The original idea behind the painting of a Qantas plane in an aboriginal livery came from a nightdream of Ros Moriarty, the co-founder of Balarinji Design studios. The design studio was started in the early 1980s by John Moriarty and his wife Ros, with the ambition of conceiving objects with "spirituality behind the design". This idea is highlighting the couple's commitment to promote Aboriginal culture as an integral part of Australian culture. The Moriartys took their chance on raising the concept with Qantas' CEO of the time, James Strong, when all 4 briefly met in the lift of a hotel in Adelaide. Strong was instantly impressed by the bold design of the 2-D mock-up of a Qantas plane the Moriartys had prepared. The couple then met Hans Hulsbosch, the original designer of the Qantas white kangaroo logo, who was also impressed by the design, and the idea slowly made its way through.
By that time Qantas competitor Ansett had just been granted rights to start international flights and Qantas corporate management decided to launch the aboriginal plane on the exact same route Ansett was launching at that time: Sydney to Osaka (newly-opened Kansai Airport). Japan was indeed a place where Australia's aboriginal objects and design were already particularly appreciated, and thus the impact would be bigger. The design was computerised and painted on 747 VH-OJB in Qantas' Sydney 245 Hangar, with 67 patterns including no less than 1324 irregular dots. The aircraft was rolled out on September 4th, 1994 and flew the service to Osaka right away, with Aboriginal relatives of John Moriarty and the couple onboard the inaugural. A special ceremony with a traditional dance of Yanyuwa people from the Gulf of Carpentaria blessing the aircraft took place upon arrival. The aircraft made it to the headlines in Japan and instantly became Qantas' best PR ambassador. The livery was supposed to remain on the aircraft for only 3 months, however the scheme proved to be such an asset it remained in the QF fleet for 18 years.
Here is how John Moriarty describes the livery in his autobiography Saltwater Fella:
"Wunala is the generic word for kangaroo in the Yanyuwa language. What is depicted on the plane is the movement of the Kangaroo Spirit People accross the landscape in its formative days, in the Dreamtime.
It shows the pattern of movement over the country - dotting here, creating landforms there, bestowing the rich colours of the Australian landscape, from the orange sunsets to the green grass and the red earth. We've made it so it covers our region around Borroloola and extends across the land, right through to the red country." Another insight was the comment of Ros & John in the Qantas Inflight magazine "In Dreamtime journeys, spirit ancestors in the form of kangaroos (Wunala) make tracks from camps to waterholes, leading the people to water and food. Today, as they have for centuries, Aboriginal people re-enact such journeys through song and dance 'corroborees'. These ensure the procreation of all living things in the continuing harmony of nature's seasons."
The livery was different on both sides and the aircraft was nicknamed "Big Red" in Australia. The livery was repainted for a second time on factory-fresh -438ER 'OEJ' in 2003, yet with grey engines and some very minor differences. Note the 'Wunala Dreaming' artwork was also adapted to fit the tail of a few British Airways planes during the late 90s World Images era.
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