Prior to World War II, the Royal Australian Air Force was small enough for all its elements to be directly controlled by RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne.
After war broke out in September 1939, the RAAF began to decentralise its command structure, commensurate with expected increases in manpower and units.
Headquartered in Sydney, Central Area controlled all Air Force units in New South Wales except those in the southern Riverina and the north of the state.
[5] By mid-1941, the RAAF's expanding instructional program necessitated the establishment of overarching training organisations on a semi-functional, semi-geographical basis.
[10] Air Commodore Frank Lukis took command in April 1945, and held the post for the remainder of the Pacific War.