On 11 September 1928, a Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane known as the ‘Southern Cross’ landed at Wigram Airfields after completing the first ever nonstop trans Tasman flight.
Flown by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, this was not the first record for either the pilot or the plane. On 9 June 1928, the ‘Southern Cross’ had landed at Eagle Farm Airport in Brisbane, Australia after completing the first flight between Australia and America. Smith and his crew had begun their flight from California.
The ‘Southern Cross’ is now kept safe in a special glass hanger on Airport Drive, near the International Terminal at Brisbane Airport, Australia.
