Video: A stylised red stamp features the logos of Australia Post and Qantas. Text reads, "1922-2022. 100 years of partnership." In an oval postmark, a map of Australia contains the text "02/11". 'Australia' and '2022' appear around the map. The stamp and postmark appear on a colourised photo of a woman and two men in old-fashioned flying gear standing before a biplane. In a black and white photo people holding a mailbag pose by a biplane.
Yellowed documents are titled, "The Queensland and Northern Territorial Aerial Services Limited General Air Mail Information." They are part of a museum display. Several mannequins placed before a large wall map model uniforms of different colours and designs. Another display features a poster, envelopes, labels and a mailbag Schoolchildren holding 100th anniversary flags pose in front of an aircraft with a pilot and Australia Post staff member who are holding a mailbag labelled, "Charleville, Cloncurry, Aerial Mails." The pilot wears an old-fashioned helmet and goggles.
Audio: Man: In 2022, November 2, 2022, it is 100 years of the Qantas-Australia Post partnership. And for 100 years, Qantas has carried Australia Post's airmail, continuously.
Video: Footage of a modern aircraft with a Qantas logo on the tail fades into sepia footage of a biplane trundling away from a Qantas hangar. A pilot spins a propeller by hand. A sign on a hangar reads "Q.A.N.T.A.S Ltd Air Services." A man with a white beard is interviewed. Text: "Richard Breckon, Team Leader, Philatelic Archives, Collector Services, Australia Post." In monochrome footage, people check the biplane. A man leaning over a camera watches the plane trundle through an outback field.
Audio: Richard: So, Qantas, which was then the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd - that's where the Qantas name comes from - gained an airmail contract with Australia Post, which was then called the Postmaster General's Department. The first flight on November 2 carried 106 letters. And that's where it all began.
Video: At a large desk, Richard shows stamps and postcards arranged in an album. The stamps feature a range of aircraft, personnel and logos from over the years. An Australia Post staff member sorts mail. Envelopes are emblazoned, "Qantas-Australia Post Partnership: 100 Years". Sheets of stamps are placed in plastic covers.
Audio: Richard: Well, we have 12 stamps here. These are what Australia Post calls MyStamps, because they are customised stamps. In this case, Australia Post produced this for the...to celebrate the centenary of the Qantas-Australia Post partnership. And the images are of significant events in Qantas's 100-year history of carrying mail. All the stamp photos were supplied by Qantas. I
refer to the wartime flying boat service between Western Australia and Sri Lanka, over the Indian Ocean. And this image shows a flying boat at that time. And you can see it's quite close to the water level. It was necessary in case they encountered enemy aircraft, and they had to be able to land on water fairly quickly.
Video: A stamp features the old-fashioned photo of the woman and two men standing before the biplane.
Audio: Richard: This stamp here reproduces a photograph from the inaugural 1922 flight. And it features a woman, a passenger, who I think has the distinction of being the first fare-paying passenger of Qantas.
Video: A black and white logo features a streamlined kangaroo with long wings that mirror its body and tail. Its long legs point at a wireframe globe. A modern logo doesn't have the wings or globe. The flying kangaroo logo and the word 'Parramatta' are emblazoned on the cockpit of a plane. A pilot waves from a window.
Audio: Richard: This is the first Qantas logo of...involving the flying kangaroo. That dates from 1947, a couple of years after the Australia-to-England kangaroo route air service was established, and...which, of course, carried mail. The logo was inspired by the jumping kangaroo on the one-penny coin.
Video: A colour stamp features an aerial photo of a large aircraft on the tarmac. In fast-motion footage, the Australia Post logo is painted along the side of a plane. An Australia Post plane is loaded with freight. A plane taxis.
Audio: Richard: Well, I like the last stamp. We've got the most up-to-date one, which features one of Qantas's Airbuses converted to a freighter, and it bears Australia Post livery. And I believe there are three of these operating today, because, of course, it's mainly parcels that are carried around Australia by air.
Video: The Australia Post logo appears in white on a red background.