Point Nepean ( Boonwurrung: ''Boona-djalang'') marks the southern point of The Rip (the entrance to Port Phillip) and the most westerly point of the Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia. It was named in 1802 after the British polit ...
near the mouth of
Port Phillip Bay
Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is compl ...
in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia.
[Dennis et al 1995, p. 471.] The land occupied by OCS was originally used as a quarantine station for many years, where newly arrived immigrants were housed before they could be screened for infectious diseases. When the quarantine station closed, the OCS took up the remainder of the land, although upon closure the land was re-allocated to the Army School of Health. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Defence presence on the land ended when the Army School of Health moved to
Latchford Barracks
Latchford Barracks is an Australian Army base in the suburb of Bonegilla, located about to the east of Wodonga, Victoria. It is named after Colonel E.W. Latchford, MBE, MC (1889–1962). The barracks is host to the Army Logistic Training Cent ...
, in
Bonegilla, Victoria
Bonegilla is a bounded rural locality of the City of Wodonga local government area in north-east Victoria, Australia, east of Wodonga, and around north-east of Melbourne. At the , Bonegilla and the surrounding area had a population of 610 ...
. In June 2009, the land was transferred to the Victorian government and has been incorporated into the Point Nepean National Park. In December 2009, the site was opened to the community as a public park and the Portsea location is now heritage listed, forming part of the greater Point Nepean National Park.
Many of the old buildings were retained and some still stand today, having been protected under law. One of the buildings, which was used as a hospital, remains as a museum. OCS Cadets conducted lessons in a building previously used as a mortuary during the operation of the quarantine station. The Regimental Sergeant Major's hut is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Victoria.
History
The Officer Cadet School, Portsea began training officers for the Australian Army in January 1952. During its 33 years of operation, 3,544 cadets graduated, including 2,826 Australian Regular Army, 30 RAAF and 688 foreign students from the School until it closed in 1985.
[Lindsay 1995, p. 36.] Between 1952 and 1985, OCS Portsea trained 40 percent of the new officers commissioned into the Regular Army, compared with Duntroon's 28 percent. The remaining officers were provided by the Officer Training Wing of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps School at George's Heights, Sydney, and the
Officer Training Unit, Scheyville
The Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU Scheyville, pronounced Skyville) was a military training establishment for officers of the Australian Army. Located in the area of in the Hawkesbury region of Sydney, Australia, the establishment was ...
.
![Oficer Cadet School Portsea brass shoulder title](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Oficer_Cadet_School_Portsea_brass_shoulder_title.png)
The school was set up amidst the backdrop of the post-war period, when commitments to
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and
Japan and to the national service scheme required an increase in the number of junior officers in the Army. The four-year course at the
Royal Military College, Duntroon
lit: Learning promotes strength
, established =
, type = Military college
, chancellor =
, head_label = Commandant
, head = Brigadier Ana Duncan
, principal =
, city = Campbell
, state ...
was not flexible enough to enable this increase in junior officers, so the decision was made to establish the Officer Cadet School at Portsea. Unlike Duntroon OCS did not provide a degree course and trained would be junior officers over a shorter course; initially this was a six-month course, but later it became one year.
[
The course later ran for 44 weeks. Entry criteria differed to Duntroon, with broader age ranges and lower educational requirements; consequently a high proportion of Portsea's officer cadets were serving soldiers deemed suitable for commissioning.][ A significant number of OCS cadets were direct entry civilians. Additionally, OCS trained servicemen from other nations including the Philippines, South Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Uganda, Fiji and New Zealand and those graduated were commissioned into their respective services. A number of graduates were also RAAF personnel.][
Following the ]Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, the national service scheme ended and the OTU Scheyville was closed in 1973. In the mid-1970s, a review of military training establishments in Australia occurred. As a result, a decision created a tri-service military academy offering tertiary education to officer trainees of all three services (Army, Air Force and Navy). This academy became known as the Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...
(ADFA). Due to the formation of ADFA, the Royal Military College, Duntroon stopped providing degrees to its graduates and reduced its course from four years to eighteen months. This essentially meant that Duntroon and OCS would be providing the same training and the decision was made to close Portsea in 1985,[Lindsay 1995, p. 33.] as RMC Duntroon would commence the eighteen-month course in 1986.
The final OCS graduating class was the class of December 1985, which included female cadets for the first time following the closure of the Women's Officer Training Wing at Georges Heights (Sydney) in December 1984.[ RMC Duntroon then became the sole officer commissioning establishment for General Service Officers in the Australian Regular Army. In December 1986, the final Portsea intake, who had been transferred to Duntroon, graduated.
