The Spirit of Australia could not be a more apt slogan to describe the airline QANTAS. A most unlikely business created by people who were game to just give it a bloody good go.  QANTAS was initially founded in Winton in 1920 to link the far western Queensland towns of Charleville, Longreach, Winton and Cloncurry. Each of these towns had east west railway links to the coast but not north south to each other. The unmade roads would quickly turn to sticky mud after rain and were totally impassable in the wet season.

At the QANTAS Founders Museum in Longreach, Qld we got to sit in seriously old planes and crawled all over a Boeing 747. We even had a go on a flight simulator but unlike the rest of us our mate D could actually fly the thing. I guess being the son of an RAAF Battle of Britain aviator, it’s in his genes.

Footnote: QANTAS holds title of “Second oldest operating Airline by Years in service”after KLM. As well as “Oldest Continuously Operating Airline in the World.” Due to KLM suspending service during WW2. Source: Wikipedia