In 1921, West Australian Airways (WAA) secured the first commercial airline licence in Australia to transport mainly mail and goods between Geraldton and Derby.

Major Norman Brearley selected six Bristol Tourer aircraft imported from the Bristol Company in England to operate the establishment of the North West Air Mail service in West Australia.

By 1924, WAA was flying between Perth’s Maylands Aerodrome and Derby twice a week. WAA’s Perth to Derby service was promoted as  longest passenger airway in the world.

Our Frank Colquhoun collection includes:

  • Album page – 1 of 4 captioned photographs. 1920s. Part of Port Hedland township from a low level run by an aircraft. A common practice by pilots in the early years to let the agents and families know they had returned from a flight
  • Album page – 1 of 4 captioned photographs. 1924. WAA hangar, Geraldton with three Bristol aircraft.  Geraldton was the air service southern terminal at the beginning. the mail to and from Perth being carried by rail, typical government thinking of the day because the rail service held the PMG contract for mail at the time.
  • Album page – 1 of 4 captioned photographs. 1925. WAA hangar, Port Hedland with three Bristol aircraft parked outside
  • Album page – 1 of 4 captioned photographs. 1929. WAA Maylands hangars in 1929, The smaller hangar is the original with Aero Club clubhouse alongside. The larger hangar was built with the advent of the DH66 or ‘Hercules’ aircraft introduced on the Perth-Adelaide service in June 1929
  • MHS/FC 345. Photograph. 1929. WA Airways ground staff line up to display their newly-issued overalls
  • MHS/FC 379. Photograph. 1926. The great flood of 1926 when Maylands airfield was under water. Flying operations of WA Airways had to be shifted to a Swan Valley vineyard for many days
  • MHS/FC 572. Photograph. December 1930. Vickers Viastra VH-UOO under test at Vickers UK base at Brooklands before it was crated and shipped to WA Airways for the Perth-Adelaide service

We also hold advertisements and maps for WAA air services.

See our WAA Flickr Album for digitised images and other digitised information.

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