TAA Museum
This excellent museum houses the only collection identifying the development of commercial aviation in Australia and tells the complete story of the growth of domestic and international aviation of Australia's major airlines. Trans-Australia Airlines, the main airline featured, began operations in 1946, first as Trans-Australia Airlines, then as Australian Airlines from 1986, and continues to the present day (since 1993) as the domestic operations of Qantas.The Museum's collection consists of over 130,000 items - from the first credit card issued in 1947 to the simulated cockpit of the Airbus A300B4 (and Boeing 727-200 and DC9-30), along with the internal workings of a Rolls-Royce Dart engine - every uniform style from 1946 to 1996, and 30,000 photographs from day one.
Open Tuesday to Thursday 10am - 2pm. Entry by suggested donation.
Location: Qantas EP Building, 7 York Street, Airport West
Contact: (03) 9280 8113.
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In August 1945, only two days after the end of World War II, the Australian parliament passed the Australian National Airways Bill, which set up the Australian National Airways Commission (ANAC) and charged it with the task of reconstructing the nation's air transport industry. In keeping with the Labor government's socialist leanings, the bill declared that the licenses of private operators would lapse for those routes that were adequately serviced by the national carrier. From this time on, it seemed, air transport in Australia would be a government monopoly. However, a legal challenge, backed by the Liberal opposition and business interests generally, was successful and in December 1945, the High Court ruled that the Commonwealth did not have the power to prevent the issue of airline licenses to private companies. The government could set up an airline if it wished, but it could not legislate a monopoly. Much of the press objected strongly to the setting up of a public airline network, seeing it as a form of socialisation by stealth.
With the bill suitably amended to remove the monopoly provisions, the Australian National Airways Commission came into existence in February 1946. The Commission was to be chaired by Arthur Coles, one of the richest men in Australia, and the co-founder of the Coles retail empire, who set in motion the establishment of a government owned domestic airline. The Commission decided on the name "Trans-Australia Airlines", applied to the Treasury for a preliminary advance of £10,000 and set about making plans, recruiting staff, and purchasing equipment. TAA acquired its first two aircraft in mid-June 1946, both Douglas DC-3s. A dozen more DC-3s would be added over the next few months, all ex-RAAF aircraft originally bought by the Australian Government under lend-lease. TAA's first scheduled flight, from a borrowed tin shed at the RAAF base at Laverton because Essendon Airport had been turned into mud by heavy rain, took off on 7th October 1946, carrying a full load of VIPs and just one paying passenger.
The subsequent few years led to massive growth for the new airline. As post-war austerity gave way to a more affluent era, Australians were able to travel by air in ever increasing numbers. Much of the growth in domestic aviation in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was dominated by the rivalry between the privately owned Ansett-ANA and the government-supported TAA.
Trans Australia Airlines or TAA (renamed Australian Airlines in 1986) remained one of the two major Australian domestic airlines until and after its sale to Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the 'COBRA' (or Common Branding) project, the entire airline was rebranded Qantas about a year later with tickets stating in small print 'Australian Airlines Limited trading as Qantas Airways Limited' until the adoption of a single Air Operator Certificate a few years later.
During its period as TAA, the company played a major part in the development of the Australian domestic air transport industry. The establishment of TAA broke the domestic air transport monopoly of ANA (Australian National Airways) in the late 1940s, and taking over the Queensland air network from QANTAS. It was also at the time TAA supported the Flying Doctor Services of Australia by providing aircraft, pilots and engineers to ensure every emergency was answered quickly. Qantas had also been instrumental in the formation of the Flying Doctor Service.
The airline's headquarters were located in the City of Melbourne. In 1954 TAA became the first airline outside Europe to introduce the Vickers Viscount 'propjet', and in 1981 it introduced the Airbus A300, the first wide-body aircraft to be purchased by an Australian domestic airline providing TAA with a clear edge over major competitor at the time, Ansett Airlines of Australia which had purchased instead, the Boeing 767-200, receiving the type approximately a year later. Ironically, although the A300s were initially painted in full Qantas livery, they were phased out within a few years being replaced by previously international operated Qantas 767-238ERs, 767-338ERs and later supplemented by 7 ex British Airways 767-336ERs.
Qantas revived the Australian Airlines brand between 2002 and 2006 to serve the low-cost leisure market of visitors to and from Australia but using a full-service model, operating selected Qantas 767-338ERs - although the livery used was not the same as that used by the previous domestic operation.
