RAAF Scherger

RAAF Base Scherger is located 26 kilometers east of Weipa on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. The facility was constructed by the 17th Construction Squadron of the Royal Australian Engineers and officially opened on 5 August 1998. It is named in honor of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger, who served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1957 to 1961 and as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1961 to 1966.

Owned by the Department of Defence and operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, the facility is one of three bare bases located across northern Australia. It is maintained by a caretaker staff of four Air Force personnel. The role of the base is to provide the infrastructure required to support forward-deployed forces during a crisis.

The base infrastructure includes facilities to support approximately 40 aircraft. Fixed accommodation is available for 400 personnel, with additional capacity for 1,000 personnel in tent lines. Between 2010 and 2014, the base also hosted the Scherger Immigration Detention Centre, which provided accommodation for up to 596 occupants.