MacRobertson Miller Airlines (MMA) was a Western Australian airline that operated between 1927 and 1993. It served a changing roster of destinations in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, concentrated on services between Perth and Darwin via towns in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions. After being purchased by Ansett Transport Industries in 1968, MMA grew to become Australia's third-largest airline. It gradually lost its independent identity under Ansett ownership, being eventually rebranded Ansett WA before being entirely subsumed into Ansett Australia in the early 1990s.
This service between Perth and Darwin (via meeting the Imperial Airways mail flight heading to or from the United Kingdom at Daly Waters) was initially operated by a trio of de Havilland Dragon light airliners. Heading north from Perth, the aircraft stopped at Geraldton, Carnavon, Onslow, Roebourne, Whim Creek, Port Hedland, Broome, Derby, Noonkanbah, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Ord River, Wave Hill and Victoria River before arriving at Daly Waters. The trip took four days, with flying only in the early hours and the morning as hot air in the afternoons and frequent evening thunderstorms made flying too dangerous at other times. This route, and many of these key destinations, would become MMA's 'main line' for the rest of its existence.
A feeder service to cattle stations in the Kimberley, Western Australia was soon started out of Ord River using a de Havilland Fox Moth. By the end of 1934 additional Dragons and Fox Moths were being purchased and shipped from Britain to handle expanding demand. In 1938 the air mail contracts were altered, with MMA now flying into Darwin to meet the Imperial Airways mail service. MMA acquired new, larger aircraft with better performance and range, including a pair of Lockheed Electras and two four-engined de Havilland Express.
During the Second World War MMA's services to north-western and northern Australia were curtailed and many of its aircraft were impressed for military service. The Australian government's Department of Civil Aviation controlled the use and allocation of airliners and several of MMA's fleet were lost in accidents. The DCA purchased a fleet of ex-military Douglas Dakota transports (military variants of the Douglas DC-3) for reviving Australian domestic air services after the war, but Macrobertson-Miller Aviation was not initially included in this allocation. After protests, a single C-47, converted to airliner specification, was provided - VH-AEU - and made its first flight from Perth to Derby (via intermediate ports) in November 1945.
MMA would eventually acquire 12 DC-3s (all of which were ex-military C-47s). Surviving Lockheed Electras were operated for a time, but the airline decided to standardise on DC-3s for its main services out of Perth to the Pilbara, Kimberley and into Darwin. Refurbished ex-military Avro Ansons (six of which were purchased) for the 'station runs' serving cattle stations in the Kimberley out of Darwin and the Goldfields out of Kalgoorlie. The Ansons also predominated on what were known as the 'mission runs', started as MMA expanded its operations beyond Darwin into the Northern Territory. These supplied and connected christian mission stations in Arnhem Land and the Gove Peninsula with the route terminus at Groote Eylandt.
Many of MMA's distinctive characteristics were adopted at this time. Its DC-3s were all operated with a polished bare metal finish, which was calculated to reduce operating costs by removing the need to paint the aircraft and saving a small but significant amount of weight (allowing more payload or fuel to be carried). MMA crews were provided with large tins of polish and were expected to keep the aircraft buffed to a sheen during layovers while out on the route. The cleanliness of MMA aircraft, even when operated in remote rural airstrips with minimal protection or facilities, became a notable feature of the airline, as did its high standards of maintenance and the self-sufficiency of its engineering department. In the 1940s MMA standardised the registration marks of its fleet, all of which became VH-MMx (i.e. VH-MMA, VH-MMB, VH-MMC etc.) and its DC-3s were all named for rivers in Western Australia. MacRobertson-Miller furnished its crews with khaki army-style tunics rather than the naval-inspired uniforms favoured by most other airlines. Well into the 1950s many of the food and drink items on MMA flights continued to come from the MacRobertson's catalogue, reflecting Macpherson Robertson's partnership in the early years of the company and the majority stake in MMA still held by the confectionary company.
