OCS Portsea

OCS Portsea is the abbreviated title of the Officer Cadet School of Australia-Portsea. OCS Portsea commenced training officers for the Australian Army in 1951 and continued through to the end of 1985. Some 3,166 cadets graduated from OCS Portsea during this time. The motto of OCS Portsea was "Loyalty and Service".

Since OCS Portsea's closure in 1985, all Australian Army Officer training has been conducted at the Royal Military College-Duntroon in Canberra.

Peter Badcoe is the only graduate to have been awarded the Victoria Cross. The main hall at Portsea was named in his honour.

Location & history

OCS Portsea was located at Point Nepean near the mouth of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria. The land occupied by OCS was originally used as a quarantine station for many years. One of the buildings 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 one of the oldest buildings in Victoria.

ee also

* [http://www.pointnepeantrust.org/ Point Nepean Trust website]
* [http://www.pointnepeantrust.org/point_nepean_history/the_quarantine_station Trust article on the Quarantine Station]
* [http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources/mresources/nepean/map.pdf Parks Victoria map with more detail]
* [http://www.ocsportsea.com/ OCS Alumni website]