Flying Far
Australian Geographic Magazine|November - December 2019
The centenary of the 1919 England to Australia Air Race provides a chance to remember this largely forgotten chapter of aviation history and honour the courageous men who pioneered modern international flight.
Alasdair McGregor
Flying Far
THROUGH THE CHILLY darkness of an early Sunday morning in March 2018, a Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner landed at London’s Heathrow Airport to complete a historic milestone in Australian aviation history. The 17-hour non-stop journey of QF9 from Australia was “game-changing”, said Alan Joyce, Qantas Chief Executive and a passenger on board.

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.

Bu hikaye Australian Geographic Magazine dergisinin November - December 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Australian Geographic Magazine dergisinin November - December 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
SULAWESI SENSATIONS
Australian Geographic Magazine

SULAWESI SENSATIONS

There are worlds within worlds and marvels untold waiting to be experienced on Indonesia's remote islands.

time-read
9 dak  |
September-October 2024
SEARCHING FOR AUSSIE DINOSAURS
Australian Geographic Magazine

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.

time-read
10+ dak  |
September-October 2024
THE HARDEST NIGHT
Australian Geographic Magazine

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.

time-read
10+ dak  |
September-October 2024
WEDGE-TAILED WONDER
Australian Geographic Magazine

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.

time-read
3 dak  |
September-October 2024
BURDENED BY BEAUTY
Australian Geographic Magazine

BURDENED BY BEAUTY

Northern Australia's Gouldian finch survives in huge numbers in cages around the world, but its wild population continues to struggle.

time-read
4 dak  |
September-October 2024
A TELESCOPE FOR A GOLDEN AGE
Australian Geographic Magazine

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.

time-read
7 dak  |
September-October 2024
COCKY WHISPERING AT COOMALLO CREEK
Australian Geographic Magazine

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.

time-read
6 dak  |
September-October 2024
A PIONEERING PAIR
Australian Geographic Magazine

A PIONEERING PAIR

Louisa Atkinson and her mother, Charlotte, were among Australia's earliest authors, and pioneers in women's rights.

time-read
9 dak  |
September-October 2024
THE LONGEST WALK
Australian Geographic Magazine

THE LONGEST WALK

Lucy Barnard is walking from Argentina to Alaska -the length of the Americas - on an extraordinary journey of endurance and adventure.

time-read
6 dak  |
September-October 2024
SECLUDED, BUT NOT ALONE
Australian Geographic Magazine

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.

time-read
7 dak  |
September-October 2024