Touring Australia Summer 2016/17 Touring Australia | Page 54

ViC

“i don’t think i’m anything out of the box. i just think if you work hard
enough and long enough, you’ll get somewhere.” sir reginald ansett.
THE STORY
On the morning of 5th December, 1931, a young Reginald
Ansett drove a Studebaker car from Hamilton to Ballarat. The
Ansett empire was born. Just eleven years later, this one-man
passenger service, started with a secondhand car, had become
the biggest road passenger service in the Commonwealth.
The “road” was not always a smooth one. Around the
mid 1930s the Victorian Government took steps to curb the
development of the young Ansett company . . . it was proving
a more popular service than the State-owned railways.
Undaunted, Reginald Ansett flew his moth aircraft to
Sydney, navigating with a road map, and bought a Fokker
Universal passenger plane. On 17th February, 1936, the
Fokker Universal left Hamilton for Melbourne . . . the rest
is history.
Ansett was then an international airline operating one of
the most modern fleets in the world.
The Sir Reginald Ansett Transport Museum is located on
the shores of Lake Hamilton and within easy walking distance
of the city centre, a caravan park and motels.

It has toilets, barbecue facilities and ample parking for cars
and caravans. Tourist coaches are also catered for.
The museum is operated by an incorporated association and
offers tax deductibility status for gifts and donations over $2.

Travelling into the Southern grampians? Begin in hamilton
As the centre of a massive and wealthy pastoral industry for over 160 years, Hamilton has
become a thriving country city. Although filled with cultural experiences, Hamilton provides
a first hand opportunity for the traveller to experience the everyday life of a bustling country
centre.
Excellent shopping, diverse architecture, a fascinating art gallery and stunning botanic
gardens are just the beginning of your Hamilton experience. Its position makes the perfect
launching pad for any stay in the Southern Grampians, but you would be wise to spend time in
this city as the joys of Hamilton take some time to explore. The gardens are the perfect spot to
spend a fun afternoon with children as acres of well manicured lawns invite games and picnics.
The innovative walk through aviary is home to many exotic and native birds while kangaroos,
emus and wallabies also reside in the gardens.
Hamilton has gained fame for being the
birthplace of Ansett Airlines. The dream
began in the early 1930’s with a young and
enthusiastic Reginald taking passengers to
Ballarat, only a couple at a time… not in a
plane but in his 1927 Studibaker. By 1935
he had a fleet of these vehicles travelling to
Melbourne, Mount Gambier, Naracoorte
and Warrnambool. You can still see where
the empire all began, not from massive
corporate headquarters but a typical
bungalow-style house in Learmonth Street,
just one part of the interesting walking
tours of Hamilton. The wonderful history
of how the airline grew into a huge empire
is remembered at the Ansett Transport
Museum, all housed in an aircraft hanger.
Pictured: Hamilton township by Adam Bruzzone. Top left; Ansett Museum by Southern Grampians Shire. Top middle; Hamilton Botanic Gardens by
Adam Bruzzone. All images are thanks to Visions of Victoria

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touring australia magazine • summer 2017