Pioneering flying: The vision and the failure of Australasian Aerial Transport, 1919–20

Abstract

The early post-World War I period saw a dramatic increase in aviation activity in Australia. Using material from the National Archives of Australia, and from newspapers and journals, the development and significance of Australasian Aerial Transport is documented in the context of early post-World War I era progress of commercial aviation in Australia. Australasian Aerial Transport was one of these nascent aviation ventures and was the first in Australia to have planned scheduled passenger air services between the country’s major cities. This paper notes the visionary and speculative elements of Australasian Aerial Transport. The company never actually operated a single commercial flight, but the value of that experience is great and has been poorly documented.