Puckapunyal is the home of theAustralian Army’s School of Armor as well as the School of Artillery and the School of Transport. Also to be found at Puckapunyal is the Combined Arms Training Centre, Joint Logistics Unit and two transport squadrons.

Puckapunyal was first utilized as mobilization and training area during World War One. It was in the early 1920s that an ordnance store and firing range were built. Puckapunyal was integral to the training of the Second Australian Imperial Force as other locations were at capacity.

The original size of Puckapunyal was considered too small for wartime training and this resulted in an addition 14,000 acres being obtained. Training of men was not limited to Australians. The Unites States Army’s 41^st Division was trained there. The Armored Regiment which was formed in 1949 remained at Puckapunyal until 1995 when it was relocated to Darwin.

It was during the 1950’s that Puckapunyal was host to the 3^rd National Service Training Brigade. Soldiers conscripted outside of Queensland and New South Wales were trained at Puckapunyal by the 2^nd Recruit Training Battalion which had 4,000 soldiers at any given time.

Additional land was obtained bringing the acreage up to 97,100 acres. As the years progressed the impact of continual use of the acreage resulted in severe erosion and degradation of the area and it was in 1969 the Army had a couple of options placed before it. Rehabilitate the area or abandon it. The latte suggestion it felt would only result in a continuation of the derogation of the acreage no matter where they were located so the option of rehabilitating the land was chosen, Work began in 1971.

Reassessing what had been achieved in 1985 indicated that soil and water erosion control as well earthworks had seen 5,000 hectares of barren and denuded land repaired.16,000 hectares were worked to create improved pasture. A Committee was appointed to ensure that the management of the area was used and rehabilitated within accepted guidelines and that the implemented practices would remain foremost.

The area of Puckapunyal saw men enlist from that area in the Great War. When the training site known as Site 17 was phased out of service, Puckapunyal picked up the role that site 17 had once filled.