Charles Ohlson was an aircraft engineer who joined the pre-War Ansett Airlines. It is believed that he was initially employed at Essendon by Matthews Aviation or Hart Aircraft Services, during which time he carried out work for Ansett on their aircraft. Reg Ansett subsequently offered him a job and he may have been the first Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineer employed by the company. During the War, Charles Ohlson was in charge of one of the two Ansett hangars at Essendon where military aircraft were repaired.

This page catalogues the Charles Ohlson Collection of Aviation Photos, held in the Civil Aviation Historical Society archives. The 84 images, many of which depict early Ansett aircraft or activities, span the period from 1928 to about 1942. After his death in 2005, the Collection was given by Charles Ohlson's family to a former neighbour who is also a CAHS member in the hope that he could pass them on to a suitable repository.

A few of the prints had some information on the reverse, but for the most part historical detective work has enabled the catalogue dates and descriptions below to be arrived at.

Below: Ansett mechanics A Davies and Charles Ohlson in front of Percival Gull Four G-ACJV Miss Southern Cross at Melbourne/Essendon in 1933. This aircraft was used by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith to set a new England-Australia record of 7 days 4 hours and 44 minutes in October 1933. The aircraft later became VH-CKS.

(Photo: CAHS/Charles Ohlson Collection #2A)