Powerhouse Parramatta launches Task Eternal, a major opening exhibition about space and flight, featuring about 3,000 objects and a striking replica Qantas Avro 504K aircraft built in 1988 in Mascot, weighing over 760 kilograms and spanning 11 meters with a nearly 9-meter length.

Three heritage aircraft are suspended from the ceiling as the opening centerpiece: the Avro 504K replica, an Autogiro, and the Ron Wheeler Skycraft Scout Mark 1 ultralight.

The Avro 504K is tied to Qantas history as the airline’s first aircraft to bear the Flying Kangaroo name, and the display is part of a broader Qantas-Powerhouse collaboration.

Powerhouse is aiming to reach NSW Treasury’s target of $75 million toward the project’s estimated $1 billion opening, with donations now totaling about $72.9 million after a recent $5 million contribution.

Major funders include the Lang Walker Family Foundation, contributing $20 million for student access to education experiences, and the University of Western Sydney with $10 million, supporting programs over a decade.

Qantas serves as official presenting partner of the $18 million opening show, holds naming rights to a public terrace, and will back learning programs during the exhibition.

Powerhouse Parramatta is a $915 million development four years in the making, scheduled to open as soon as September after Ultimo’s 2024 renovation, with reopening anticipated in 2027.

As part of the project, Powerhouse will digitise and preserve more than 6,000 Qantas Heritage Collection items, while other collection pieces are temporarily elsewhere during the transition.

The Avro 504K replica was built in 1988 by Qantas engineers and apprentices, weighing over 760 kilograms, and is a centerpiece of a $5 million partnership with Qantas to support private fundraising.

The Task Eternal project took four years to develop and is touted by the NSW government as one of the world’s most ambitious aerospace exhibitions.

The installation inaugurates a decade-long Qantas-Powerhouse partnership, with plans to loan more than 6,000 pieces from the airline’s Heritage Collection over time.

There is a separate digitisation effort at Powerhouse Castle Hill for the Qantas Heritage Collection, aligning with the broader collaboration.