Aviator Lieutenant Frank Briggs, adventurer Francis Birtles and mechanic Alfred Bailey flew a de Havilland-4 from Port Melbourne to the centre of Australia, landing in Alice Springs on October 5, 1921.
The journey, which today would take less than three hours, extended over 10 days with the crew making multiple stops to refuel along the way.
They then had to wait weeks in Alice Springs for fuel to arrive by camel train needed to make the return journey.
In a diary kept during the trip, Lieutenant Briggs wrote that entire populations of the towns they stopped in would come out to welcome them and see them off, as the progress of their journey was communicated along the telegraph line on the route.
"Great interest was being taken in our flight," he wrote on September 30, 1921.
History brought to life
One hundred years later, there was still a great deal of interest in Lieutenant Briggs's historic flight, with aviation enthusiasts of all ages celebrating the centenary anniversary of the first plane landing in Alice Springs.
"I'm just so excited because we had such a good turnout. A lot of the people here are very young," said organiser of the centenary celebrations at The Central Australian Aviation Museum, Franca Frederiksen.
"Everyone's excited and beaming."
Ms Frederiksen said the first flight into Alice Springs proved to other pilots that the journey to the arid, remote heart of the country was possible.
In 1939, EJ (Eddie) Connellan established Alice Springs' first aerodrome — now a museum — just up the road from where Lieutenant Briggs and his companion had landed their plane years earlier.
Connellan Airways operated an aerial mail delivery service and contracted to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, flying across huge swaths of the continent.
"We all need to understand our history to understand where we're going next," Ms Frederiksen said.
"It's really important that we engage young people with our history, and that's exactly what's happening."
Plane spotters of all ages
The crowd that attended centenary celebrations in Alice Springs was treated to a bi-plane flyover spectacle, followed by a re-enactment of Lietenant Briggs, Francis Birtles and George Bailey's arrival in the town.
Alice Springs Gliding Club members Tom Bird and Jim Thomas have been flying for decades.
Mr Bird's grandmother, mother and uncle were part of the reception that met Lieutenant Briggs and his crew in 1921.
Mr Thomas has been an airport inspector and flying instructor, and flew to Uluru for the opening of a new airstrip in 1982.
"We had a radio failure on the way out and we left anyway. When we got down there, it must've been a bit of a surprise because nobody knew where we were."
"It's really important that people recognise the contribution that people have made to the Territory.
"In those days it was nothing like it is today."
