The history of Qantas Australia is closely tied to Darwin, which was a critical link for air travel between Europe and Australia in the early days of commercial aviation before the advent of modern aircraft which could fly long distances non-stop. The Darwin Civil Aerodrome was the first stop in Australia for all flights and played an important role in Australian Aviation history. The hangar was built in time for the 1934 Centenary Air race, sponsored by Sir MacPherson Robertson. Used by the first Australia-Europe air service (operated by Qantas) and the first Adelaide-Darwin service, it was nearly destroyed by Japanese bombers in 1942. The scars of this are still visible as bullet holes in the steel beams of the hangar.