]
The Colours
OCS Portsea's colours were presented on 1 June 1968, by Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground. They consisted of a Queen's Colour with the "OCS motif in the centre" and a Regimental Colour that was an "infantry green flag with the regimental badge, title and moto surrounded by wattle sprigs". With the closure of OCS Portsea in December 1985, the school's Colours were laid up. On 23 March 1986, the Colours were paraded for the last time and were then laid up in the Anzac Memorial Chapel of St Paul at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory.
The Portsea Memorial Wall
A Memorial Wall dedicated to OCS graduates who lost their lives on active service was established, overlooking the parade ground, at the OCS location at Portsea and dedicated in 1967. The names of these members also appear on tablets overlooking the parade ground at the Royal Military College, Duntroon.[Lindsay 1995, p. 307.] After Portsea's closure of the memorial wall was carefully dismantled and re-erected within the grounds of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Originally this was located outside the Commandant's house, but in 2004 it was moved to Stakey Park on Lavarack Road. The Point Nepean National Park staff have respected the tradition and are considering a request that a lasting memorial be re-established in the location of the old memorial wall.
Notable graduates
Portsea had a number of graduates who were either notable officers or colourful and successful in civilian life. Portsea's most famous graduate was Major Peter Badcoe
Peter John Badcoe, (11 January 1934 – 7 April 1967) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded at that time to a member of the Australian armed forces. Badcoe, born P ...
, VC. Badcoe graduated from Portsea in the class of December 1952, and was awarded the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for gallantry while serving as a member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam
The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) was a specialist unit of military advisors of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was formed solely for service as part of Australia's contribution ...
in 1967. He received the award posthumously and was one of four members of the AATV to receive the Victoria Cross during the Vietnam War. Major Badcoe VC is buried in Malaysia. The main hall at Portsea was named in his honour.[Lindsay 1995, p. 306.] A large lecture theatre in the main instructional building at RMC Duntroon is also named in his honour.
Other notable graduates include Lieutenant David Brian, the first graduate to be killed in action (Thai-Malay border in 1964) and buried in Malaysia but re-buried in Australia in 2016, the late Group Captain Robert Halverson
Robert George Halverson, (22 October 1937 – 9 February 2016) was an Australian politician, air force officer and diplomat. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was Speaker of t ...
and formerly Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lieutenant General Frank Hickling
Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Francis John Hickling, (born 13 October 1941) is a retired senior Australian Army officer, whose career culminated with his appointment as Chief of Army (Australia), Chief of Army from 1998 to ...
formerly Chief of Army (1998), Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie
Lieutenant General Kenneth James Gillespie (born 28 June 1952) is a retired senior officer in the Australian Army. Gillespie served as Vice Chief of the Defence Force from 2005 until 2008, then Chief of Army from 2008 until his retirement in J ...
formerly Chief of Army (2008), Lieutenant General David Morrison
Lieutenant General David Lindsay Morrison (born 24 May 1956) is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army. He served as Chief of Army from June 2011 until his retirement in May 2015. He was named Australian of the Year for 2016.
Early ...
formerly Chief of Army (2011) and Australian of the Year in 2016, Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae
Lieutenant General Sir Jeremiah Mateparae (born 14 November 1954) is a former New Zealand soldier who served as the 20th Governor-General of New Zealand between 2011 and 2016, the second Māori person to hold the office, after Sir Paul Reeves ...
, formerly Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...
and later Governor-General of New Zealand, class of December 1976. Les Hiddins
Major Leslie James Hiddins AM (born 13 August 1946 in Brisbane, Queensland), known as "The Bush Tucker Man" is a retired Australian Army soldier and war veteran who is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush. Hiddins is recog ...
, star of the television show, ''The Bush Tucker Man'', class of June 1970.
Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka, class of 1963, was one of the leaders of the abortive 1976 coup which led to the assassination of the Nigerian military Head of State General Murtala Mohammed
Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...
. Lieutenant Boniface Ikejiofor was also a Nigerian graduate of Portsea in 1963.[Siollun 2009, p. 200.]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Point Nepean Trust website
Trust article on the Quarantine Station
Parks Victoria map with more detail
* https://www.ocsportsea.org/ OCS Alumni website]
OCS Portsea at Digger History
{{coord, 38, 18, 47, S, 144, 41, 37, E, region:AU-VIC_type:landmark, display=title
Defunct military academies
Former military installations of Victoria (Australia)
Military education and training in Australia
Australian Army
1951 establishments in Australia
Educational institutions disestablished in 1985
1985 disestablishments in Australia
Military installations established in 1951