A war plane's unusual journey across WA

On 21 January 1974, the town of Broome, Western Australia, was recovering from days of monsoonal downpours. After 35 cm of rain had fallen – later recorded as the highest rainfall in the area for the entire year, the runway at Broome airport resembled a swamp. Thunderstorms stretched across the north-west to Derby 166km away.

Earlier that day, a Garuda Airlines C47A Dakota DC-3 aircraft left Broome airport headed for Timor. About 30 minutes into the flight, the aircraft began to experience engine trouble. An attempt to land at Derby was abandoned due to the severe weather. Forced to fly underneath a thunderstorm, the only choice was to turn back to Broome.

With 16 crew and passengers on board, the captain was forced to make an emergency landing. The aircraft belly-flopped onto the muddy runway, causing the undercarriage to collapse, and the propellers to separate from the engines. Luckily, all on-board escaped injury. Despite the Dakota being damaged beyond repair, this was not to be its last journey.

The aircraft sat, abandoned, at Broome airport for weeks before the local council decided to acquire the Dakota for an alternative use. Painted in Ansett red and black and given a fake registration 'VN-BME', the aircraft was renamed 'RMA Broome'. In 1976 it commenced service as the Broome Tourist Bureau.

The Dakota serviced the town's visitors for the next 5 years until a new tourist bureau was built to keep up with the influx of holidaymakers. For several years, the plane housed a historical aviation display until 1987 when it was finally closed to the public. Once again, the aircraft sat abandoned.

In early 1988, the Dakota’s wings were removed, and the aircraft was trucked from Broome to Jandakot Airport to join a collection of aircraft for the proposed ‘Western Australian Museum of Aviation’. However, plans for the museum were never fully realised and the plane continued to deteriorate.

In 2003, private buyers from the suburb of Armadale purchased the Dakota. It received a fresh coat of olive paint to honour its original 1943 construction for the United States Air Force by Douglas Aircraft. It then served as a spare bedroom and an unusual attraction for the homeowners' garden parties.

In September 2012, the aircraft was once again sold. It was transported 3 and a half hours south to the small town of Borden in the great southern region of Western Australia. Today, the plane serves as a luxury bed and breakfast overlooking the Stirling Range National Park. Guests can eat, sleep and relax in the former navigator’s room or passenger section – now 'more first class than first class'.

From a war plane to a tourist bureau and now a luxury stay, the Dakota DC-3 has travelled thousands of kilometres from Western Australia's north to southwest – all without even getting off the ground.

See more incredible photos of Western Australia in Sea to suburbia, currently on display at the Western Australia Office.