It would have been a rare event for an RAAF Convair to cross the "ditch", as the Tasman Sea is known, to New Zealand. It is more than 2000km with only one island airport in between. Almost 20 years after this photo, an engine failure on an RAAF BAC 1-11 on a Tasman flight saw then prime minister Whitlam insist on four-engine VIP aircraft for all his international travel. The RAAF acquired a fleet of used 707s, some of which were also used as tankers. The RAAF VIP fleet in 2025 is all twins. Photo from: Air Force Museum of New Zealand

On a wintry Canberra tarmac, the man standing by the stairs with a hat on his head is then prime minister Robert Menzies. The Bentley car, with the registration C1, was acquired in 1964. Menzies retired in January 1966, narrowing the photo down to the winters of 1964 or 1965 but probably 1964. In the winter of 1965 two Viscounts were in service but that does not entirely exclude the use of Convairs for carrying the PM.

Unit: 34 Sqn. Sold in the US as N733E in 1968