Why are we hiding our history? Let's display "The Old Bus" in the airport.

[Old Koreelah]

Arguably Australia's best-loved aeroplane, the Southern Cross lies almost forgotten in a small display case near Brisbane Airport.

 

As Eagle Farm has been developed, this memorial to the pioneering flights of Smithy, Ulm, et al has been bypassed and is rarely visited.

 

Meanwhile, about a mile away, millions of travellers pass thru the modern airport oblivious to this historic gem.

 

Few are probably aware that it was first to cross the Pacific.

 

This aircraft helped pioneer long distant flight and should be relocated and given pride of place where every traveller can see it.

 

(There is a persistent rumour that bits of this aeroplane came from the one another Australian, Sir Hubert Wilkins, used in his pioneering over the North Pole.)

 

 

 

[cherk]

[/i][ATTACH]62254[/ATTACH]

Pretty sad really...........should be hung in the terminal building........ala European style !

 

 

[old man emu]

Biography - Sir George Hubert Wilkins - Australian Dictionary of Biography

 

 

Wilkins' Detroiter after it crashed in Alaska. It was later sold to Charles Kingsford Smith and renamed "Southern Cross".

 

 

[Neil_S]

Arguably Australia's best-loved aeroplane, the Southern Cross lies almost forgotten in a small display case near Brisbane Airport.As Eagle Farm has been developed, this memorial to the pioneering flights of Smithy, Ulm, et al has been bypassed and is rarely visited.

Meanwhile, about a mile away, millions of travellers pass thru the modern airport oblivious to this historic gem.

 

Few are probably aware that it was first to cross the Pacific.

 

This aircraft helped pioneer long distant flight and should be relocated and given pride of place where every traveller can see it.

 

(There is a persistent rumour that bits of this aeroplane came from the one another Australian, Sir Hubert Wilkins, used in his pioneering over the North Pole.)

 

[ATTACH]62254[/ATTACH]

Similarly, when I arrived in Australia, I was amazed that the sole replica of the Duigan Biplane - the first Australian designed and built aeroplane to fly in Australia - also languishes in a store room of the Melbourne Museum and is not on display to the public! I only managed to see it on a store room open day. Very sad - surely it deserves to be on public display somewhere...

 

Cheers,

 

Neil

 

 

[Methusala]

I started a thread on this subject about 5-6 years ago. Became very contentious as Q'landers became defensive and snipey with me. This aircraft should be properly housed in a museum and available to masses of people. Anyone who has been to the Smithsonion in Washington has seen how the Spirit of St Louis (America's most famous aircraft) is presented to the public.

 

 

[old man emu]

In the past, Australian museums had a very poor standard of preserving (ie preventing decay) of the items they had. I wonder of The Old Bus was just put into that glass case and forgotten. If that is so, it is in danger of falling apart at the slightest touch. I wonder if the same conditions exist for the Smith Brother's Vickers Vimy bomber (G-EAOU) (the registration being whimsically said to stand for "God 'elp all of us") at Adelaide Airport.

 

 

[planesmaker]

I went out of my way to show my kids the old bus when we were up that way, quite difficult to get to the parking area, so I pulled up close by as I had come in from the north, just got out of the car and was told by airport security that I could not park there, so the wife and kids walked over to see the plane. Whilst I tried in vain to get around to the proper parking area, found out it is a 17km trip out and back around and if you miss the turn you are back where you started( don't ask). Ended up stopping in the same place and called my wife to come quickly whist I opened the bonnet to check a "problem". I still didn't get to see it!