1971 *50TH ANNIVERSARY FIRST AUSTRALIA FLIGHT* COVER+"NORMAN BREARLEY"! NOTABLE!

Description

DECEMBER 5, 1971 ***SCARCE*** ~50TH ANNIVERSARY FLIGHT 5TH DECEMBER, 1971~ (FIRST REGULAR AIRMAIL SERVICE IN AUSTRALIA BY W.A. AIRWAYS LTD. 5TH DECEMBER, 1921) GERALDTON-DERBY // ADVERTISING AIR MAIL COVER WITH {{BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED}} "PLANE" VIGNETTE AND POSTMARKS // (2) 6 CENT (MULTICOLORED) SCOTT# 499 "ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY" STAMPS // NOTABLE PERSON: "NORMAN BREARLEY" SIGNATURE WITH ORIGINAL CARD INSERT TO VERIFY SIGNATURE!
Great aviation history with personal signature on one of the pioneers of airline industry!
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Norman Brearley
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Sir Norman Brearley
Norman Brearley in the 1920s
Born
1890
Geelong, Victoria
,
Australia
Died
9 June 1989
Nationality
Australian
Occupation
Pilot
Title
Sir
Bust
of Brearley at
Perth Airport
by sculptor Gerard Darwin
Sir Norman Brearley
,
CBE
,
DSO
,
MC
,
AFC
,
FRAeS
(1890 – 9 June 1989) was a commercial and military pilot and one of the pioneers of the airline industry within
Australia
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Born in
Geelong, Victoria
in 1890, Brearley moved to Western Australia in 1906.
[1]
Aviation career
[
edit
]
In April, 1915, after undertaking a 5-year apprenticeship as a mechanic, he worked his way to the
United Kingdom
and subsequently enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps.
[2]
Whilst flying in
France
during
World War I
he was badly wounded in October, 1916, and returned to Western Australia to recover.
[2]
In 1921, Brearley founded
Western Australian Airways
Ltd.
[1]
In the same year, Brearley was issued with Australia's first civil pilot's licence, under the 1921 Air Navigation Regulations.
[1]
Despite his holding licence No. 2, licence No. 1 was not issued until the 1930s in honour of
Amy Johnson's
record flight from
London
to Australia.
[1]
In 1927, Brearley opened the Perth Flying School at
Maylands
. He retired from commercial aviation in 1936 when he merged his airline with
Australian National Airways
.
[2]
Later life
[
edit
]
Brearley later served with the
Royal Australian Air Force
during
World War II
.
[1]
Brearley was
knighted
in 1971. He died on 9 June 1989.
[1]
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West Australian Airways
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West Australian Airways
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
unk
unk
unk
Founded
1921
Ceased operations
1936
West Australian Airways
was an Australian airline based in
Geraldton, Western Australia
. Established on 5 December 1921 as Western Australian Airways by
World War I
pilot
Norman Brearley
, it was the first airline in Australian history to establish a scheduled air service. The first service left Geraldton on 2 November 1922. On 12 June 1936, West Australian Airways was purchased by
Adelaide Airways
for
£
25,000 and in July that year became part of
Australian National Airways
.
History
[
edit
]
de Havilland Hercules
used for first interstate airmail flight
Following World War I, Norman Brearley, who had served with the
Royal Flying Corps
, returned to Australia in 1919. He brought with him two
Avro 504J
aircraft. In May 1921, the
Federal Government
advertised for tenders for the first subsidised air-mail & passenger contract, operating a weekly service between Geraldton and
Derby
. Brearley was so eager to win the tender he submitted multiple submissions. On 2 August 1921, Brearley was advised that his tender had been accepted. Brearley then set about hiring 5 pilots; Val Abbott, Arthur Blake, Bob Fawcett,
Charles Kingsford Smith
and
Leonard Taplin
.
On 5 December 1921, on the very first flight as an airline, Ted Broad and Bob Fawcett in the
Bristol Tourer
G-AUDI crashed 130 km north of Geraldton. Brearley suspended flight operations until 21 February 1922.
On 3 December 1926, Western Australian Airways Ltd. changed its name to West Australian Airways Ltd, though for the majority of its existence it was usually referred to as simply
Airways
. On 2 July 1928, Australia’s first interstate airmail contract, between
Perth
and
Adelaide
, was awarded to West Australian Airways, for 5 years. Services began on 26 May 1929. The service used four new
DH-66 Hercules
aircraft with space for 16 passengers and a cruising speed of 95 knots. A hot luncheon would be provided at
Ceduna
, dinner at the airline-owned hostel at
Forrest
and catering at
Kalgoorlie
.
[1]
On 19 April 1934, the Federal Government awarded the 5-year Perth -
Daly Waters
route contract to
MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co
. This decision left West Australian Airways with only the now unsubsidised Perth-Adelaide route. In April 1936,
Adelaide Airways
Ltd offered to purchase West Australian Airways and on 12 June the purchase was finalised for £25,000. On 1 July, Adelaide Airways and West Australian Airways became part of the new
Australian National Airways
.
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