Second World War Hangar No. 7

About

Second World War Hangar No. 7 is a heritage-listed hangar at 116 Lamington Avenue, Eagle Farm, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by the United States Army and built from 1942 to c. 1952 by Manuel Richard Hornibrook. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 7 February 2005.

The Second World War Hangar No.7, located fronting Terminal Drive on the site of the old Brisbane Airport, is a timber truss igloo structure with ribbed metal sheet cladding. The hangar was constructed in 1942 for the use of the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU), as part of a major aircraft assembly depot and aerodrome under the control of the US 81st Air Depot Group, and under the US 5th Air Force under the command of General Douglas MacArthur 's Supreme Headquarters of the South West Pacific Area. It is the last surviving World War II timber truss igloo structure at Eagle Farm.

The structure is located adjacent to the Eagle Farm Women's Prison and Factory Site, the remains of which are located beneath the southeast end of runway 13/31.

In September 1829 Commandant Patrick Logan of the Moreton Bay penal settlement founded a secondary agricultural establishment approximately 8 miles (13 km) from the town at Eagle Farm. Female convicts are recorded at Eagle Farm from 1830, and in 1837 all female prisoners in Brisbane Town were removed to Eagle Farm.

By November 1838 the decision had been taken to abandon the Moreton Bay penal settlement, and by July 1839 all the female convicts had been removed. Eagle Farm was virtually abandoned, although it was still functioning as a government cattle station in 1841.

In 1842 the land was surveyed, put up for public auction and subsequently farmed. The buildings were demolished at an unknown date.

The land on which Hangar No.7 stands was purchased by John Westaway in April 1864. After his death in 1867, title passed to William Westaway who subsequently subdivided the land, and the area of concern was sold to Alonzo Sparkes in April 1914. Doomben Park Recreation Grounds Ltd purchased the site in October 1920, and it was leased in 1932 for 7 years to James Macfarlane and George Rea, after which it was acquired by the Commonwealth.

The opening of the mouth of the Brisbane River to deep water shipping, and the construction of the railway to Pinkenba stimulated growth in the area around Eagle Farm, and housing subdivisions gradually displaced the pastoral uses of the land.

The land at Eagle Farm was inspected by Captain E C Johnston, Superintendent of Aerodromes Civil Aviation Department, in February 1922 as a site for a civil aerodrome. This land (to the north of the site of hangar 7) was subsequently surveyed and acquired from William Lynn and David Wilson for a total cost of £5,464.0.8. The Commonwealth gazettal notice of the aerodrome site occurred on 29 June 1922, and at that time the site was described as containing 84 acres 2 roods 2.3 perches of partly cleared land with black soils, scattered heavy gum and ironbark, and some good grazing areas.

In July 1922 it was intended to lease portions of the aerodrome to various commercial aviation companies, and from 1923 the intention to acquire adjoining lands for expansion of the aerodrome was being expressed. A grass airstrip was formed in 1923, and a layout for hangar blocks with a caretaker's cottage was prepared in February 1924. The Brisbane Civil Aviation hangar was constructed c. 1925, and the first commercial operations were commenced by Qantas in 1926, who formed the Brisbane Flying Training School in 1927.

By August 1928, when the Australian Aero Club held their second annual Aerial Pageant, a second hangar housing Qantas was located adjacent to the north of the Brisbane Civil Aviation hangar, with a caretakers cottage to the south. The aerial pageant included such events as the Balloon Strafe, where small gas filled balloons were released and the aeroplanes would endeavour to burst them with their propellers in flight. The pageant also included aerobatics, an aerial derby, speed championships, bombing displays, novelty events, crazy flying, parachute descents and an air battle. The entrance to the aerodrome was from the east off Schneider Road adjacent to Mr Wilson's property.

In 1927 Captain Johnston, then Director of Civil Aerodromes Civil Aviation Department, was again looking at acquiring adjacent lands, in particular the Doomben Park Recreation Grounds racecourse straight located to the south of the aerodrome, but costs were prohibitive and much of the surrounding land suffered from poor drainage.

The most significant event to occur in this period was the landing of the Southern Cross in June 1928. Squadron Leader Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm completed the first trans-Pacific flight from California to Brisbane, landing at Eagle Farm. Kingsford-Smith and Ulm formed Australian National Airlines in 1929 and initiated scheduled services between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Also of note in 1928, Squadron Leader Bert Hinkler AFC completed the first solo flight from England to Australia in 16 days in a light aeroplane.

In 1928 it was decided to acquire an area of land at Rocklea for use as a civil aerodrome in lieu of Eagle Farm. In August 1929 it was stated that as soon as the aerodrome at Rocklea (now Archerfield Airport ) was acquired and prepared, flying activities would be transferred from Eagle Farm which would then be available for disposal. The two existing hangars would be moved but the caretakers cottage on the site would remain.

In 1929 the site was placed with the Department of the Interior for sale, and several options for disposal of the property were considered, including industrial sites or to the general public in broad acre lots or by subdivision. In 1931 it was assessed as having a poor prospect of sale, and it was recommended to lease the land until the real estate market improved. At this time the aerodrome was not required by the Department of Defence, and only one aircraft concern (Aircrafts [ sic ] Pty Ltd) was still operating from the site. The land was leased to Messrs Wilson and Campbell for the grazing of cattle and horses.

David Wilson died in September 1934, and his interest in the partnership passed to his widow Margaret Wilson. The partnership held the lease until March 1940. Part of the lease arrangements was that the Queensland Gliding Association was to be allowed to use the site on public holidays, to erect hangars on the land, and to install water supply and any conveniences.

In June 1939 the aerodrome site was still being considered for sale, and the prospects of the area were thought to have improved due to Brisbane City Council policies on oil storage depot locations, the erection of wharves at Hamilton, Queensland Government development of the area between Eagle Farm Road and the river, the development of industries in the area, and the small amount of available vacant land. The site was valued at £4,200.

At this time, the Minister for Civil Aviation, James Valentine Fairbairn, mentioned that the site was very suitable for training purposes, and directed that it be retained. Captain Johnston, who originally selected the site, also stated that it was suitable for instructional purposes. This decision is likely related to Fairbairn's attendance at a meeting in Ottawa in December 1939 in which the details of the Empire Air Training Scheme were concluded. Australia had declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, and the importance placed on the retention of Eagle Farm is reflected in Fairbairn's report to Prime Minister Robert Menzies that the "only activity that we have undertaken which could lead to the winning or losing of the war by our failure or success in carrying out our undertaking is the Empire Air Training Scheme".

Military Aviation in Australia, and Events Leading to the Second World War

The Australian Flying Corps were involved in the First World War as part of the Army. Following the establishment of the Royal Air Force in 1918, Australia's Minister for Defence, Senator George Foster Pearce, appointed the Swinburne Committee to report on the needs of military aviation. Australia's involvement in the Imperial defence strategy inevitably placed its senior military commanders in a position subordinate to their British counterparts, and as its starting point the Committee accepted the strategy's basis that Australia's security would continue to be based on sea power. The committee found that while they supported the establishment of an air service, they rejected any suggestion that it should have an independent role. Any Australian air force would exist solely to support the sea and land forces.