In 1955, MacRobertson-Miller Aviation and its only regional competitor, Airlines (WA) merged, with MacRobertson's holding a 62% shareholding of the new company now formally titled MacRobertson Miller Airlines.[4] At the time of the merger MacRobertson Miller operated a network of more than 32,000km, from Esperance in Western Australia to Darwin in the Northern Territory.[1]
The merger brought Airlines (WA)'s fleet of de Havilland Doves to MMA, which replaced the Ansons on the short station runs, with the last Anson flight for MMA being made in 1962.
Air Beef
A distinctive part of the MMA operation between 1950 and 1962 was 'Air Beef'. This was the carrying of beef carcasses from Glenroy Station to the coastal port at Wyndham. 'Air Beef' was originally founded as a partnership operation of Kimberley cattle ranchers, MMA and Australian National Airways. Instead of driving cattle to Wyndham for slaughter (where they often arrived in poor condition), an abattoir was built at Glenroy as well as a brand new all-weather airfield plus maintenance facilities and accommodation for the aircraft crews. The beef would be slaughtered, wrapped and chilled at Glenroy and flown to Wyndham, taking a matter of hours instead of the arduous six-week drive. MMA converted DC-3 VH-MMF (named RMAGascoyne) to a freighter, including removing its autopilot, sound-deadening and (given the warm weather of the seasonal operation) its anti-ice equipment to maximise payload and allow three tons of beef to carried on each flight, with three round trips per day. ANA withdrew from Air Beef in 1953, leaving MMA to operate the service each year with the same aircraft - VH-MMF and its crew would be remotely stationed at Glenroy for the entire beef season each year. The service ended in 1962 when road improvements in the Kimberley made it more cost-effective to transport live cattle to coastal abattoirs by road.
From the time of the merger with Airlines (WA), the newly-structured MMA began looking at the introduction of turboprop aircraft to accelerate its long-range services - it still being a journey of two full days on the Perth-Darwin 'main line'. In 1959 it was agreed that MMA would take over an order for a Fokker F27 Friendship from Trans Australia Airlines. VH-MMS RMA Swan entered service in December 1959. With the F27 the 'main line' journey could be accomplished in a single day, with more comfortable cruising at high altitudes thanks to cabin pressurization and, for the first time on MMA services, hot meals served in-flight. RMA Swan was painted in a new white/blue/red livery and the operation was branded as MMA's 'Jetstream Service'.
The operational success of the first MMA F27 was clear, but additional aircraft could not be purchased at the same favourable price as VH-MMS. MMA needed additional finances to order more F27s. At the same time, MacRobertson's was looking to sell its shares in MMA in order to fund its core confectionary business. Reg Ansett, owner of Ansett Transport Industries had been building up his company into a major national player in the late 1950s. Ansett purchased ANA in 1957 (creating Ansett-ANA) and key regional airlines in New South Wales and South Australia. Seeing the opportunity to move into Western Australia, Ansett purchased the MacRobertson's holding in MMA and also buying out the shares held by founder Horrie Miller, resulting in Ansett owning 70% of MMA from April 1963.[5]
In the Northern Territory, the old 'mission runs', originally requiring numerous stops in remote, unfurnished airstrips to support small settlements and Christian missions, were being replaced by scheduled services to supply the new bauxite mining operations. The Nabalco facility at Gove started up in 1964, as did the GEMCO manganese ore mine at Groote Eylandt.
All these activities brought a surge of traffic over MMA's routes, leaving the DC-3s worked to capacity. With Ansett ownership came funds to order more Fokker F27s as well as short-term leases of F27s and Douglas DC-4s from Ansett-ANA. MMA would eventually build a fleet of six F27s, with the DC-3s gradually being retired and the remaining fleet being relegated to freight, short-haul 'station runs', aerial survey work and charter operations.
MMA also purchased an 8-seater Piaggio P.166 for serving the oil operations on Barrow Island and carrying survey and inspection teams for mines. Three Twin Otters were operated to serve mining operations at Yampi Sound, Tom Price and the traditional 'station runs' in the Kimberley.
