Australian National Airways (ANA) began an aerial service from Eagle Farm to Sydney, New South Wales, in 1930.

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Gordon Taylor took off from Eagle Farm airport on 20 October 1934 in the Lady Southern Cross attempting the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States of America.

It was not returned to Australian ownership until 31 January 1947, exactly sixteen years after the civilian closure, and was reopened for civil flights on 10 March 1947.

Eagle Farm was extended and reopened in January 1942, during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), due to the proximity to the Brisbane River.

To sort out this dilemma became the responsibility of the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit (ATAIU) under the command of General MacArthur.

The unit gathered crashed and captured Japanese planes, superior to anything in the Allied air forces, and rebuilt them to fly over Brisbane so engineers could develop new aircraft to match them.

Captain Frank T. McCoy Jr. and Technical Sergeant Francis 'Fran' Williams headed up a 'Materiel Section' to evaluate captured Japanese equipment.

In early 1943, he was notified Australian Infantry soldiers had encountered what appeared to be a new type of Japanese aircraft at Buna airfield in New Guinea.

[1][2] After World War II, Ansett ANA and Trans Australia Airlines moved their operations to Eagle Farm on 10 March 1947.

Many long-haul international services to Asia were required to make an en route stop (e.g., at Darwin), disadvantaging the city to lure prospective carriers and business opportunities.

[citation needed] As a result, the federal government announced the construction of a new airport to be built north of Eagle Farm.

[4] The TAA and Ansett domestic terminals at Eagle Farm Airport were reached from Lamington Avenue, near the Doomben Racecourse.