Airways Museum

About

The Airways Museum is an aviation museum, but with one difference - there are no aircraft! Instead, the Museum houses a collection of national importance that traces the development of Australia's civil aviation airways system through innovation and technical development from it's beginnings in the 1920s to today. The story is told through artefacts and photographs, and illustrates how Australia has often played a leading role internationally in aviation development.

The Airways Museum collection had its origins in 1973 when it was realised that much airways equipment that had been in service since the War, or before, was being replaced and would soon disappear altogether if not preserved. The purpose of the collection is to preserve for posterity example of airways equipment which were once in common use.

In doing so, the significant contribution of Australia over the years to the development of safe and reliable civil aviation is also highlighted. The collection contains a number of Australian innovations and inventions that have led the world, and of which we can be justly proud.

Although always known as the 'Airways Museum', funding for many years only covered the cost of transporting and storing obsolete equipment for the collection. In a very few cases money was also made available for restoration work, usually by Departmental apprentices. The equipment comprising the collection came from the many Departmental airports and remote navigation and communications sites around Australia.

With the breakup of the Department, commencing in the late 1980s, the Airways Museum collection was eventually inherited by the newly-formed Airservices Australia, considered to be the most appropriate branch of the former Department to retain it. A review of priorities in 2000 resulted in museum consultants from Deakin University confirming the significant historical value of the collection. As a result, Airservices Australia continues to significantly fund the Airways Museum, which is operated on its behalf by the Civil Aviation Historical Society (CAHS).

The Airways Museum was first opened to visitors in 1997, although much work occurred over 2002-3 to re-organise exhibits following a consultant's report on the most appropriate layout. A dedicated band of volunteers continue to work on the restoration of equipment and the improvement of displays using audio-visual materials from the extensive CAHS archive.

Collections

Major areas covered in the museum include:

Air Traffic Services:

Tower Control
Approach Control
En-route Control
Aeradio/Flight Service
air/ground & ground/ground communications equipment
radio navigation beacons & radar
airport lighting & visual approach guidance
flight calibration of navigation aids

Archival holdings are detailed at:
CAHS Archives