Longreach Airport
Encyclopedia
Longreach Airport is situated in Longreach, Queensland
, Australia
. The airport is 2 km (1.2 mi) from the center of the city.
Longreach has played a major part in Australian aviation from
1919 onwards. In August of that year, a small party left the town to travel overland to survey a route suitable for competitors in the first air race to leave England
en route to Australia. The travellers included Hudson Fysh
and Paul McGinness, two pilots who had both been trained in the Australian Flying Corps
during World War I
. In December 1919, a Vickers Vimy
landed, piloted by Ross and Keith Smith, who were en route to Melbourne
after completing the first England to Australia flight
. They were the first to use the air route pioneered by Fysh and McGinness.
The first overland flight across the Australian continent from Melbourne
to Darwin
passed through the airport in 1919. This flight was undertaken by Captain Henry Wrigley
and Sergeant Arthur Murphy
, flying a B.E.2.
In 1920, the first single engine aircraft to complete the flight from England to Australia arrived. The aircraft was an Airco DH.9
, piloted by Ray Parer
and John McIntosh.
In late 1920, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service was founded. Although founded in Winton
, the first operational base for the airline, later to be known as QANTAS
, was Longreach. Principal among the pioneers of the airline were Hudson Fysh
and Paul McGinness, who had seen the opportunities aviation had presented to remote Australia during their survey the previous year. One of the original Qantas hangars survives at the airport to this day.
Charles Kingsford Smith
arrived in 1927, during a flight around the continent.
His aircraft on this occasion was a Bristol Tourer
.
Amy Johnson
landed her De Havilland Gipsy Moth, registered G-AAAH, at the airport in 1930. She was the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by Shell
at the Imperial Hotel in Longreach. Johnson had just completed the first flight by a woman from England to Australia, and was continuing to the east coast.
In 1941, the Department of Civil Aviation established the Longreach Aeradio station at the airport. This unit enabled air ground communication with the increasing number of radio equipped aircraft operating throughout the country.
During World War II
, Longreach airport became, for a short time in 1942, a base for USAAF
B-17 bomber aircraft of the 28th
and 93d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy)
. The airport was upgraded to cater for the additional weight of these aircraft. In May, these aircraft were flown from the town to engage the enemy in the Battle of the Coral Sea
. Used shell casings from the guns of these aircraft can still be found adjacent to the runways. By this stage, the airport had three operational runways.
At one time in the 1960s, Longreach airport was one of the busiest inland airports in Australia. However, with drought and the general downturn of the rural economy throughout the country, air traffic declined.
In 1990, the Department of Aviation closed the Longreach Flight Service Unit, the descendant of the Aeradio station opened in 1941. The airport was transferred to the ownership of the Longreach Shire Council shortly thereafter. Two runways remain at the airport: a fully sealed all weather runway, and a shorter partly sealed runway.
In 2002, Qantas returned to the town, with a Boeing 747-238B
aircraft, registered VH-EBQ and named City of Bunbury, flown into the town for static display at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum
, which is also sited at the airport. This was the last 747-200 delivered to Qantas and is sitting with the first Boeing 707 for Qantas VH-EBA.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The airport is 2 km (1.2 mi) from the center of the city.
History
1919 onwards. In August of that year, a small party left the town to travel overland to survey a route suitable for competitors in the first air race to leave England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
en route to Australia. The travellers included Hudson Fysh
Hudson Fysh
Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh KBE, DFC was an Australian aviator and businessman. A founder of the Australian airline company Qantas, Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania. Serving in the Battle of Gallipoli and Palestine Campaign as a lieutenant of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, Fysh later became...
and Paul McGinness, two pilots who had both been trained in the Australian Flying Corps
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In December 1919, a Vickers Vimy
Vickers Vimy
The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...
landed, piloted by Ross and Keith Smith, who were en route to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
after completing the first England to Australia flight
England to Australia flight
In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Of the six entries that started the race, the winners were two brothers and their two crew in a Vickers Vimy....
. They were the first to use the air route pioneered by Fysh and McGinness.
