Southern Cross replica visits WOL — HARS celebrates aviation heritage in March

The full-size flying replica of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s Southern Cross — operated by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) at Wollongong Airport — is making a series of public appearances across New South Wales this month. The Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor replica is scheduled to feature at three events in March, subject to operational conditions. On Saturday 14 March, the aircraft appeared at the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame induction dinner, with guests gathering beside the replica at the HARS Aviation Museum here at Wollongong Airport. Four pioneering aviators — Bill Bristow, Greg Dunstone, Billy Hart and Sir Ivan Holyman — were inducted during the evening’s ceremony. The Southern Cross replica also made its first post-restoration flight into Sydney Airport on Thursday 19 March, recreating Smithy’s historic arrival following the 1928 trans-Pacific crossing from Oakland via Hawaii and Fiji. The original 1928 arrival drew an estimated 300,000 spectators to Mascot Aerodrome. Later in the month, the replica is set to fly from Wollongong Airport to Cooma for memorial events marking the 95th anniversary of the loss of the airliner Southern Cloud in the Snowy Mountains. Visitors can view the Southern Cross replica and other aircraft at the HARS Aviation Museum at Wollongong Airport, open daily for guided tours at 9:30am and 3:30pm. Plan your visit to HARS →