A Qantas 747 Jumbo had made an experimental flight without a break to Sydney in 1999, but QF9 from Perth to London was the first flight of a regular non-stop service between Australia and England. Alan Joyce was right: for Australians at least, the new 14,498km route was a major step forward in global interconnectedness.
Stepping back almost 100 years to the dawn of long-distance aviation, the first aircraft to fly between the two countries took roughly 40 times longer than QF9 to complete a comparable journey from London to Darwin. But rather than being a mere game-changer for 1919, that first flight was a monumental groundbreaker, arguably one of the greatest single advances in aviation history. Andy Thomas, Australian astronaut and veteran of four space missions for NASA, describes the 1919 feat as the “moon landing of its day”. Yet the Australians who first flew halfway around the planet are today unjustly absent from the pantheon of national heroes, and, beyond the ken of aviation historians, their daring deeds are often overlooked.
PRIME MINISTER Billy Hughes claimed to speak for “60,000 dead” Australians at the end of World War I in 1918. Through that battlefield blood sacrifice, Australia was, at Hughes’s insistence, entitled to its own seat at the diplomatic table, a seat he himself would occupy. While peace negotiations proceeded through early 1919 at Versailles, the pugnacious and energetic Hughes was flown back and forth from London to Paris in a converted Handley Page bomber.
Denne historien er fra November - December 2019-utgaven av Australian Geographic Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra November - December 2019-utgaven av Australian Geographic Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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SULAWESI SENSATIONS
There are worlds within worlds and marvels untold waiting to be experienced on Indonesia's remote islands.
SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS
Our understanding of where to find ancient life in Australia has been turned on its head by a new appreciation of the country's geology. Now the world is looking to our vast outback as the latest hotspot to locate fossils.
THE HARDEST NIGHT
The first Australian ascent of Mt Everest in 1984 is one of the great feats of mountaineering. Climbed by a small team semi-alpine style, with no bottled oxygen, via the Great (Norton) Couloir, it remains unrepeated 40 years later.
WEDGE-TAILED WONDER
The chance discovery of an eagle nest leads to an extended vigil observing normally hidden behaviours of one of nature's supreme winged marvels.
BURDENED BY BEAUTY
Northern Australia's Gouldian finch survives in huge numbers in cages around the world, but its wild population continues to struggle.
A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE
After a stellar 50 years as one of the country's major scientific assets, the AAT continues to play a major role in keeping Australian astronomy on the world stage.
COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK
This patch of remnant bush on the edge of the West Australian wheatbelt is a place loved by one of Australia's rarest bird species and the man who has studied the site for more than 50 years.
A PIONEERING PAIR
Louisa Atkinson and her mother, Charlotte, were among Australia's earliest authors, and pioneers in women's rights.
THE LONGEST WALK
Lucy Barnard is walking from Argentina to Alaska -the length of the Americas - on an extraordinary journey of endurance and adventure.
SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE
In an era of heightened social isolation, where many of us lead lonely lives, Dangar Island offers the chance to be part of a supportive, connected community.