The first overland flight across the Australian continent from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
passed through the airport in 1919. This flight was undertaken by Captain Henry Wrigley
Henry Wrigley
Air Vice Marshal Henry Neilson Wrigley CBE, DFC, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . A pioneer aviator and theorist, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, and subsequently laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power doctrine...
and Sergeant Arthur Murphy
Arthur William Murphy
Air Commodore Arthur William Murphy DFC, AFC, FRAeS was a senior engineer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force . He accompanied Captain Henry Wrigley on the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, a feat that earned both men the Air Force Cross...
, flying a B.E.2.
In 1920, the first single engine aircraft to complete the flight from England to Australia arrived. The aircraft was an Airco DH.9
Airco DH.9
The Airco DH.9 - also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 - was a British bomber used in the First World War...
, piloted by Ray Parer
Ray Parer
Raymond John Paul Parer AFC , was an Australian aviator.Parer was born in Melbourne, and developed an interest in aviation at an early age. He enlisted in the Australian Flying Corps in 1916, initially as a mechanic, but was soon accepted to train as a pilot. His initial training was conducted at...
and John McIntosh.
In late 1920, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service was founded. Although founded in Winton
Winton, Queensland
-Qantas:Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline Qantas. The first board meeting was held at the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.-Waltzing Matilda:...
, the first operational base for the airline, later to be known as QANTAS
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, was Longreach. Principal among the pioneers of the airline were Hudson Fysh
Hudson Fysh
Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh KBE, DFC was an Australian aviator and businessman. A founder of the Australian airline company Qantas, Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania. Serving in the Battle of Gallipoli and Palestine Campaign as a lieutenant of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, Fysh later became...
and Paul McGinness, who had seen the opportunities aviation had presented to remote Australia during their survey the previous year. One of the original Qantas hangars survives at the airport to this day.
Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
arrived in 1927, during a flight around the continent.
His aircraft on this occasion was a Bristol Tourer
Bristol Tourer
-External links: Contemporary brief technical description of the Type 27 Tourer with photograph. Contemporary technical description of the Type 28 with photographs....
.
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson CBE, was a pioneering English aviator. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, Johnson set numerous long-distance records during the 1930s...
landed her De Havilland Gipsy Moth, registered G-AAAH, at the airport in 1930. She was the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
at the Imperial Hotel in Longreach. Johnson had just completed the first flight by a woman from England to Australia, and was continuing to the east coast.
In 1941, the Department of Civil Aviation established the Longreach Aeradio station at the airport. This unit enabled air ground communication with the increasing number of radio equipped aircraft operating throughout the country.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Longreach airport became, for a short time in 1942, a base for USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
B-17 bomber aircraft of the 28th
28th Bomb Squadron
The 28th Bomb Squadron is part of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. It operates B-1 Lancer aircraft providing strategic bombing capability...
and 93d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy)
93d Bomb Squadron
The 93d Bomb Squadron is part of the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It operates B-52 Stratofortress aircraft providing strategic bombing capability. It is one of two reserve bomber units in the United States Air Force.-History:Established as the 93d Aero Squadron in the...
. The airport was upgraded to cater for the additional weight of these aircraft. In May, these aircraft were flown from the town to engage the enemy in the Battle of the Coral Sea
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged...
. Used shell casings from the guns of these aircraft can still be found adjacent to the runways. By this stage, the airport had three operational runways.
In 1990, the Department of Aviation closed the Longreach Flight Service Unit, the descendant of the Aeradio station opened in 1941. The airport was transferred to the ownership of the Longreach Shire Council shortly thereafter. Two runways remain at the airport: a fully sealed all weather runway, and a shorter partly sealed runway.
In 2002, Qantas returned to the town, with a Boeing 747-238B
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
aircraft, registered VH-EBQ and named City of Bunbury, flown into the town for static display at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum
Qantas Founders Outback Museum
The Qantas Founders Outback Museum is a transport museum at Longreach, Queensland, Australia. The museum is home to a decommissioned Qantas Boeing 747-200, which can be observed by the general public. It also holds the airline's first jet, a Boeing 707-138....
, which is also sited at the airport. This was the last 747-200 delivered to Qantas and is sitting with the first Boeing 707 for Qantas VH-EBA.
Airlines and destinations
See also
- Transportation in Australia
- United States Army Air Forces in AustraliaUnited States Army Air Forces in AustraliaDuring World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established a series of airfields in Australia for the collective defense of the country, as well as for conducting offensive operations against the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy...
(World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
)