In 1966 a statement by MMA declared it had become Australia's third-largest domestic airline (behind Ansett-ANA and TAA), serving 97 destinations and carrying over 100,000 passengers that year. Freight tonnage carried by MMA had increased by over 50% in 1965-66.
The growth of towns in the Pilbara changed the flow of traffic for MMA - instead of relying on the mail contracts between Perth and Darwin, with intermediate stops largely by necessity, locations like Port Hedland, Karratha and Kununurra became major traffic centres in their own right. The performance of the F27s enabled Perth to become a hub rather than a terminus, with more direct services fanning out to key destinations. This was coupled to changes in Australian aviation legislation that enabled the growth of 'third level' commercial operators - smaller firms operating local and regional services with lighter aircraft. There were also, often as a direct result of the industrialisation of much of Western Australia, ever-improving road networks in previously remote areas. These factors all enabled MMA to greatly reduce the once-numerous 'station runs' and focus on the main routes between Perth and Darwin via the Pilbara. Exceptions included the long-running service between Perth and Kalgoorlie (itself seeing booming production at the Fimiston open pit and the coastal route from Perth to Geraldton and Carnarvon - a remnant of the original air mail route from 1934.
With this new traffic in mind, and faced with continually growing traffic (not to mention high profits from its F27 operations), MMA began preparations to begin all-jet operations with the Fokker F28 Fellowship.
In preparation, MMA took on operation of a Vickers Viscount from Ansett-ANA - in fact several different Viscounts were used in succession, each painted into MMA's 'Jetstream' livery when in service - during 1968. These four-engined turboprops provided much-needed capacity as well as having performance similar to that expected from the F28. Viscount operations suddenly ended after the fatal crash of MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750, found to be caused by structural corrosion.
In November 1968 Ansett completed the takeover of MMA, with the remaining 30% of shares being purchased and the airline officially becoming MacRobertson Miller Airline Services - A Division of Ansett Transport Industries (Operations) Pty Ltd. Aircraft were gradually repainted into Ansett's new white/red/black scheme. The absorption into Ansett reflected a general move by the parent firm to integrate its regional subsidiaries into its operations and identity. However the reputation of MMA (and, anecdotally, the respect of Reg Ansett for Horrie Miller) was such that the MacRobertson Miller Airlines name was continued - the airline would fly with the Ansett colour scheme and the corporate 'delta-A' logo, but with MMA logotypes on the fuselage.
The last official scheduled MMA DC-3 flight was made in January 1969, and MMA was then able to proclaim that it ran an 'all-jet' fleet (turboprop F27s and Twin Otters and the upcoming F28 jetliner - the single Piaggio being operated only on a charter basis). VH-MMF - the DC-3 used for the Air Beef operations - was retained for charter work until March 1970, and two DC-3s were transferred from Ansett for standby and charter duties until August that year when the last true MMA DC-3 flight was made.
MMA's orders for Fokker F28 jets were not expected to be delivered until the middle of 1970, but with the unexpected loss of the Viscounts there was a shortfall in capacity for 1969. MMA agreed a 10-month lease of an F28 with an earlier spot in the construction queue with its destined owner, Norwegian airline Braathens. This F28 became VH-MMJ (the initial representing 'jet') and the aircraft was named RMA Pilbara (it was decided to name the F28s after regions rather than rivers). VH-MMJ made its first scheduled service for MMA on September 2, 1969 from Perth to Port Hedland.
The first of MMA's own F28 order, VH-FKA (taking over the name RMA Pilbara, and wearing the new registration system now Ansett had ended the traditional VH-MMx format), entered service in June 1970. MMA would receive seven 65-seat F28-1000s (one of which was originally ordered by Ansett for Airlines of New South Wales but transferred to MMA in 1971) and by the end of 1972 all of MMA's F27s had been retired. The Twin Otters and the sole Piaggio were retired in 1977, ending the 'station run' services and turning MMA into a single-type all-jet airline. The old 'mission runs' in Arnhem Land and the Gove Peninsula were taken over by Mission Aviation Fellowship, replaced on MMA's schedules by direct flights to and from Gove and Groote Eylandt, made by F28s that would otherwise be on layover at Darwin between services from and to Perth.
