10 December 2004
Commemoration for Historic Flight
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Clare Martin MLA
Chief Minister
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The Fannie Bay History and Heritage Society today commemorated the first Britain to Australia flight, that landed where Ross Smith Avenue is today, in 1919.
Attending the ceremony on East Point Road Chief Minister and Member for Fannie Bay , Clare Martin, said that the 85th anniversary of this inaugural flight was a truly significant moment for aviation in Australia .
“The Territory has been part of many historical moments of national importance and this flight is one of the most significant,” she said.
“This was the first time people travelled by plane from Britain to Australia - it was effectively the birth of air links between our two countries.
“I believe it is important to mark this occasion and remember the bravery and importance involved in this flight.”
Ms Martin said that the flight was made as part of the Great England Australian Air Race and that the Australian Prime Minister of the time, William Morriss Hughes, put up ten thousand pounds prize money.
Brothers Ross and Keith Smith won the race and arrived to a huge welcome in Darwin and the ten thousand pounds.
The race took 28 days and ten hours.
Former Administrator Austin Asche provided a recount of the first flight.