[2] On 2 November 1923, the Commonwealth acquired a 53-hectare (130-acre) site on a bend of the Swan River at Maylands for the construction of Perth's first permanent aerodrome.

Other tenants included MacRobertson Miller Aviation Company, Airlines (WA) Ltd and the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia.

[4] On 8 August 1928, the Southern Cross took off from Point Cook near Melbourne and set course for Perth, a distance of over 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi).

By the end of the 1930s, it became clear that the Maylands Aerodrome was limited in the size and speed of aircraft it was able to handle thus causing the Government to seek an alternative site for a future airport, with land being purchased at Guildford.

The Royal Aero Club of Western Australia left Maylands on 23 April 1959 and set up operations at Perth/Guildford pending the opening of the new general aviation airport at Jandakot.