Today, December 5, 2021, is the 100th anniversary of the first commercial flight in the
southern hemisphere — and it all started at Langley Park, in front of Perth, in Western Australia with World War I ace Sir Norman Brearley.
Sir Norman, a towering figure among the nation’s colourful and sometimes rumbustious airmen, started Australia’s first air route on December 5, 1921 and shaped aviation not just in WA but across Australia
From Geraldton to Derby, it was the first in the southern hemisphere and, for some time, the world’s longest air route. It was later extended from Perth to Wyndham.
Sir Norman’s love of aviation was born when, as a 21-year-old doing an engineering course at the Perth Technical College, he rode his bike to Belmont racecourse to watch J.J. Hammond make the first flight in WA in a flimsy Bristol biplane.
When World War I started, he worked his passage as ship’s engineer to England to join the
Royal Flying Corps. He flew combat with great distinction in France, winning the Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Air Force Cross and was mentioned in
dispatches.
But his combat flying service came to an abrupt halt when, in 1916, he was shot down and
suffered a bullet through both lungs. Sir Norman was able to continue as a flight instructor.
Always looking to the future, Sir Norman bought two war-surplus Avro 504Js before returning to Australia to start a barnstorming career with the Belmont racecourse as his initial base.
His vision was to convince West Australians that air travel would conquer the State’s vastness, and this took off with a flying exhibition at the WACA in 1919.
Joy rides were $300 (in today’s value) for a 10-minute ride. The Avro 504J had a speed of
156km/h. When in the country giving joy rides, Sir Norman had to keep an eye on horses, cows and camels between flights, because they loved to chew on the dope (plasticised
lacquer) covered fabric on the wings.
Always the visionary, Sir Norman submitted a detailed proposal for a scheduled mail and passenger air service from Perth to the north of the State, stopping at towns along the mostly coastal route.
Responding in May 1921, the Federal government called for tenders for air service from
Geraldton to Derby, over a route of 2027km and Sir Norman’s tender, based on six new Bristol Tourers, was accepted. It required an initial annual subsidy of £25,000 for one
return service a week.
The government stipulated that Geraldton, rather than Perth, was to be the terminus of the new West Australian Airways, to avoid competition with the railways.
According to aviation historian Geoffrey Goodall: “The Bristol Tourers arrived from the UK on board a cargo ship on November 20, 1921, and were assembled at the Esplanade aerodrome and test flown, in preparation for the inaugural service of Australia’s first airline on December 5, 1921.”
The Bristol Air Tourer flew at 193km/h with a range of 644km and could carry one passenger.
With the help of Perth city councillor and architect Harold Boas, Sir Norman built a bigger
hangar on the Esplanade to house the Bristol Tourers, though still A better airport was needed and help came from North West pioneer and MLA Michael Durack, who could see the potential for air travel to overcome distance in his beloved Kimberley. He offered
space at the edge of his garden for a hangar. Within a week, Sir Norman was operating both Avro aircraft from Langley Park, and WA’s first officially non-existent airport was established.
“Langley Park, beside the Swan River, became my flying headquarters, without official
permission, until 1924, when the Maylands Aerodrome was built,” Sir Norman recalled in his autobiography.
When he advertised for aviators to fly his fledgling airline, Sir Norman received 30 applications from WW I pilots. He chose a dozen, including “Smithy”, Sir Charles Kingsford
Smith, another legend of Australian aviation history.
Smithy was earning his living as a stunt pilot when he joined WA Airways, but Sir Norman told him in no uncertain terms that there would be no aerobatics from now on.
“I told him, ‘You will fly the way I want you to do, or you will be out of here in less than five minutes,” Sir Norman recalled in an interview for a series of features about the pioneer airman penned by the late Hugh Schmitt in 1988.
Another war hero and fighter ace with 14 victories, Len Taplin also joined the pilot group.
The first flight of WA Airways ended in disaster when one of the three Bristol Tourers that took off from Geraldton crashed near Murchison House Station, killing the pilot, Bob Fawcett, and airline mechanic Ted Broad.
Operations were suspended for two months while the promised emergency landing strips along the route were completed.
In the first nine months, the fleet covered 160,000km, with 97 per cent of flights arriving on time. That was two months before Hudson Fysh and his Queensland and Northern Territories Aerial Services Ltd (Qantas) took off.
In fact, Fysh, in his book Qantas Rising, said of Sir Norman: “Their undertaking was superior to our own more groping endeavour. They showed the way to all of us.”
In January 1924, historian Geoffrey Goodall explains, the government finally decided the air service was little threat to the Perth-Geraldton railway and allowed the North
West service to operate from Perth. WA Airways settled into the steady schedule of a Bristol
departing Maylands Aerodrome at 6 am each Saturday, and returning from Derby via all ports the following Thursday.
Flying was done between 6 am and about 2 pm to avoid the worst of the turbulence after afternoon thunderstorms. After leaving Perth at 6 am, the service called at Geraldton and
arrived at Carnarvon at 2 pm for an overnight stop.
On Sunday morning, it flew on to Onslow, Roebourne and Whim Creek before an overnight stop in Port Hedland. The final leg was to Derby via Broome, arriving on Monday at
2.15 pm.
“The Bristol Tourers gave excellent service to WA Airways, flying over a half-million miles and carrying over 3000 passengers,” Mr Goodall said.
But some of those passengers were not always in the cabin. On one occasion, a Mr Len
Taplin needed to get from Broome to Port Hedland to keep an engagement with Norah Kain, his bride-to-be. But the arrival of a last-minute passenger meant he would miss the date.
The pilot for the flight, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, found the solution with Mr Taplin sitting
on the wing for the 550km journey. Taplin positioned himself on the leading edge of the
starboard wing, clutching the strut and wires, for over 3 hours, but made the date.
Len Taplin riding the “wing seat” from Broome to Pt Hedland to keep a date. Picture colorised by Benoit Vienne
Clearly, something bigger and better was needed, so two four-passenger De Havilland DH-50s were purchased. The DH-50s had an enclosed cabin, with the pilot in an open cockpit.
It could fly at 175km/h and had a range of 610km. The two DH-50s arrived by sea
from the factory in September 1924 and were assembled at Maylands Aerodrome and entered service on the North-West route a month later.
Sir Norman had also negotiated to build a further three DH-50s and two smaller single passenger DH-60 Moths at the Maylands hangar.
In yet another far-sighted move, the local Civil Aviation Branch, a predecessor
to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), awarded WA Airways a two-year contract to
create a flying school at Maylands Aerodrome. It would later be taken over by the WA Section, Australian Aero Club.
The club held its first general meeting at the Savoy Hotel, Perth, on April 13, 1927, at which Sir Norman Brearley was elected president.
“With typical WA Airways flair, the following Monday, the new flying school commenced with 33 listed pupils and two instructors,” Mr Goodall recounts.
From this humble beginning, the Royal Aero Club of WA became one of the most successful in the Australian aero club movement and is still operating today at Perth’s Jandakot Airport
Norman Bearley (centre) at Maylands in October 1924 with one of the first two DH.50As shipped from England. Photos colourised by Benoit Vienne.
