of northern development were a strong influence; there is evidence that military officials had preferred that the base be built in Victoria but Cabinet overruled this in favour of a northern location. Townsville's sudden emergence was a surprise to the local community and the rapidness of the project resulted in some disputes between various levels of government, the community and the military. Eventually, the base was opened in 1966 and many of the Australian troops to serve in Vietnam had at some point been based at or transferred through Lavarack Barracks. Current Units 1st Division 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment Combat Training Centre 3rd Brigade 3rd Brigade Headquarters 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 2nd Cavalry Regiment 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment 3rd Combat Signals Regiment 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery 11th Brigade 11th Brigade Headquarters 141st Signal Squadron 31st/42nd Battalion, Royal Queensland Regiment 11th Combat Service Support Battalion Notes References Suburbs of Townsville Buildings and structures in Townsville Barracks in Australia Military installations in Queensland