Alexander Kennedy

Alexander Kennedy (11 November 1837 – 12 April 1936) was a Scottish colonist who was at the forefront of the British occupation of the Cloncurry region in Queensland, Australia. He established large cattle stations around Cloncurry and participated in several massacres of Aboriginal Australians who were resident to this area. Kennedy was also involved in the creation of the copper mining industry in this region. In later life he became interested in aviation and was a founding investor and director of the Qantas airline company. Kennedy became the first passenger to fly on a regular air service route for the Qantas airline.

Early life Alexander Kennedy was born in Dunkeld, Scotland in 1837 to parents John Kennedy and Christina Duff. As an adolescent, he worked as a farm labourer on the nearby Glen Ogle estate. At the age of 23, he signed up to a migration scheme that facilitated the emigration of Scottish locals to the British colony of Queensland.

Qantas

In later life, Kennedy became keenly interested in aviation and in 1920 he was convinced by Hudson Fysh and other founders of Qantas to become a provisional director and initial investor in the fledgling airline company. On 2 November 1922, at the age of 84, Kennedy became the first paying customer on a scheduled Qantas passenger service, flying from Longreach to Cloncurry.

Death Alexander Kennedy died in Brisbane on 12 April 1936. Kennedy's and his wife's ashes were transported by a Qantas aircraft from Brisbane to his Devoncourt property near Cloncurry where they were interred a monument.