South Australian Aviation Museum

23/05/2026

History Month activities at SAAM culminated today with a full house, more than 60 people, captivated by the history of RAAF Mallala as presented by Greg Weller. It is easy to forget that Mallala was such an important part of the Empire Air Training Scheme during WWII (Number 6 Service Flying Training School) and continued on as a major RAAF base supporting UK-Australia operations at Woomera. It was not until RAAF Edinburgh was opened in 1954, that operations were slowly wound down, and in May 1960, the base was finally closed. Today, Mallala is better known as a motor sport park.
At the end of the presentation, those attending were offered a close up look at our Avro Anson, EF954, which operated with 6SFTS during the war, and is now nearing the completion of a 40+ year restoration.
Many thanks to Greg for a fascinating presentation, and thanks to all who attended.

20/05/2026

In a 5-hour operation yesterday, AGL Cranes of Edinburgh moved 6 x 40ft and 7 x 20ft shipping containers from our cluttered front compound to our newly-fenced lease expansion at the back, leaving our front yard looking much tidier. We still have 5 x 20ft containers in the front full of equipment that supports the workshop.
Thanks AGL Cranes!

The movement off the containers now makes way for the museums next big restoration project, Bristol Freighter A81-1, which has significant South Australian history. While the jump in fuel costs has postponed the delivery of this aircraft from Point Cook, we are still hoping to get it here later in the year, something to watch this page for as we get updates.

18/05/2026

Just letting everyone know, the History Month talk scheduled for Saturday 23 May has been fully booked. Many thanks to everyone who has booked their seat, you will be getting to hear a fantastic story. For those who wanted to come but have not booked, we are so sorry, but please keep an eye out for our future events.

16/05/2026

Today, SAAM held the first of two history talks when Mike Milln addressed an audience of 34 people on the history of the Royal Aero Club of South Australia. The presentation and video display were very well received with lots of audience interaction.

After the formal presentation, attendees were invited into the museum to view some of the aircraft which complimented the talk. Chris Doudy explained what it took to restore our Victa Airtourer, VH-BWT. This aircraft was operated by the Royal Aero Club out of Parafield, and its history nicely complemented Mike’s presentation.
For those who are interested in the history of the RAC SA, Mike has written two books on the subject, both of which are available from the SAAM shop.

Next Saturday. Our second History Month event will be held at 2:30pm when Greg Weller will present the history of RAAF Mallala. The presentation is free to attend, but you must book your seat buy calling the museum on 08 8240 1230.

06/05/2026

Talking about History Month, our sister museum at Port Adelaide is having its own events this weekend, so make sure you have a look.

06/05/2026

It’s History Month in South Australia, and SAAM is participating with two events being held at the Museum.
The first on Saturday, 16 May, starting at 2:30pm, is a talk on the history of the Royal Aero Club of SA, featuring Mike Milln.
Our second event will be held on Saturday 23 May, also starting at 2:30pm. This talk by Greg Weller covers the history of RAAF Mallala.
If you wish to attend either of these events, please book your seat by calling us on 08 8240 1230, or emailing [email protected].
For all the other events happening, check out the following link

https://festival.history.sa.gov.au/

29/04/2026

It has only taken about 40 years of dedicated work, but our Avro Anson Mk 1 EF954 restoration project is nearing completion. It is now getting a nice fresh coat of trainer yellow paint to bring it back to looking as it would have during its service with the RAAF during WWII. EF954, one of 1,028 Anson to be operated by the RAAF, has an important place in South Australia’s history as it flew with No.6 Service Flying Training School based at RAAF Mallala. The aircraft is a tribute to all the trainees that learned to fly with the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) during WWII, and also to the tenacity of those who have restored her to a beautiful display standard. We will post more images of this epic restoration in the not too distant future when it is fully painted. If you are in the area, why not visit SAAM and get a closer look.

10/04/2026

A bit of history about our BAe 146.

VH-NJL British Aerospace 146-300 of QantasLink, at Perth Airport, Western Australia - 2 April 2006.
Flight QF1870 to Kununurra, about to line up on runway 21 at 11:10am.
MSN E3213. Built at Woodford, near Manchester, UK. Was intended to be delivered to Discovery Airlines as N889DV but this did not proceed. On its first flight on 21 July 1992 as G-6-213, it was flown from Woodford to Filton, UK and stored for two years. Registered G-BVPE in July 1994 and flown from Filton back to Woodford and later to Cambridge. Leased to National Jet Systems on behalf of Qantas Airlink in October 1994, registered VH-NJL. It operated for QantasLink until 31 October 2006 and was then operated by National Jet Systems in their livery from January 2007. National Jet was renamed Cobham Aviation Services Australia on 1 March 2009 and Cobham titles were applied to its National Jet livery. The aircraft continued to operate from Perth on Fly-In, Fly Out (FIFO) resources industry charter work. It was withdrawn from use at Adelaide in May 2017 and stripped of spare parts from November 2017 before being broken up. The forward fuselage of the aircraft was preserved and transported by road to the South Australian Aviation Museum in Adelaide in May 2018.
Qantas Perth Airport South Australian Aviation Museum

07/04/2026

Our sister museum in Port Adelaide is having a celebration on Sunday 19 April that you might want to highlight in your diary.

01/04/2026

You will be happy to know that the restoration of our Victa Airtourer, VH-BWT, has now been completed, with Peter Hedger and Chris Doudy applying the finishing touches today. Well done gentlemen, and to all who had a hand in the restoration of this classic Australian aircraft. She looks fantastic. However, your job is not yet quite finished. Now you have to put a bit of elbow grease into getting our genuine 1950’s Victa lawnmower which will be added to the display.

If you would like to see the Victa, SAAM will be open every day of the Easter long weekend. For those who would like to get an even closer look at VH-BWT, remember to register for Mike Milln’s presentation of a century of history of the Royal Aero Club of South Australia being held at SAAM on Saturday 16 May at 2:30pm. Please call SAAM on 08 8240 1230 to book your free seat.