A historic military building in Kyneton will be sold amid the Department of Defence’s latest announcement to sell 68 properties in their real estate portfolio.
The Kyneton Drill Hall, located in the town’s centre, was listed in the federal government’s latest venture to sell off military-owned sites. It includes training facilities, museums, islands, golf courses, and is expected to generate $3 billion for the Defence budget. However, an estimated $1.2 billion of these funds will be used for administrative and relocation costs.
Taxpayers will also save an estimated $100 million per year in maintenance costs for the ageing facilities.
Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, said an audit was conducted, and following its advice, the decision to sell was based on the national interest.
“In order for the Australian Defence Force to protect our nation and keep Australians safe, it must have a Defence estate that meets its operational and capability needs,” he said.
“For many years this has not been the case, with many Defence sites vacant, decaying, underutilised and costing millions of dollars to maintain. That is why the Albanese Government is undertaking the most significant reform to the Defence estate in Australia’s history.
“We know this is significant and challenging reform, but we are clear-eyed and committed to seeing it through, because it is the right thing to do in the national interest.”
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Kyneton Drill Hall was built in 1903 and was home to country Victoria’s first significant unit of army cavalry, the volunteer Kyneton and District Mounted Rifle Corps. Until recently, the 430 Squadron Air Cadets used the building for more than 40 years, until they were forced to relocate to Gisborne Secondary College in 2020, after a structural assessment deemed it “dilapidated”.
Former cadet at Kyneton, Michael Jerman, spoke to the Express last year about the Drill Hall.
“This organisation in Kyneton has inspired and encouraged hundreds of teenagers over the years,” he said.
“The squadron was the first to enrol female cadets in Australia in 1981 and encouraged leadership and discipline in a way that was a benefit to the whole community.”
Figureheads in the Macedon Ranges have also spoken up since its sale became known.
Kyneton’s RSL president Mike Gretton said “my biggest fear is someone will get hold of and demolish it,” while former mayor the Macedon Ranges Noel Harvey said, “I hope it doesn’t become an extension of the car park”.
Harvey added, he is currently in contact with three local organisations interested in keeping it available for community use.
