Qantas Huts
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| Qantas Huts | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Location within Earth | |
 Location in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Houses for Qantas Empire Airways passengers |
| Location | Sydney Highway, West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia |
| Coordinates | 12°11′20″S 96°49′44″E / 12.1888°S 96.8290°E |
| Completed | c. 1960s |
| Client | Qantas Empire Airways |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Cement asbestos; timber |
| Official name | Qantas Huts (former) |
| Type | Listed place (Historic) |
| Designated | 22 June 2004 |
| Reference no. | 105354 |
The Qantas Huts are heritage-listed former accommodation huts at Sydney Highway, West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an external territory of Australia. They were added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.[1]
By 1951, the Australian Government assumed control of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and in the same year, amid disputes with the Clunies-Ross family over the management of the Islands, the family sold 150 hectares (370 acres) to the Australian Government for the construction of an airfield.[1]
During World War II air travel between Australia and Asia was difficult because there were few planes which could fly between Australia and East Africa or Ceylon without stopping for fuel. In 1939, Captain Taylor demonstrated that Catalina flying boats were able to cross the Indian Ocean as long as there were stops for refuelling. During World War II the Royal Air Force squadron was formed in Ceylon. They made 824 secret journeys between the Indian Ocean and Perth, transporting personnel, official mail and patrolling the Ocean, with a non-stop flying time of 28 hours. These planes refuelled at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands when they had larger pay loads.[1]
In the 1940s, Qantas Empire Airways maintained five Catalinas and flew to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands infrequently. The airstrip was upgraded after 1952 with capacity for the landing and take-off of Qantas Constellations and Stratocruisers. Qantas and later the South African Airways used the Islands as a transit stop between Perth and Johannesburg, South Africa.[1]
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands became an Australian external territory in 1955. During the 1960s Indonesia declared its airspace "out of bounds" and thousands of aircraft passengers on route from Australia to South Africa stayed on West Island. The Qantas Huts provided passengers with accommodation while the larger aeroplanes were refuelled overnight.[1]
