It's heartening to see that even 40 years after the intro of the 747, people will turn up in their thousands at the crack of dawn to see an old 747 land. Aviation still excites people, Qantas is still an iconic brand to the average punter.
Why would so many locals turn out to see an old airliner land? It's part symbology. The "Gong" for many years has had nothing but bad news in the paper, jobs going, steel works closing, a city on decline. The fact that a QF747 has touched down at their little airport has been a talking point for weeks.
Finally, Wollongong is in the news and on the front page of the newspaper with good news. I have family who live in the area and it's given the place a real buzz. This has made the locals, many of whome, in the past may have objected to the perceived noise of aircraft, look at the airport in a new light and cause them to think that maybe having an airport is a good thing after all.
Who knows, one tired old grand lady of the skies could spark the resurgence of tired old town.