Longitude 131°
Australian Pioneers and Explorers
'People of the Territory may be classified into the doers and the knockers. History will decide which have done more for it.'
E.J. Connellan
1912 - 1983
'EJ' Connellan had no time for knockers. He was too busy flying passengers, delivering airmail, making airstrips, building Central Australia's first airline.
But it wasn't the route he had originally set out to take.
EJ came from a pastoral family in New South Wales. In 1938 he had an idea to carve himself out a new cattle station in the Northern Territory. People said to forget it, but he was already on his way. He flew 'Fanny', his Spartan bi-plane, to Alice Springs and then on a 40,000 mile survey of the Territory, assessing every remote corner for its grazing potential.
The Minister of the Interior was impressed and offered him a contract to carry airmail. People said to forget it, there weren't even any airstrips. EJ had no time to listen.
He got hold of an old Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, drove it to wherever an airstrip was needed, and made one. He brought a Percival Gull bi-plane and a pre-fabricated hangar to Alice Springs, and started flying the mail in 1939.
During the war he also flew supplies to the military in the north and missions for the Flying Doctor Service. In his spare time he surveyed airstrips for the army and even developed a new aerial photographic technique to make it possible to do it faster.
After the war people said his business would go bad. But he was too busy investing in new aircraft to listen. He bought a bigger De Havilland Rapide and began passenger services. Although it was twin-engined it was still made to the old wood and fabric design, a particularly volatile combination in the searing heat of the outback.
Landing at Turkey Creek one especially hot day, a gust of wind fanned exhaust flames onto the aircraft's skin. EJ managed to scramble clear seconds before the plane was incinerated. After that he stuck to metal planes.
The months and years flying over the Red Centre convinced him of the tourist potential of one of the most pristine places on Earth. Yet again people said to forget it, but he offered free flights to travel agents from the southern capitals and tour industry executives from all around the world. Soon he was running charter flights of eager-eyed adventurers to Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek. Where he couldn't land he made joy flights to Ayers Rock, the Olgas, Kings Canyon, Finke Gorge.
As the Rock became more and more popular he built another airstrip and started a regular service.
By the 60s Connellan Airways was serving 132 places from western Queensland to the north of Western Australia. Now people said he was getting too big. At last EJ agreed. He shortened the name on his planes to Connair.
'We can no longer give the personal service that was our hallmark,' he said. 'End of an era!'
And indeed it was. After 40 years, EJ sold his company to East West Airlines, and finally took a rest. He had pioneered an industry, run a cattle station, sat in parliament, written books, established a charity, and even directed the Stockman's Hall of Fame.
He had done enough.
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