The Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU Scheyville, pronounced Skyville) was a
military training establishment for
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
s of the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, 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 (Austral ...
. Located in the area of in the
Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to:
People
*Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman
Places
;Geography
*Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada
* Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
region of Sydney, Australia, the establishment was opened in April 1965 to train officer cadets who had been called up for service under the
national service scheme
The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Gandhiji's Centenary yea ...
and offered a short but rigorous commissioning course for trainees, tailored to meet the Army's need to increase the number of junior officers being produced in order to meet commitments to train national servicemen, and to provide
platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...
commanders for units serving overseas in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and other parts of Southeast Asia. It was closed in 1974 after the national service scheme was abolished in December 1972 and the last OCS Portsea class finished their time at Scheyville.
History
On 24 November 1964, the ''
National Service Act'' was passed by the Australian
Federal parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...
, allowing the
Menzies
Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges.
Derivation and history
The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...
government to re-establish the
national service scheme
The National Service Scheme (NSS) is an Indian government sector public service program conducted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Popularly known as NSS, the scheme was launched in Gandhiji's Centenary yea ...
– which had been suspended in 1959 – as a response to growing uncertainty in Australia's strategic outlook in Southeast Asia.
Unlike previous versions of national or compulsory service, which had limited the liability of men called up to service in Australian territory within the meaning of the ''Defence Act (1903)'' only, the new scheme envisaged conscripted soldiers serving in Regular Army units to bolster their numbers for deployment being sent overseas to meet Australia's commitments in Southeast Asia. As such many would take part in the fighting
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Although largely opposed by the Australian Army hierarchy, the reintroduction of conscription necessitated a requirement for the expansion of the Army's training establishments to meet the increased numbers of men undergoing training. This, coupled with the expansion of the
Royal Australian Regiment
The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a t ...
to nine
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s,
[ meant that there was a need for the Army to increase the numbers of junior officers serving in its ranks in order to oversee the training of national servicemen and to command ]platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...
s on operations overseas.[ To meet this requirement the decision was made to create a new Officer Training Unit (OTU) to deliver this course. At the same time the decision was taken to train pilots for the Army at OTU. Colonel (later Brigadier) Ian Geddes was given the responsibility of bringing this organisation into being,] and on 1 April 1965 the OTU was established at Scheyville
Scheyville () is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Scheyville is located northwest of the Sydney central business district in the Hawkesbury local government area.
Military history
From 1965 to 1973, Scheyville was the site of Officer Train ...
, New South Wales.[
Approximately north-west of Sydney, the land had originally been used as part of the Dreadnought agricultural training scheme, before being used during the ]First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as an internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
for "enemy aliens".[ Later, during the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the Army had used the site for conducting training exercises before it was converted in 1949 into a camp for migrants.[
Because there was a requirement to expand the size of the Army quickly, out of necessity the course offered by Scheyville was much shorter than those offered at the other officer training establishments. Whereas officers were produced over the course of eleven months at ]Officer Cadet School, Portsea
The Officer Cadet School, Portsea (sometimes referred to as OCS Portsea) was an officer training establishment of the Australian Army. Established at Portsea in Victoria, Australia, in 1951 to provide training to officer cadets prior to commissio ...
and four years at Royal Military College, Duntroon
lit: Learning promotes strength
, established =
, type = Military college
, chancellor =
, head_label = Commandant
, head = Brigadier Ana Duncan
, principal =
, city = Campbell
, state = ...
, the OTU course was condensed into 22 weeks. From the outset the course was designed to be physically demanding and mentally challenging, and each lesson was designed to instil a number of teaching points in order to meet the requirements of the syllabus. It was a hectic schedule, and the cadets were required to work up to 14 hours a day, without weekends off in the first month.[ As a result, many cadets did not pass; indeed the OTU had a failure rate of around 30 per cent.][ Those who did not pass were removed from the course and completed their national service obligation as an other rank, although many quickly progressed through the ranks to become junior ]non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s. Cadets who did successfully complete the course were commissioned as second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
s. The majority were allocated to the infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
, although graduates were posted to all corps of the Army and went on to serve in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and Singapore, as well as throughout Australia.[
The abolition of National Service in December 1972 by the ]Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
government meant that there was no longer a requirement for an accelerated commissioning course and, as such, OTU Scheyville was finally closed in April 1974.[ Officer training in the Australian Army would continue at RMC Duntroon and OCS Portsea, although Portsea was itself closed in 1985 when RMC Duntroon took on the role of providing the 18-month commissioning course and 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 ...
was established to provide tertiary education. During the course of its operation OTU Scheyville produced 1,871 officers for the ARA or RAS (NS). 10 CMF Officers also graduated at OTU. Of these, the majority were national servicemen, although 68 were members of the Regular Army who attended Scheyville in this time.[ These Regular Army officers, however, went to OCS Portsea at the end of their Scheyville course to graduate as OCS Portsea officers (1/72, 2/72 and 1/73 OCS (S) courses); in fact, the last cadets at Scheyville were the Regulars who graduated (at OCS Portsea) eight months after the last national service officer cadets graduated. Relations between the national service and Regular cadets were very friendly. The failure rate for these regulars was similar to the national service cadets. A total of 97 OCS (S) cadets commenced the three courses with 68 graduating. During the same period of time, 1,287 officers graduated from Portsea and 465 graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon.]
Alumni
Over 360 Scheyville graduates served in Vietnam, eight of whom were killed in action.[ Gordon Sharp was the first OTU trained officer to be killed in Vietnam while serving with the ]6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (6 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conf ...
at the Battle of Long Tan
The Battle of Long Tan (18 August 1966) took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units ...
on 18 August 1966. It was Sharp's platoon that suffered the majority of fatalities in that battle after he himself was killed at its beginning. Of the 1,699 national service officers produced, around 300 later chose to join the Regular Army, while many continued to serve in the Citizen Military Force (CMF – later the Army Reserve) thus ensuring the continuing legacy of the OTU within the Australian Army into the 1980s and well beyond.[ One Scheyville graduate rose to the rank of major general in the Reserve while 14 reached the rank of ]brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
, with a couple still serving as late as 2002, even though during their training they had been told that it was unlikely they would be promoted past major.[ One graduate, Brigadier Peter Pursey, AM, served for a time as Commandant of the Royal Military College, Duntroon.]
A number of graduates also rose to prominence in civilian life. Some of the most notable examples include Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...
, who became Premier of Victoria, and Tim Fischer
Timothy Andrew Fischer (3 May 1946 – 22 August 2019) was an Australian politician and diplomat who served as leader of the National Party from 1990 to 1999. He was Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 to 1999.
Fischer ...
, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.[ There were also a number of other parliamentarians, broadcasters, journalists and academics.]
See also
* Royal Military College, Duntroon
lit: Learning promotes strength
, established =
, type = Military college
, chancellor =
, head_label = Commandant
, head = Brigadier Ana Duncan
, principal =
, city = Campbell
, state = ...
* 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 ...
* Officer Cadet School, Portsea
The Officer Cadet School, Portsea (sometimes referred to as OCS Portsea) was an officer training establishment of the Australian Army. Established at Portsea in Victoria, Australia, in 1951 to provide training to officer cadets prior to commissio ...
*Scheyville National Park
The Scheyville National Park () is a protected national park that is located in the northwestern suburbs of Sydney in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately northwest of the Sydney central busi ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
{{Refend
Defunct military academies
Australian Army
Educational institutions established in 1965
Military academies
Former military installations in New South Wales
Military education and training in Australia
1965 establishments in Australia
Military installations established in 1965
1973 disestablishments in Australia
City of Hawkesbury