Flightpath AugustSeptemberOctober 2017

FLIGHTPATH | 9

A research project aiming to generate new

understandings of how aviation has trans-

formed Australian society has been award-

ed Australian Research Council funding.

Representing the Civil Aviation Histori-

cal Society (CAHS) and Airways Museum

of Essendon, President Roger Meyer OAM

said: “The project will build a partnership

between the aviation industry, community

groups, museums, and a multidisciplinary

academic team to develop fresh insights

from under-utilised sources of aviation her-

itage, communicate their unique stories to

the public through innovative exhibitions

and publications, and help conserve it for

future generations.

“The CAHS is pleased to be a partner in

this project, which is being led by Associate

Professor of Cultural Heritage Dr Tracy Ire-

land of the University of Canberra. Academic

colleagues, including CAHS and Airways Mu-

seum Research Fellow Dr Peter Hobbins of the

University of Sydney, are supporting the pro-

ject. Other partner organisations in this inter-

national collaboration include the Australian

National University, the Uni-

versity of New South Wales,

Airservices Australia, the

National Museum of Austral-

ia and the SFO Museum at

San Francisco Airport.”

The project will enable

community access to ne-

glected and at-risk sources of

‘Heritage Of The Air’ Project Funded

aviation heritage, and engage the public

through new interpretations of its social

and cultural impact before the centenary of

Australian civil aviation in 2020 and 2021.

Outputs will include the identification,

preservation and curation of important re-

cords, oral history collection, a book, and

exhibition materials. Phil Vabre

LEFT: Air travel has gone from something enjoyed by the well-off to an

activity affordable to nearly everybody. Australians now enjoy a very

high level of mobility despite the size of the country. Here the crew

and passengers of an Australian National Airlines de Havilland D.H.

wave farewell in the late 1930s. [CAHS/W.A. Walker collection]

BELOW: Just twenty years of progress in flying across the Pacific Ocean

separates British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines’ Douglas DC-6 VH-BPF

R.M.A. Endeavour from Kingsford Smith and Ulm’s famous Fokker F.

VIIb/3m VH-USU Southern Cross. Heritage of the Air will explore what

aviation meant for communities across the Pacific Ocean, centred on

connections between San Francisco and Sydney. [CAHS collection]

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