BAZflyer: Daly Waters

The enormousness of the Australian outback can be best appreciated when flying across its forever repeating expanse. As far as an eye can see in every direction, the unforgiving flatness goes and goes seemingly forever towards the distant horizon.

Somewhere in the middle of all this is the tiny settlement of Daly Waters. Very significant for the Bazflyers, this was the site of Australia's first international airfield and a critical refuelling stop for early Qantas flights to Singapore. Flights en route to London would stop at Daly Waters to refuel and feed the passengers. Interestingly this pre-war trip cost 275 pounds and took 8 days.

In the early months of 1942 during World War II, Daly Waters became a waypoint for operations between Australia and Java. Later in the war it was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Air Force and became an operational base known as RAAF Daly Waters.

B-17 Flying Fortresses of the USAAF Fifth Air Force operated from the airfield making attacks on Japanese shipping in the Dutch East Indies and the Bismarck Archipelago. Other operations during this period included attacks on airfields and installations in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and as far away as the southern Philippines.

These days the Daly Waters landing strip is owned by the local pub and gets used by an occasional private aircraft, although judging by the ageing runway surface, the airfield's time could sadly be coming to an end. However, the one-pub settlement no longer relies on aircraft for its survival. Today's visitors to Daly Waters are invariably grey-haired nomads travelling the Stuart Highway with a caravan hitched to the 4x4. Judging by our "Beef 'n Barra" night in the pub a never ending flow of nomads stopping-over in the adjoining camp ground will ensure a long and prosperous life for the the historic establishment and those who man her....!

Alice to Daly Waters