MMA's operations with the F28 became notable for being high-intensity jet operations into what were relatively under-developed airports. Until well into the 1980s the only airport served by MMA between Perth and Darwin with its own air traffic control operation was Port Hedland (established with the introduction of VH-MMJ in 1969). There were no enroute ATC services and no radar coverage outside the main hubs at each end of the route. Prior to 1977 (when TAA began flying between Perth and Darwin), Western Australia did not have charted airways. MMA's F28s, operating at 30,000ft or more and a ground speed of over 400 knots, were operated with methods little changed since the days of the DC-3, with basic VOR and NDB radio navigation, High frequency communication and standard separation rules under the responsibility of the aircrews.
Approaches into small airports were made without ATC using traditional traffic patterns in clear weather and non-precision instrument approaches in poor weather. The performance of the F28 did reveal some shortcomings in the operational support available to the airline via the DCA; the famous Fitzroy Crossing forced landing of 1971 (see the 'Accidents and Incidents' section below) was caused in major part by the ability of the F28 to 'outfly' the weather forecasts available in the region, with forecasts not being prepared or transmitted with sufficient frequency for jet operations.
Once MacRobertson-Miller's fleet consisted solely of F28s, the company's 1977 report stated that it had 81 pilots to fly its seven jet aircraft. The fleet collectively flew approximately 30,000km (18,700 miles) each day and it was estimated that at no point during a typical weekly schedule were all the F28s on the ground at the same time.
End of MMA
In late 1979 Reg Ansett lost control of Ansett Transport Industries following a takeover bid launched by Peter Abeles of Thomas Nationwide Transport and Rupert Murdoch. Abeles ended up in day-to-day charge of Ansett, and the new owners pursued a policy of renewing the company's image. The core national Ansett business received a new livery and the various regional operations would revert to their registered names - Airlines of New South Wales, Airlines of South Australia etc. However, in order to provide consistency with this new scheme, it was decided to end the use of the MacRobertson Miller Airlines brand.
From July 1980 MMA became Airlines of Western Australia, with a new white/red/green livery and a logo of a stylised kangaroo paw, the state flower of Western Australia. The traditional airline code of 'MV' was retained.
Growth continued for the airline in its new form, with a pair of larger F28-4000s (with 85 seats) being delivered in 1982. To cater to the boom in international tourism to the Red Centre of Australia, Airlines of Western Australia added services between Darwin, Alice Springs and Ayers Rock to its schedules. Some of these flights were AoWA operations, but many were codeshare flights with another newly-branded Ansett subsidiary, Airlines of Northern Australia, which did not have its own jet fleet and so its premier services were run by AoWA aircraft, crews and operational staff.
More corporate changes at Ansett led to a further change of identity in October 1984, with the airline become Ansett WA (in line with the other Ansett subsidiaries) and the fleet was gradually repainted into the white/blue 'Southern Cross' livery of its parent company. Ansett WA's fleet was bolstered by the introduction of British Aerospace 146 quad-jets. In short order these newly-branded subsidiaries were subsumed into the common Ansett Australia branding in 1993, at which point the operational, corporate and legal entity that had been MMA was wrapped up. The ex-MMA F28s were all withdrawn from Ansett service in the mid-1990s.[6]
Thanks to a combination of the long legs flown between destinations in the sparsely-inhabited Pilbara region, an effective rostering and operations system and a well-honed practice of short turnarounds (usually 25 minutes, as is now typical on modern low-cost carriers), the airline's Fokker aircraft had some of the highest utilisation rates in the world and accumulated some of the highest mileages. For 1965 the company's F27s averaged 4150 flight hours. The first F27 purchased by the airline, registered VH-MMS and named RMA Swan, became the first F27 in the world to reach 10,000 flight hours and later the first to accumulate 20,000 hours. It flew over 40,000 hours with MMA, setting another world record for an F27 with a daily utilisation average of 10.66 hours, before being redeployed to parent company Ansett Australia in 1972. The later Fokker F28 fleet was also distinguished by extremely high utilisation - F28 VH-FKA RMA Pilbara became the first of the type to fly 20,000 and 30,000 hours and logged nearly 63,000 hours before it was withdrawn in 1995. The fleet averaged 8.5 flying hours per day in the mid-1970s. Aircraft on the main route between Perth and Darwin via four or five airports in the Pilbara, and with services to Gove and Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory before making the return flight via the same ports of call, would take just over 22 hours to make the round trip, of which over 13 hours was spent in the air.
