Frank Briggs

One hundred years ago the first aircraft, a tiny DH4 bi-plane, landed on a hastily cleared dirt strip in Alice Springs. It had come from Melbourne. It was the first ever flight to the Outback capital putting down at Nhill, Adelaide, Maree, Oodnadatta and the Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station, en route arriving on 5 October 1921.

The whole town turned out to behold this amazing spectacle.

The trip took ten days. However, before they could return the aviators had to wait a number of weeks for their fuel supply to arrive by camel train.

The pilot, Lt Frank Briggs, 24, celebrated as the pioneer of several Australian domestic and commercial routes, starting with the first east-west flight across Australia, flew the plane owned by his employer, Clement de Garis. His mechanic was Alfred Bailey, both WWI Australian airforce veterans. Francis Birtles, the adventurer/explorer was passenger.

Little did they know they were the catalyst for change that would transform the social and economic fabric of this outback town and Australia’s vast, empty interior.

Less than 20 years later, in 1939, Eddie Connellan, then 27, launched Connellan Airways, based at the Townsite aerodrome, alongside the same area used by Briggs. The fledgling airline, went on to become the NT’s biggest employer.

What Briggs may not have known but became apparent as the aviation industry in Central Australia developed, was that the dry, arid climate was kind to aircraft, making it perfect for large-scale storage and preservation of out-of-service planes and parts.

Thanks to Covid, Alice Springs airport has become a safe roost for some of the world’s biggest birds… something that would have been unimaginable when Briggs landed his DH4 biplane on a make-shift dirt runway on the outskirts of town on 5 October 1921.

Submitted by Franca Frederiksen