[Stuart Kirkham]

This might help Mike.

Early civilian operations

Full civilian operations at the Guildford Aerodrome commenced in 1944. The first commercial flight was an ANA service on 3 May 1944, and on June 13 1944 a Qantas plane bound for Ceylon via Exmouth took off from the Aerodrome.

The Guildford Aerodrome as it was then known was at best only a basic airfield. On a large open airfield with plenty of space, an unobtrusive control tower (as shown in photo) was hidden away amongst a collection of buildings inherited from the wartime operations at the site. The then Department of Civil Aviation inherited a large number of operating vehicles from the former military occupants, including an assortment of vehicles including "Blitz" wagons, Dodge command cars and weapon carriers, large trucks and various makes of fire tenders, jeeps and ambulances. Boarding aircraft at Guildford was described as being a bit like boarding a bus given the lack of passenger facilities at the time.

In 1948, the Horrie Miller owned MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co. (MMA) relocated from Maylands to Guildford. followed by newly-formed government airline Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) on 2 December of that same year, operating Douglas C-54 Skymasters on its Perth — Melbourne — Sydney route. Due to the lack of road transportation across the Nullarbor Plain, it was at this time that Guildford became the scene of very busy cargo operations. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and manufactured goods were being flown from east to west and back again.

The airport only received international status and was renamed to Perth International Airport in 1952.