This page provides links to items of general interest in Australia's aviation history. Since the Department's history is completely inter-twined with the history of Australian aviation as a whole, these items have at least a peripheral relationship with the Department's activities.

Keith & Ross Smith - victors in the 1919 England-Australia Air Race - and the Vickers Vimy G-EAOU in 1919 and 2009

The first around-Australia flight by landplane: Brinsmead and the CAB's DH50 G-AUAB - 1924

Australia and Back - Alan Cobham 1926
Aerial photo of Cobham's arrival at Melbourne/Essendon - 1926

Ron Adair with Edgar Johnston & DH9 G-AUFB City of Brisbane - c.1926

Bert Hinkler:

• with Avro Avian G-EBOV - c.1928
• with CCA Lt Col Brinsmead - 1928

The First Trans-Pacific flight - Kingsford Smith, Ulm & the Southern Cross - 1928 - including a broadcast by Smithy telling the story in his own words

Charles Ulm disembarking from the Southern Cross after the trans-Pacific flight -1928

Letter to Kingsford Smith and Ulm re change of registration markings for the Southern Cross (G-AUSU/VH-USU)

The retirement of the Southern Cross - 1935

Read an essay about the early development of Australian civil aviation by historian Dr Leigh Edmonds: Problems of Defence, Isolation and Development: What Civil Aviation Could Do To Help.

Historian Dr Leigh Edmonds' second essay on Airmindedness - Selling a New Kind of Technology to the Australian Public.

Selby Ford and the Silver Centenary, Western Australia's oldest surviving aeroplane - 1930

C.T.P. Ulm's Avro X (mod) VH-UXX Faith in Australia.

Photo of a presentation by CCA Edgar Johnston to the Commanding Officer of Fleet Air Base Pearl Harbor in appreciation for the service rendered by the Naval Air Force in the search for Charles Ulm and crew - March 1935.

Photo of early aviation personalities - CAB's Controller of Civil Aviation Lt Col Horace Brinsmead, ANA pilot G.U. 'Scotty' Allan, Captain G.C. 'Skipper' Matthews and the CAB's Superintendent of Flying Operations Major A. Murray Jones at Essendon - c.1930.

Capt. Jimmy Woods and the Lockheed Vega Special VH-UVK

The story of Captain P.G. Taylor's 1951 historic first South Pacific crossing to South America by Catalina Frigate Bird II. Also, an air mail cover carried on the flight.

• Hangar flooded at Perth/Maylands - 1926
• WAA's new hangar and hostel at Forrest, built for the Perth-Adelaide air service in 1928
• WAA's new hangar at Maylands & Vickers Viastra VH-UOM - 1931
• Download a WAA brochure On Airways Magic Carpet Across Australia - 1930
• Read about and see photos of the DH61 Giant Moth in Western Australia

• Inaugural Service Sydney-Melbourne - 1930
• Special Christmas Airmail - 1931
• Avro 618 Ten VH-UMI Southern Moon
• The Air Beef Scheme - 1954

