FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0398.PDF
Last year the Commonwealth Government found itself in possession of a surplus, and it was decided to allot £200,000 to the development of civil air lines. The routes for which tenders will be called are :— ....... Adelaide-Perth. i Camooweal-Darwin. '•'.•-;•..••••' Brisbane-Charleville. •..••. ... Sydney-Brisbane. Melbourne-Tasmania. Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne. . •'"• Derby-Wyndham. When these lines are all in operation, it will be possible to fly right round Australia, except for the section between Wyndham and Darwin. Of course; West Australian Airways must first get to Wyndham ; but once it has consolidated this section, the obvious intention is that it should also go on to Darwin and there make contact with Oantas. This elaborate programme proves, if further proof were necessary, that the Commonwealth Government has realized that aircraft has a special work to do for Australia. The country is vast, and has a white population of roughly two persons to the square mile. The total white population is less than that of greater London. It is obviously impossible for such a population to afford all the railways which would be necessary to open up the country properly. Even suffi- cient roads good enough for old-type Ford cars are an imprac- ticable dream. The existing railways arc hampered by changes MAY 17; 1928 the Air Ministry airships commission under Group-Captain Fellowes recently visited Australia and selected aTsite near Perth for the future airship station. When the airships in good time arrive at Perth with English mails only 10 or 11 days old, the aeroplanes will be ready to hurry the mail bags, on to the great centres in the south-east and east. Mention has been made above of the need for extending West Australian Airways, first to Wyndham via Hall's Creek, and afterwards to Darwin ; and of allowing pantas to have its southern terminus in Brisbane. Both these lines should soon be in operation. The northern extension of Qantas will in the first place go to Daly Waters, and after that as soon as ma ' be to Darwin. Mr. Bruce has said " A comparatively short aerial link of 650 miles will ensure that every, week a mail will leave Brisbane and arrive in Darwin three days later, in comparison with one mail each month which reaches Darwin about eight days after despatch from Brisbane." Sydney-Brisbane is to be a seaplane service round the coast, which is well supplied with sheltered waters and is considered very suitable for seaplane work. The train journey takes 27 hours, and the air trip will only take seven. Melbourne-Tasmania is a service which in any case was bound to be started some time, but it is not considered likely to become self-supporting in the near future. The steamer traffic is somewhat seasonal, and climatic conditions are not so favourable as on some other routes. Three-engined amphibians are considered desirable for the operation of Members of the Sydney Club standing in front of a de Havilland " Cirrus-Moth.' of gauge at the frontiers of the States, and between Perth and Adelaide there are two, if not three, such changes of gauge. There is also this consideration about laying down a new railway line. One is tied to the permanent way. If judgment in planning the line has been at fault, the mistake cannot easily be corrected afterwards. Therefore every con- sideration concerning the problem of communications in Australia leads to the same conclusion, namely that aircraft and only aircraft can provide what is so badly needed. In other countries it sometimes is a deliberate policy for the Government to spend money on supporting aircraft and air- ways because it is thought that the country would be a loser if the aircraft industry were to decline and die. Such a policy is perfectly comprehensible and justifiable. But i is not the policy of Australia. In the Commonwealth air lines are subsidised, not for the sake of aircraft, but for the rake of the public weal. Perth is the mail port of Australia. Without an Australian Bradshaw beside one, it is difficult to say exactly how long it takes the English mails to get from Perth to Melbourne. Canberra, and Sydney. Certainly the breaks of gauge do not expedite matters." The new air line^-which it is believed will use Hercules-Jupiter aeroplanes—will land only once between Perth and Adelaide. The landing will be made after dark, and the machine will start again before dawn for Ade- laide. The saving in time will amount to about three or four days each way, according to the destination of the letter. While on the subject of this route it may be mentioned that this route. The use of amphibians will permit the service to be carried across the island to Hobart, the capital, instead of stopping short at Launceston, the northern seaport. The Government is to be congratulated on deciding to tackle this problem at once, instead of waiting and postponing a service which is desirable in itself and ultimately inevitable. While an airway between Melbourne and Sydney would follow the line of the railway, and perhaps not save enough time to make the support of an airway worth while, the opening of Canberra as the Federal capital has altered the position. Canberra must have quick connections with both Sydney and Melbourne, and therefore an air line became inevitable. This line also gives an additional reason for proceeding with the seaplane service Brisbane-Sydney. The Brisbane M.P.'s will be able to fly right through to Canberra. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that Mr. Brace's new house outside Melbourne has been equipped with an aeroplane garage. It is not certain that he has yet acquired an aeroplane of his own, but he frequently hires one in order to save his valuable time and energies when travelling to the capital. The more one contemplates this magnificent Australian programme, the less does one feel inclined to pessimism nbout British commercial air efforts as compared with the eilorts of some continental countries. The latter are sub- sidised on a scale which proves that their primary object is the advantage of .flying; while the Australian policy is to spend public money on flying only when it will benefit the people of the tracts which the aircraft serve. . 3.62
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
