G-AUAA  de Havilland D.H.37                                  (c/n 105)

                              

                                   Despite its registration, this was not the first aircraft to appear on the Australian Civil Register.
                                   It was actually the 98th.  The G-AUAA to G-AUAZ series were reserved for the government
                                   Civil Aviation Branch use. Although all Australian aircraft are now in the VH- series, in the early
                                   days all aircraft were registered in the UK under the G-AU--  series, with the "AU' designating
                                   the Commonwealth.  Incidentally, and in the event, the Branch ignored its own mandate, and the
                                   very first CAB aircraft was the Bristol Tourer G-AUCA  ("CA" for Civil Aviation").
                                   Thereafter, however, they were, in fact, in the G-AUA- series.   This first "open to the public"
                                   registration, then, was G-AUBA.
                                   In 1930, Australia was issued its own identification letters of VH-, and by 1931 most aircraft
                                   had been repainted.

                                  Anyway, the above rare photograph comes from the files, and with the courtesy of, the Airways
                                  Museum and Civil Aviation Historical Society, while the shot below is from the John Hotpon
                                  collection.  Following that is an image from the Tony Arbon collection, and finally, at the foot
                                  of the page is an historic shot from the collection of Geoff Goodall showing G-AUAA and the
                                  D.H.50A G-AUAB together.    For more on the history of this machine go to
                                                         http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/DH37%20G-AUAA.htm