MMA's F28s flew what was at the time the world's longest twinjet route, and certainly the world's longest F28 flight - Perth to Kununurra. According to the 5 April 1970 MMA system timetable, the airline was operating F28 jet service into Dampier, Darwin, Derby, Kununurra, Perth and Port Hedland at this time.[10] MMA also flew one of the world's shortest scheduled air services, from Perth to Rottnest Island flying the Douglas DC-3 and later the Fokker F-27 Friendship. MMA's first Fokker F28 Fellowship was actually leased from Braathens SAFE of Norway (VH-MMJ c/n 11013) and returned to Fokker as PH-ZAH after the first of the ordered aircraft arrived. VH-FKD was originally purchased for Ansett division Airlines of New South Wales but transferred to MMA when it proved uneconomical on the NSW intrastate routes. Ironically this aircraft returned to Airlines of New South Wales service several years later.
On 1 July 1949, Douglas DC-3 "Fitzroy" on a schedule flight to Darwin and carrying 14 passengers and a crew of 4 crashed after take-off from Perth in heavy rain. The aircraft crashed into an area of disused army huts north of the town of Guildford (a town directly in line with Perth Airport's major runway 21/03). It is believed to have been caused by the aircraft being incorrectly loaded.
On 31 December 1968, Vickers Viscount "Quininup" VH-RMQ leased from Ansett-ANA broke up in mid-air and crashed 52 kilometres (32mi) south of Port Hedland Airport in the scrub on Indee Station. Twenty-two passengers and the four crew on board were killed. The aircraft was originally purchased by Trans Australia Airlines.[11]
Fokker F28 Flight MV 372 Perth to Port Hedland - 30 July 1971, VH-FKC: During the long late night hop destination and onward airports became blanketed with fog. The F28 became dangerously low on fuel and after circling for some time Captain Harold Rowell considered ditching the aircraft in the ocean. However, he eventually landed the jet on a gravel runway in the isolated town of Fitzroy Crossing, landing with less than ten minutes of fuel remaining. No life was lost and no injury occurred.
Fokker F28 Fellowships of MMA assisted with the evacuation of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in December 1974. One F28-1000 carried 128 evacuees, mostly children, on a flight to Perth, though most aircraft carried 80, 20 more than the standard 60 passengers. The MMA F28s helped evacuate 1,250 people out of Darwin in four days.
On 17 January 1974, Fokker F-28-1000 VH-FKA operating Flight MV 492 (a Perth to Darwin "milk run" with 4 stops) overran the runway at Broome Airport. The weather was wet and the aircraft overran the runway threshold by 82 metres, crashing through a wire and picket fence before stopping with the nosewheel sunk in mud. There were no injuries and some minor damage to the aircraft nosewheel doors, a fuselage mounted landing light and the oxygen access panel.[12]
On 26 September 1983, Fokker F28 VH-FKA took off from Perth Airport on a routine flight to the North West. As the aircraft banked left after takeoff on Runway 21, the main passenger door/airstairs suddenly opened. The air hostess sitting in the jump seat adjacent the door lost her shoes. The door had been closed but the lock bar had not been moved to the upright "lock" position. Ground crew also failed to see the outside door release (aft of the door on the fuselage) was not in the correct horizontal position. The co-pilot also failed to see that the door "unlatched" light (which was orange in colour) had remained on. This check formed part of the pre-taxi checklist. However, bright sunlight glare through the starboard cockpit windows made it difficult to see that the light was on. The door fell open as the cabin pressure increased and as the aircraft climbed and banked left. The aircraft circled for two hours above Perth burning fuel before making a safe though spectacular landing.
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