Love Aviation And In Sydney? Check Out The Qantas Heritage Collection

At the Qantas domestic terminal in Sydney Airport is the Qantas Heritage Collection. This is open from Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 4:30pm and is worth a visit if you are passing through the airport.

One thing that foreign tourists need to know is that anyone can go airside at the domestic terminals at Sydney Airport. You do not need to hold a boarding pass or be travelling. Everyone passes through security screening which means families can still meet people at the gate.

Qantas Heritage Collection

Once through the fast and painless Sydney security, turn left and walk to the end of the terminal following the signs for the heritage collection. You head up stairs which feature vintage Qantas photographs before arriving at the entrance.

Various display cases are filled with items from the airline’s history. These range from silverware used on the flying boats and Constellations to old school life jackets and instrumentation. The collection is put together by retired staff volunteers and they have created an engaging and interesting exhibition.

Models and Uniforms

Various model aircraft feature in the display with a large travel agent model of a Super Constellation being the largest and most impressive.

Display cases feature vintage items such as original travel bags, playing cards, promotional memorabilia and much more. Items in the cases tend to be the rare stuff. There is also an excellent display of Qantas Uniforms. I really liked how they are presented with their promotional shots from the era behind them so you can put them into context.

Stories, Blades and Menus

A large display of hanging fabric panels tells the Qantas story from humble beginnings in 1919. In addition to these there are parts of turbine blades cut into pieces to show you how these look.

There are also large flip books that contain vintage Qantas travel posters and historic Qantas menus, many of which seem to date from the 1970s.

Overall Thoughts

The Qantas Heritage Collection in the Qantas domestic terminal in Sydney is well worth a visit. The space overlooks the airport runways which means you can get a great view of the airport action as well as checking out the collection.

While not a huge collection, the items inside are well chosen and some have great historical value. A visit would take less than an hour. As a free exhibition it is great that it exists as something else to do while waiting for a flight or just visiting the airport.

Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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