Museum takes flight with inaugural exhibition

The first items to be displayed in the highly anticipated museum have been installed, including a replica of the first Qantas aircraft.

A skilled group of technicians maneuvered the aircraft and two other lead aircraft into Parramatta Powerhouse’s largest display area upon completion of construction in April.

The first exhibition, Task Eternal, will explore humanity’s quest to bypass gravity and take to the skies and will open to the public, along with the rest of the museum, later in the year.

The Qantas Avro 504K aircraft, which weighs more than 760 kg, has a length of nine meters and a wingspan of 11 meters, will be featured along with 3000 other objects.

Also installed was the odd-looking Autogiro VH-USR, the helicopter’s forerunner, owned by former aviator Andrew Thyne Reid, and the ultralight Wheeler ‘Scout’ Skycraft Mark 1, designed and built by Ron Wheeler.

Powerhouse CEO Lisa Havilah said the facilities were important milestones.

The museum partnered with Qantas to host the exhibition, with the airline contributing to the digitization and preservation of thousands of objects from its own archives.

Qantas A330 pilot David Thiess said seeing the Avro as the first aircraft to bear the airline’s name was a reminder of how far Australian aviation had come.

“From the first long-haul flights connecting remote communities such as Longreach, Winton and Cloncurry, to the opening of A350 Project Sunrise services from Sydney to London,” he said.

The Task Eternal exhibition will also highlight the airline’s design legacy, which spans the evolution of the Flying Kangaroo and its uniforms, interiors, tableware and advertising.

Deputy Prime Minister Prue Car hopes the exhibition and those that follow will inspire the next generation of scientists, designers and engineers.

“The Powerhouse Museum brings our nation’s history to Western Sydney,” he said.