Qantas Founder’s Museum - Longreach

Spent the day at the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach, and for anyone interested in aviation history, this is absolutely worth the visit. Qantas was founded in nearby Winton in 1920 before moving operations to Longreach in 1921, and the museum traces the airline’s evolution from outback mail runs to international carrier.

The collection includes several retired aircraft that you can walk through, but the absolute highlight is the Boeing 747 sitting outside on the tarmac. Standing next to this massive aircraft gives you a real sense of the engineering achievement these flying machines represent. There is a DC-3, a Lockheed Constellation, a Boing 707 and a Catalina sea plane that was used to run mail to the UK during WW2.

And then there’s the wingwalk. You can actually climb out onto the wing of the 747 while it’s parked. It’s an extraordinary experience - standing on the wing looking down at the ground far below, getting a real appreciation for the scale of these aircraft. Not for those with height issues, but if you’re comfortable with it, it’s genuinely thrilling and something you won’t get to do anywhere else.

The museum does an excellent job of connecting Qantas’s story to the broader history of Australian aviation and the role flying played in opening up the outback. From those early mail runs connecting remote properties to the development of international routes, it’s a fascinating progression.

The original 1922 hangar is still there, Heritage-listed and part of the museum experience. Walking through it, you can imagine those early days when flying was still a novelty and Qantas was just starting to prove that commercial aviation could work in the harsh conditions of outback Queensland.

Allow several hours - between exploring the aircraft, doing the wingwalk, and taking in the exhibits, there’s plenty to see. The wingwalk alone makes the visit memorable, but the whole museum delivers a comprehensive look at one of Australia’s most iconic companies.Read more