100 Years of Qantas – a new book The Flying Kangaroo commemorates a century of Australian aviation

Next week, on 16 November 2020, Qantas will commemorate a century since its first flight. 

Qantas defines air travel in Australia – whether you’re catching a red-eye to an interstate business meeting, leaving for adventure or holidays, or longing to return home.

Through never-before-seen photographs and historical detail from Qantas’s archives, The Flying Kangaroo tells the story of Qantas’s incredible evolution from a wild idea by two hobbyists to the world renowned airline it has become.

Qantas has always been about connection. It began by connecting Australians across western Queensland’s unforgiving terrain, and before long was connecting Australia with the world.

Qantas’s history is entwined with Australian identity, launching in the aftermath of World War I and the Spanish Flu, and soaring to match Australian ambitions in the one hundred years since. Its centenary year has been the most turbulent year yet, with a pandemic grounding virtually the entire fleet and Qantas coming to the rescue of Australians stranded overseas.

Like Australia, Qantas will soar again. The Flying Kangaroo commemorates a century of Australian aviation and a nation that always reaches for the sky.

See the full media release here 

****INTERVIEW TALENT****

Neil Montagnana-Wallace is the author of The Flying Kangaroo.

Sean Golding is a long-serving Qantas pilot. Since the age of 6 he wanted to be a pilot and received is pilot license before learning to drive. He has worked for Qantas since 1989. With the planes being grounded since the pandemic this is the longest period of time Sean has been on the ground in over 30 years. The past few months he has been working as a paramedic. Sean was part of the Project Sunrise flight from Sydney to New York last year. For Sean the spirit of advancement is part of Qantas’s culture and s excited about what advancements are to come over the next 100 years.