• The story of The Department & the Vickers Vulcan - 1921
• Photo of the inaugural service Brisbane-Charleville using DH61 Giant Moth VH-UJB Apollo - 1929
• Photos from the inauguration of the first regular international air mail service - 1934
• Christmas card to CCA E C Johnston flown on the first regular Air Mail England to Australia - 1934
• Download a brochure Facts about Qantas Empire Airways - 1936
• Air mail cover flown on the inauguration of the thrice-weekly Empire Flying Boat service from Australia to England - 1938
• Photo of Short S23 C Class Empire Flying Boat G-AETX Ceres at Rose Bay - 1939
• Photo of Short S23 C Class Empire Flying Boat G-AEUE Caledonian at Karumba - 1938
• Photo of QEA Consolidated LB-30 Liberator G-AGKU at Sydney/Mascot - c.1945
• Photo of Lockheed L749 Constellation VH-EAB
• Air mail cover flown on the First Through Service Australia-England - 1947
• Air mail covers flown on the 1st regular service between Australia and Hong Kong - 1949
• Photo of Lockheed L1049 Super Constellation VH-EAD
• Photo of Lockheed L1049 Super Constellation VH-EAO & downloadable Qantas brochure on flights to the USA and Canada, 1955
• Air mail cover flown on the inaugural Australia-South Africa service - 1952
• Rare colour photo of Lockheed L1049E Super Constellation VH-EAC Southern Wave at the Essendon Olympic Terminal and the Olympic Torch flight - 1956
• Rare colour photo of Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation VH-EAO Southern Aurora at Essendon in readiness for the inaugural Round-the-World service - 1958
• Air Mail covers carried on the inaugural Round-the-World service - 1958
• The inaugural Australia-USA Boeing 707 Service - 1959
• Photo and air mail cover from the inaugural service Sydney-Tahiti - 1963
• The Day Qantas Came to Meekatharra - 1975
• The first ever non-stop England-Australia flight - 1989
• The first landing in Melbourne by Qantas' first Airbus A380 VH-OQA - 2008
  

• Photo of Guinea Gold's ex-CAB DH37 G-AUAA - c.1927
• Photos of Guinea Airways' Junkers G31go VH-UOW - c.1930s
• Download an article New Guinea Gold - 1938
• The Librascope mechanical weight and balance computer used by Guinea Airways - 1930s
• Wartime DCA Requisition for Free Air Conveyance by Guinea Airways - 1945

Matthews Aviation

• Matthews Aviation Airco DH4 G-AUBZ in front of their hangar at Essendon - c.1928-30

• Postcard flown on the 1935 First Sydney-Melbourne Service.
  
• Photo of DH86As VH-USW & VH-UUB c.1935
  

• Colour postcard showing Scion VH-UUT and Monospar VH-UUV (1935-36)
• Photo of DH89A VH-UVT - 1936

• ANA advertisement 'Flying the Beam' c.1939
• Flight Details form & story of the inaugural service out of Wynyard - 1946
• Equator-crossing Certificate from a trans-Pacific BCPA charter flight - 1947
• Photo of the cockpit interior of an ANA Douglas DC-4 c.1950
• Air Safety Incident Report for ANA DC-4 VH-ANF - 1954
• Biography of ANA Captain Jason Hassard MBE, second highest time pilot in the world with 36,000 hours.
• ANA's historic former hangar at Perth/Maylands - 1976

< Read the story of the detective work behind finding and identifying 'new' bits of wreckage from the accident involving ANA DC-4 VH-ANA Amana on 26 June 1950, plus the new information thus deduced about Amana's final moments.

(Clicking on the icon at left downloads a 1.8 MB .pdf file Amana - One Small Piece of Jigsaw)

• Postcard flown on the inaugural air mail service & photo of Fokker Universal VH-UTO - May 1936
• Photos of the disastrous hangar fire - February 1939
• Photos of the crash of Lockheed 10B VH-UZO at Somerset Dam - March 1943
• Index to the Charles Ohlson Collection of Aviation Photos c.1928-1942, many of which show Ansett aircraft or activities

ANSETT-ANA:

• Photo of ANSETT-ANA's first Viscount 832 VH-RMG at the Factory -1959
• History and photo of Viscount 720 VH-TVC, and the story of its tragic loss in Botany Bay - 1961
• History and photos of Vicount 832 VH-RMI and the story of its tragic loss at Winton, Qld. - 1966
• Flight Plan & route briefing pack for ANSETT-ANA Electra VH-RMC, Melbourne-Sydney - 1966
• Biography of ANSETT-ANA Captain Jason Hassard MBE, second highest time pilot in the world with 36,000 hours.

