A small, amiable marsupial known as a Quokka, the natural wonder of the Great Barrier Reef and iconic folk song Waltzing Matilda have won out against the salty, yeast-based breakfast spread Vegemite as names for Qantas’s new fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Also adorning the new aircraft, due to start arriving from October, will be Aboriginal terms Boomerang, Uluru and Dreamtime.
The eight names chosen after a public competition also include Great Southern Land, both a song and an alternative name for Australia, and Skippy, which is most commonly associated in Australia with the 1960s TV series about a bush kangaroo.
More than 60,000 suggestions were made and 45,000 votes cast in selecting the names of the aircraft that will fly nonstop from Perth to London and Melbourne to Los Angeles.
“Thank you to everyone who participated – we had so many worthwhile entries that we could have renamed our entire fleet of aircraft,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.
“While there’s a few suggestions that are best left unmentioned, we hope that Australians will get a sense of pride or have a little chuckle when they see Quokka on the gate at London Heathrow Airport waiting to take them home.
“We think the eight names are a reflection of the places and things that make Australians feel proud.”
