Motions

Vickers Vimy Aircraft

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:37): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges the special place the Vickers Vimy aircraft has in South Australia's proud history and the hearts of all Australians.

2. Notes that 12 November 2019 is the centenary of the aircraft's departure of its epic flight from Hounslow, England to Australia.

3. Further notes that the crew of the Vickers Vimy aircraft—pilots Sir Ross Smith and his brother, Sir Keith Smith, and mechanics Sergeant Jim Bennett and Sergeant Wally Shier—successfully completed the trip to Australia in 28 days, landing in Darwin on 10 December 1919.

4. Further acknowledges the work of the Epic Flight Centenary 2019 Committee, under the auspices of the History Trust of South Australia:

(a) to further inspire new generations of South Australians with the story of the crew's audacious achievements; and

(b) to build public support for a new home for the Vickers Vimy aircraft and associated memorabilia at the new Adelaide Airport.

5. Recognises the efforts of writers and journalists Ms Lainie Anderson (also program ambassador of the Epic Flight 2019 Centenary) and Ms Susan Harrington in producing an outstanding documentary about the Vickers Vimy expedition.

6. Calls on the government to fund and release its plans to relocate the Vickers Vimy aircraft to the new airport, to coincide with the centenary of this historically significant flight.

This motion commemorates the centenary of the epic flight from England to Australia in 1919 by South Australians Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith, the crew Sergeant Wally Shier, another South Australian, and a Victorian, Sergeant Jim Bennett, in the Vickers Vimy aircraft.

I noted yesterday that Qantas announced it would start direct nonstop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London from the end of the year, which just happens to coincide with the anniversary of the Vickers Vimy pioneering what became known as the 'kangaroo route'. This week is History Week, with celebrations to mark the original feat underway—more about that shortly.

The Vickers Vimy is an outstanding piece of aviation history, and I think we are only starting to appreciate its value. It has sat isolated in a purpose-built hangar a short distance from the new main Adelaide terminal since the early 1960s. As a youngster living in the western suburbs, I had a fascination with its history. I played soccer on the land now taken up by the commercial development, but I made the effort to view it up close on many occasions. I was impressed by both its size and fragility, and that the two pilots had to sit in open cabins on such a long flight, braving all kinds of weather conditions.

When the old girl was beginning to show signs of age and wear and tear, entry was stopped and it can now only be viewed through the glass window. I look forward to the day when the aircraft, along with the statues of the crew made by renowned Adelaide sculptor John Dowie, can be moved into a place of prominence for all to see and admire in the main terminal, and we are all hopeful that funds will be made available by the state and federal governments so that this will happen.

I can also lay claim to having seen the Vickers Vimy fly. It was an exact replica, built by Australian aviation enthusiast Lang Kidby to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of the famous flight. While in the US in 1994, I visited a hangar in Sonora, California, to interview Lang and see it make its initial short maiden test flight. It was a breathtaking experience and it made me appreciate even more the challenges that the crew of the original plane faced.

Departing England on 12 November 1919, the intrepid Smith brothers, joined by mechanics Wally Shier and Jim Bennett, flew across the world, covering 11,000 miles over 28 days to reach Darwin on 10 December 1919. The Vickers Vimy was powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The crew collected £10,000 for winning the Great Air Race challenge. Its international and national historical significance is unsurpassed in South Australia's aviation history.

The epic flight of 1919 was one of the world's great aviation achievements, only 16 years after the Wright brothers made the first ever flight in the Kitty Hawk. It was likened in its day to the voyage of Christopher Columbus, and historians today say it was as significant as man landing on the moon 50 years later.

The legacy of Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith cannot be underestimated. The epic flight highlighted that a 'kangaroo route' between England and Australia would one day be possible. It inspired a series of endurance flights around Australia and the South Pacific, which reinforced that aircraft could overcome the tyranny of distance in the Southern Hemisphere. It also illustrated the need for a Royal Australian Air Force, which was established only 15 months later in 1921. The clearing of airfields from Darwin to Brisbane also led to the creation of Qantas in 1920.

In South Australia, the Smith brothers helped to forge an entrepreneurial, can-do mindset in aviation and defence that continues to this day. In the 1950s and 1960s, South Australia was at the forefront of air and space research and development at the Woomera test range, the largest land test range in the world. Over the past 30 years, we have been at the forefront of development and operations of over-the-horizon radar and macrosatellites, and in November 2018, Adelaide was announced as home to the first Australian space agency.

In post World War I Australia, devastated by war, the epic flight provided a badly needed source of inspiration and pride, showing that anything was possible with visionary thinking, courage, hard work, determination and audacity. Under the auspices of the History Trust of South Australia, the epic flight centenary program of activities and initiatives is commemorating the Smith brothers' epic flight. The program of events is diverse and aims to reach all South Australians. It includes a dynamic website—www.epicflightcentenary.com.au—education resources for schools across a range of subjects and competitions that include a trip to the Middle East with an RAAF mission.

Key events throughout May as part of South Australia's History Festival program include book launches, bus tours to sites relevant to the flight, exhibitions, expert talks and pop-up historical displays across suburban and regional South Australia. Adelaide Airport will have an open day celebrating the Vickers Vimy, incorporating an historic aircraft fly-past over two locations linked to the Smith brothers on 20 October 2019.

There will be an Edinburgh air show with the theme 'Vimy to fifth generation in 100 years', featuring an epic flight centenary 2019 historical display; a major exhibition of historical artefacts and memorabilia at the State Library of South Australia; and a one-hour television documentary presented and narrated by our own distinguished NASA astronaut, Dr Andy Thomas, who as a young boy growing up in Adelaide was also inspired by the Vickers Vimy story. He came to believe that the sky is never the limit.

The producers of the documentary are well-known Adelaide journalists Lainie Anderson, who has been extremely passionate about the future of the Vickers Vimy for many years, and Susan Harrington. They sourced high-quality archival film and stills from the actual air race of 1919. Much of it was shot by Keith Smith, Ross Smith's brother and navigator for the Vimy crew. They have also delved through a treasure trove of photo albums, diaries and memorabilia held by the State Library of South Australia. I commend this motion to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.