Have you ever wondered where our House names of; Ross, Keith, James and Walter originated from? Well, they are the Christian names of four intrepid Australian aviators who flew from England back to their homeland to win a £10,000 Commonwealth Government prize, about $1,000,000 in current terms. They became the first Australians to fly from England to Australia in less than 30 days, after setting out from Hounslow, London on November 12, 1919, in a Vickers Vimy aircraft. The team arrived in Darwin 28 days later to win the Air Race.

The crew consisted of pilot, Ross Smith, born in Semaphore, his brother, navigator Keith Smith, born in North Adelaide along with two mechanics, Walter (Wally) Shiers from Stepney and James Bennett from St Kilda, Victoria.

The Vimy crew at Darwin, left to right: James Bennett, Ross Smith, Keith Smith, Walters Shiers

As a consequence of the flight, the two brothers were knighted by His Majesty, George V, on December 22, 1919 while both mechanics received bars to their Air Force medals and were promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

Plenty of fresh air in the Vickers Vimy, not like the aircraft many of us get to fly in nowadays.

The Vickers Vimy flown by Ross, Keith, Walter and James has been restored and is on display, along with artefacts and audio-visual presentations in its own hanger just to the side of the Adelaide Airport terminal, behind the Atura Hotel.