THE Border is now officially home to Australia's biggest defence warehouse complex – everything from shoe laces to tanks is stored at Bandiana.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A $61 million East Bandiana expansion, involving three warehouses, vehicle storage and washing points and a refurbished workshop, was formally unveiled on Wednesday by joint logistics commander Rear Admiral Clint Thomas.
Victorian joint logistics commander Colonel Todd Ashurst, who is based at Bandiana, said the warehouses contained a huge inventory.
"We're housing here over a $1 billion worth of stock and equipment for the Australian Defence Force," Colonel Ashurst said.
"We're now the largest of all sites, we have the largest warehousing capacity, just here at Bandina alone we now have approximately 115,000 square metres of storage.
"We do everything from shoe laces for our shoes right through to tanks, the big and the small.
"Our warehouses are now chock-full of full of everything from parts for equipment to clothing."
Colonel Ashurst said stocking of the warehouses began in February and was expected to end by June 30.
He said fast-moving items would be moved from World War II warehouses at North Bandiana to East Bandiana.
Rear Admiral Thomas told guests at the opening that it was the end of a "long and tortuous" process which began with a defence White Paper in 2009 before the works were approved in 2012 and began in February 2014.
Albury firm Joss was involved in the construction which involved 240 staff and 250,000 hours of work.
Two new roads were formed by the project with a new entry boulevard to be named 2/23rd Battalion Avenue in honour of Albury's Own and a cross road to become Wall Road.
The latter honours 2/23rd commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Reginald Wall who died in a fatal Japanese bomb attack on an amphibious landing in New Guinea in World War II.