Walt
The ball sure was dropped ..... as the airport was built and developed over the years it was done in typical el cheapo Australian fashion. Near enough was good enough.
Fer Crisakes! It's the national capital. The airport should have been built FROM THE WORD GO to handle anything, or redeveloped as needs arose.
Didn't the airport get a big dose of development in the 1960s? The B707s / DC-8s / VC-10s / C-141s were already in service, and C-5s / B747s were being developed. Shouldn't have taken a genius to work out that the airport might need to accomodate such types - taxiways, runways, aprons, etc etc.