Qantas Airways.

The Western Queensland Auto Aero Service Limited was formed in 1920 by two former Australian Flying Corps officers, W Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness. The pair had become convinced that aeroplanes were the best method of covering the vast distances in north-western Queensland after the Defence Department commissioned them to survey an air race route from Longreach to Katherine, leaving supplies along the way. Their journey, undertaken in a Model T Ford, took 51 days and 2179km to complete. After finishing the survey, the pair sought financial backing, finding graziers from the region sympathetic to the idea, especially given that most roads were impassable during the wet season.

One grazier in particular, Fergus McMaster, was quickly convinced to the benefits of aviation, and he convinced business associates to invest money with Fysh and McGinness. On 19 August 1920, having raised enough money, Fysh and McGinness, along with aircraft mechanic Arthur Baird who had worked with the pair in Palestine during the war, travelled to Mascot Aerodrome in Sydney and ordered two Avro aircraft in the name of The Western Queensland Auto Aero Service Limited, later changing the name to Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited, which was soon abbreviated to QANTAS.

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