The airport is clearly visible from the Indian Pacific train, which services the Trans-Australian Railway.

The airport was built by the Department of Civil Aviation in 1929 as a fuel stop for West Australian Airways which had won a government contract to carry mail between Adelaide and Perth using the de Havilland Hercules.

[2] In the 1930s the Douglas airliner Bungana, also known as the mail plane, was a regular visitor on interstate flights.

[3][4] During World War II it was operated by the Royal Australian Air Force as a transit and fuel stop, and a communications base.

[6] It remains in use as an important stopping place for refuelling short range planes, for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Australian Defence Force.