• Photo of pilot Norm Rodoni with Waco YKS-6 VH-UYD - 1937

• A series of photos of outback operations c.1950s, including: DH84 Dragon VH-AGI; Percival Proctor VH-BQR; Lockheed 12A VH-BHH; & DH83 Fox Moth VH-USJ.
• More Flying Doctor photos - 1960s; 2000s
• RFDS Beech C90 King Air VH-FDP John Flynn at Cloncurry - 2001
  

• A beautiful colour photo of Lockheed 12A VH-BHH Silver Star at Wyndham, WA, c.1955.

• Similarly beautiful colour photo of Lockheed 10A VH-MMD at Halls Creek c.1954.
• The Air Beef Scheme - 1954

• Read Ian Leslie's reminiscences
• View a major photo series

• DC-3s at Goroka, New Guinea highlands, mid '60s
• Vickers Viscount VH-TVC

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC):

• De Havilland Comet 4 G-APDC at Essendon - 1961

British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA):

• Poster, advertisements and photos, late 1940s-early 1950s

Photo and history of Miles M.2 Hawk VH-UAI

Photo and history of Westland Widgeon III VH-UGI

Download a 1938 article Australia's Civil Aviation

Download a 1938 article New Guinea Gold: How Mining has been Rapidly Developed in Inaccessible Country by Air Transport

Photos of a rare non-fatal mid-air collision between two RAAF Avro Ansons - 1940

Pan Am Stratocruiser visit to Essendon c.1950

Air mail cover flown on the 1951 Round Australia air mail flight

Download a 1950s De Havilland Australia booklet Aircraft Manufacturing Activity in Australia

Read about the CAC Wallaby regional airliner project - 1950s

1953 London-Christchurch Air Race

• Photo of the BEA Viscount at Essendon during the 1953 London to Christchurch Air Race.
• The Air Race press Information Centre established by DCA in Henty House PLUS some downloadable articles about the race.

1956 Melbourne Olympic Games

• Photos of the special International Terminal at Essendon for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games - inside & outside
• Colour photos of Sud-Est SE.2010 Armagnac F-BAVI, used to transport athletes, officials and visitors to the Games.

Rare colour photo of the first Beech 35 Bonanza - VH-CWR - to be imported to Australia, c.1956

Rare colour photo of new Royal Victorian Aero Club Cessna 172 VH-RVP - 1960

Beagle A.109 Airedale VH-UEP at Parafield 1963

The first amateur-built (CAO 100.18) aircraft to fly in South Australia, 1963 - Druine D.31 Turbulent VH-ULI

Missionary Aviation Fellowship's Cessna 185B VH-BVM at Minj, New Guinea - 1963

The Victa Airtourer - with downloadable scrapbook covering the building and test flying of the prototype, plus two Victa brochures

The preservation of Percival Proctor VH-AUC - 1965 & on display at Moorabbin today

Chartair DH104 Dove VH-MJD at Port Lincoln - c. late 1960s

Read Forester Roger Underwood's account of the beginnings of the use of Aircraft in Bushfire Management in Western Australia

RAAF aircraft at Melbourne/Tullamarine - 1971

Photos of the conversion of Gulfstream II VH-ASG to GIIB standard - 1986

Air Nauru

• Read Captain John Laming's story A Merry Tale of Air Nauru
• Photos of Air Nauru aircraft
• Photos of Nauru Airport

Read about the Fastest non-stop England-Australia flight, by an RAF VC10 - 1987

The Day Concorde Lost its Rudder - 1989

Photos from the visit of the Airbus A380 prototype to Melbourne - 2005

Read Fifty Years Ago - 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953

Click here to read a list of Selected Events in Australian Civil Aviation History 1903-2003

Index to the Charles Ohlson Collection of Aviation Photos c.1928-1942, held in the CAHS archive.

Handover of the ceremonial banner of the Masonic Lodge of Aviation to the Civil Aviation Historical Society - November 2005

Consult a general index of articles appearing in Aircraft magazine 1924-1992

Consult an index of Airtest articles appearing in Aircraft magazine 1926-1990

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