Celebrating 50 years in 2011!

On 12 August, Sunshine Coast Airport will celebrate its golden 50 year anniversary and to kick start its celebrations, a social history research project is looking for your input over the coming weeks until early March.

This project will result in a 50th Anniversary commemorative book documenting the airport’s history, and will be full of historical articles, anecdotes and interviews, and a photographic history.

In the lead up to the event a number of other activities are being planned to help further celebrate this milestone, with both the Sunshine Coast community and the aviation industry in the region.

Sunshine Coast Airport General Manager, Peter Pallot said he encourages community members who have stories to share and who have been involved with the airport throughout its history to come forward and share their information with us.

“Stories, articles and photographs will be crucial to accurately reflecting the airport story and the book’s overall success. This input also means that later in 2011 when the airport celebrates its 50th, we will be able to draw from an extensive range of items for a complete history over the years,” Mr Pallot said.

University of the Sunshine Coast’s Dr Rob Edwards is coordinating the social history project, and has already spent the past months conducting archival research.

Dr Edwards said he believes the real gems come out in the stories and information that people share in the interviews he’s conducting.

“Some of the people I’ve met with have had an affiliation with the airport for the whole of its existence and helped make it is what it is today,” Dr Edwards said.

“This is the kind of contribution that you can’t really gain from libraries or archives and it complements the historical research perfectly,” he said.

"We aim to capture a social history – a history of the people and how they have used or experienced the airport over the years, and these stories and recollections must be documented for future generations.”

If you would like to be involved or would like to be interviewed to share your story you can contact Sunshine Coast Airport via [email protected] or phone 5453 1501.

In the coming months the airport will announce further 50th Anniversary events and celebrations in 2011.