Servants of the national interest? Conservatives and aviation policy‐making in the 1930s

Abstract

This article examines the record of conservative politicians in guiding the development of Australian aviation policy in the 1930s.¹ At the time, aviation policy was a topic of great political interest because of its defence implications, and the promise of the new technology to accelerate international transport. It was accordingly subject to rival interpretations of where Australia's national interest lay—contributing to Britain's conception of imperial transport and defence, or in developing a ‘national’ posture on these issues. The article is based on archival research in Australia and Britain, and shows how a group of conservatives committed to the imperial ideal cooperated with London to undermine local technical opinion and the decisions of the Australian Cabinet.