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The location of the cache is fairly obvious once your get to the GZ. However, whilst it could be considered a "drive by", there are many prying eyes and it is unusual to have cars parked directly at the GZ (especially on that side of the road) so take care. The cache is a small container which contains only a log (no swaps) and a pencil. Consider bringing your own pen.
The Victoria Police Academy is situated on 16 hectares of land on the south-west corner of the intersection of Waverley Road and View Mount Road, Glen Waverley. This is the highest point in the metropolitan area.
The feature of the Academy building is the Chapel, which with the reception area formed the centre of the building in the original plans. Corridors linked the two wings to the north and south of the main entry. However, only the Chapel and the southern wing were completed for the building’s opening in 1962. The northern wing was never completed.
The building was originally a seminary, Corpus Christi College, which was used for the training of Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The complex, of which the Chapel is part, was purchased on the 30th October, 1972, for $2,232,212.00 by the Victorian Government, after the location of the College to a site in Clayton.
On the 1st April 1973, the Police Recruit Training Course was moved from the Police Depot in St.Kilda Road, Melbourne, to the Glen Waverley site and the present Victoria Police Academy was established.
The original building provided eleven classrooms, many now adapted to other uses, a theatrette and dinning room, each of which can seat 250 people, a small conference room, residential accommodation for 184 students, offices, store room and facilities for a staff of some 120 police and civilian personnel.
The buildings, was acquired by the Government, were limited in their suitability for the physical training of recruits. Hence, the Chapel was secularised for a short while and used for physical training. It was re-dedicated on the 20th October 1974, at an Inter-Church Service.
The Chapel is still used for training activities which include Graduation parades on the days of inclement weather and oath swearing ceremonies. It is also used for weddings and funerals of police members, the National Police Remembrance Day Church Service and the Victoria Police Carols Festival.
Since 1973 there has been a constant building and improvement programme which has been highlighted by the following:-
a. The completion of the maintenance workshop in the south of the grounds and a complete outside sporting facility including a running track, volley ball court, and circuit training track was completed in early 1976 at a cost of $760,000.
b. Two residential blocks providing accommodation for 96 students to the west of the grounds were completed in 1978 at a cost of $1,977,000.
c. An indoor physical training complex which incorporated a 50 metre heated pool, weight gymnasium, a basketball court, two squash courts, a soft fall area and a 40 metre indoor firearms range were completed in 1979 at a cost of $3,213,000.
d. The original kitchen and dinning area was designed to cater for only 80 dinners at any one time. In 1985 the entire area was redesigned to seat 350 dinners and caters for up to 500 meals in one sitting. Shortly after, an Executive Dinning area was also completed to provide a formal dinning area. The total upgrade cost $1,850,000.
e. The Education and Residential wing was opened on the 1st September, 1986, and provides 12 classrooms, a lecture theatre and demonstration theatre, six tutorial rooms, a typing room (later converted into a computer room), a modern medical centre, a model court room and police station, a library and offices for 25 personnel and an additional 75 bedrooms. The overall cost was $10,575,000. The building project also incorporated a redesign of the main parade ground used for graduation parades and formal ceremonies.
f. The Operational Safety & Tactics Training Complex was opened in 2001 to provide a central training facility for metropolitan operational members in Eastern, Southern and central areas of Melbourne. The Complex includes a soft fall area, two classrooms, and two 10 lane firearms ranges. The Complex provides offices for 30 staff as well as change room facilities. The feature of the Complex is a fully secured Scenario Village providing realistic training to police members in a secure environment. The village consists of two houses, a set of block flats, a strip shopping centre, petrol station and police station. The Complex trains over 4,500 members every 6 months in a two day training program and cost in excess of $3,000,000.
Over the existence of the Victoria Police Academy the roles have expanded to incorporate the majority of formal training required by the Victoria Police. Suffice to say that the training provided by the Victoria Police Academy is not limited to just the training of recruits. This along with the formalisation of the type of training into Diplomas and Advance Diplomas in a vast number of fields sees the role of the Victoria Police Academy more akin to a University.
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