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An Apollonaut travel guide
The place behind the airline.
Three founders, a hangar of 1922 and a museum built by the communities of western Queensland offer several ways into the story of the Qantas Founders Museum.
On this page
The founders
Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness surveyed outback air routes in 1919, and Fergus McMaster backed the company they formed at Winton in 1920. McMaster chaired Qantas for most of its first 27 years, and Fysh retired as chairman in 1966, after 46 years.
Arthur Baird, the company’s first paid employee and engineer, joined when operations moved to Longreach in 1921.
The hangar
Qantas built its hangar at Longreach in 1922. It is National Heritage-listed and is also on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Inside, full-size replicas of the Avro 504K, the DH-50 and the DH-61 recall the aircraft of the airline’s early years.
A community museum
The museum belongs to Qantas Foundation Memorial, a not-for-profit community group and registered charity formed by western Queensland communities in 1988; it is not owned by Qantas.
This history belongs to the place and the people who shaped it. The History page offers a longer introduction, and the timeline gives a short route through selected milestones.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
- Qantas Founders Museum: Our history
- Qantas Founders Museum: About and FAQs
- Wikipedia: Qantas Founders Museum
Links lead to the original publishers.
