Editing Billy Hughes (section)

=====Aviation=====
{{Main|1919 England to Australia flight}}
It was a scheme of Hughes' devising that set the scene for long-distance civil aviation in Australia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eustis |first1=Hamilton Nelson |title=The greatest air race : England-Australia 1919 |date=1969 |publisher=Angus & Robertson (U.K.) Ltd. |location=London |isbn=9780207950988 |pages=12–15}}</ref> His interest in the possibilities of peacetime aviation was sparked by his flights travelling between London and Paris for the Paris Peace Conference.<ref name="cbhs">{{cite web |title=The Great Air Race of 1919 |url=https://canadabayheritage.asn.au/blog/2019/12/16/the-great-air-race-of-1919/ |website=City of Canada Bay Heritage Society |language=en-AU |date=16 December 2019 |access-date=10 July 2022 |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629140401/https://canadabayheritage.asn.au/blog/2019/12/16/the-great-air-race-of-1919/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> On a Christmas visit the year before, in 1918, to wounded servicemen convalescing in Kent, Hughes had met Australian pilots who were facing the seven-week sea voyage home and were eager to pioneer an air route and fly to Australia instead. Such a vast distance had never been attempted by air; the [[Transatlantic flight of Alcock and Brown|first ocean crossing by aircraft]] occurred only months later in June 1919.<ref name="au nat geo">{{cite magazine |last1=McGregor |first1=Alasdair |title=Flying far: The largely forgotten 1919 England to Australia Air Race |url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2019/12/flying-far-the-largely-forgotten-1919-england-to-australia-air-race/ |magazine=Australian Geographic |date=9 December 2019 |language=en-AU}}</ref> Despite the risks of such a venture, Hughes' eagerness to see Australia at the forefront of technological development and in a central position in world affairs, had him seeking the support of his cabinet for a scheme to establish a Britain–Australia route.<ref name="au nat geo"/> A February 1919 cable from Hughes said: "Several Australian aviators are desirous of attempting flight London to Australia they are all first-class men and very keen your thoughts", and also advised the cabinet of the advantages that such a groundbreaking flight would offer Australia: "would be a great advertisement for Australia and would concentrate the eyes of the world on us."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nasht |first1=Simon |title=The Last Explorer: Hubert Wilkins, Australia's Unknown Hero. |date=2011 |publisher=Hatchette Australia |location=Sydney, New South Wales |isbn=978-0-7336-2584-8 |chapter=The Great Race}}</ref>

A month later, the acting prime minister of Australia, [[William Watt (Australian politician)|William Watt]], announced: "With a view to stimulating aerial activity, the Commonwealth Government has decided to offer £10,000 for the first successful flight to Australia from Great Britain."<ref name="au nat geo"/><ref>{{cite news |author1=<!--No byline--> |title=AVIATION DEVELOPMENT:Commonwealth Government offers £10,000 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155222294 |access-date=10 July 2022 |work=The Age |date=20 March 1919 |page=6 |via=Trove: [[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> The reward would go to the first crew to complete the journey in under thirty days.<ref name="greatairrace">{{cite web|date = 2019|url = https://www.greatairrace.com.au/history/|title = The 1919 Great Air Race|publisher = 2018 Great Air Race|access-date = 10 March 2019|last = 2018 Great Air Race|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190309142859/https://www.greatairrace.com.au/history/|archive-date = 9 March 2019|url-status = live}}</ref> Brothers [[Ross Macpherson Smith|Ross]] and [[Keith Macpherson Smith|Keith Smith]], pilot and navigator, and mechanics Walter Shiers and Jim Bennett won the prize when their [[Vickers Vimy]] G-EAOU twin engine plane landed in Darwin on 10 December 1919. The flight set a record for distance travelled by aircraft, having flown {{convert|17,911|km}}, surpassing the previous record of {{convert|5,140|km}} set the year before on a Cairo to Delhi flight. Hughes achieved his aim of garnering world press attention for Australia,<ref name="au nat geo"/> while Australia's first, and one of the world's earliest airlines, [[Qantas]], was founded in 1920, commencing international passenger flights in 1935.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/oldest-airlines-in-the-world-that-are-still-operating.html|title=Oldest Airlines in the World That Are Still Operating|website=World Atlas|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406075028/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/oldest-airlines-in-the-world-that-are-still-operating.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A cofounder of the airline, [[Hudson Fysh]], who had been commissioned by the government to survey landing fields in northern Australia for the competition, was present to greet the crew of the Vimy when it landed.<ref name="cbhs"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/history-founders/global/en |title=The Men Who Established Qantas |publisher=Qantas |access-date=10 July 2022 |archive-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627062239/https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/history-founders/global/en |url-status=live }}</ref>