On
8 December 2006, Qantas Boeing 707-138B registration VH-XBA
lifted off from Southend in the United Kingdom bound for Australia
and the Qantas Founders Outback Museum at Longreach. After many
years on the ground at Southend, this aircraft became the focal
point of a preservation effort by the Qantas Foundation Memorial,
the airline itself and the Australian government. The aircraft
arrived in Sydney on 16 December 2006. Originally registered
as VH-EBA, this aircraft was the first jet on the Australian
civil register and was the first shortened 138 series 707 built
by Boeing in 1959 and thus is of enormous significance to Australia's
aviation history. The painting of the Southend departure is
based on a photograph used by kind permission of Tony Jarvis.
The painting of the landing at Longreach is based on a photograph
used by kind permission of Stephen Berry.
