As early as 1826 the wider area was known as Cowper's (later Cooper's) Plains, named after the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement's first medical officer, Dr Henry Cowper, who, during his regular visits to Limestone Hill (Ipswich), camped overnight on the government cattle run established on the grassy plains east of Oxley Creek, about 7 miles (11 km) south of the main Brisbane River settlement.

Also of note in 1928, Squadron Leader Bert Hinkler AFC completed the first solo flight from England to Australia in 16 days in a light aeroplane.

In 1929 the Commonwealth Government resumed the bulk of the present airfield, with frontages to Beatty, Mortimer and Boundary Roads, and additional land was acquired in 1930, 1936 and 1942.

[3] Preliminary plans for a control and administrative building were prepared in 1936 as part of the Commonwealth Department of Civil Aviation's commitment to improve facilities at a number of strategic airfields around the country.

Australia had declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, and the importance placed on the retention of Eagle Farm in concert with Archerfield is reflected in Fairbairn's report to Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies that "the only activity that we have undertaken which could lead to the winning or losing of the war by our failure or success in carrying out our undertaking is the Empire Air Training Scheme".

[1] After the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Archerfield Aerodrome assumed a new strategic importance as it provided a base for Australian, American, British, and Dutch air squadrons, was used for the maintenance and repair of military aircraft, and for training purposes.

The aircraft were dispersed around the boundary of the airfield to minimise damage in case of attack and duty crews were on immediate standby at all times.

Following the establishment of the Royal Air Force in 1918, Australia's Minister for Defence, Senator George Pearce, appointed the Swinburne Committee to report on the needs of military aviation.

In 1924, the Air Board described the RAAF's condition as most unsatisfactory and that it survived on a hand-to-mouth existence, with 65 officers and 300 men and only two machines fit for war.

The RAF realised that if massive expansion were necessary, Britain had the industrial capacity to increase aircraft production but it would not be able to train enough aircrew from British sources.

Initial works were delayed by heavy rain for three weeks converting the ground to a quagmire, and as a result thousands of feet of ashes and coke breeze were carted from the gasworks and deposited in order to keep trucks moving with borrow material from Nudgee.

The Americans advised that the runways were urgently needed for the fighter plane protection of Brisbane, and on 29 March 1942 a squadron of P-39 aircraft landed.

This threat of invasion in 1942 is summarised in a statement made by Prime Minister John Curtin in 1944, in which he said "now that Singapore was lost and we were unable to concentrate a superior fleet, the strength of our defences was inadequate to defend Australia...against an enemy with command of the sea and air.

Several Australian and American aircraft were destroyed on the ground or shot down, and large numbers of the RAAF deserted their posts with 278 personnel still missing four days after the attack.

[1] In November 1939 defence works tenders were announced by the Department of the Interior, including £8,583 for the erection of an Elementary Flying Training School at Archerfield.

This was initially named the 3 Flying Training School (FTS), but was soon renamed 2 EFTS, and was based at Archerfield from November 1939 until it was disbanded late April 1942.

It has been noted that "The igloos are a testament to the then Commonwealth Government's philosophy of dual purpose planning, of high cost projects for wartime and post-war".

[1] A camouflage report of March 1943 noted the siting of a Civil Construction Corps camp for the "new hangar work" on Kerry Road, and suggests anti-aircraft guns were located there.

2 and 5) featured their abutment pins raised a few metres above the ground on sturdy timber frames, resulting in much greater clearance, and drawings of these two igloos are dated October 1943.

1, referred to as TAMY 1, assembled, repaired and flight tested aircraft for the Fleet Carrier force sent to the Pacific after Victory in Europe.

Accounts of large scale dumping at sea of much of the "Lease-Lend" equipment from the decks of carriers, over 50 miles (80 km) off the east coast of Australia, were reported.

[1] Faced with wartime manpower shortages as well as a lack of building materials, particularly steel and timber, it was necessary for the authorities to find a method for constructing large, easily assembled structures suitable for such functions as hangars, stores and shelters.

Prefabrication provided part of the solution, particularly in Queensland where there was less building infrastructure and equipment, (partially due to fears of bombing raids).

The igloos at Archerfield were one of several designs for lightweight long span structures which used timber in small sectional sizes of chords to enable the lattice trusses to be hand nailed in jigs on site and speedily erected at low cost.

[1] Originally a supplier of milking machinery and tractors, Hastings Diesels Ltd moved from their Melbourne Street premises at South Brisbane to Kerry Road, Archerfield in 1957.

3 has skillion roofed side annexes and the name HASTINGS DEERING on the northern wall above the entrance which has evidence of early sliding door mechanisms.

4 has original gable roofed side entrances, and has been enclosed at the southern end with several demountable structures, and a fence separates it from the surrounding Thiess Contractors site.

These structures are located on a site which had been part of the Archerfield Aerodrome during the Second World War, and were constructed in 1943-44 by the Allied Works Council for the Department of Aircraft Production.

[1] The igloo complex is representative of the massive wartime infrastructure constructed at and around sites such as Archerfield Aerodrome, and has been noted as being a testament to the then Commonwealth Government's philosophy of "dual purpose planning".

The igloos are substantial structures in a relatively flat landscape, and through their bulk and simple form make a considerable aesthetic and architectural contribution to the surrounding area, and are recognised as local landmarks.