Folks,
Not sure if it is mentioned in any of the posts, but the first QF B707 out of Sydney broke the curfew in Sydney. Qantas Ops made application to the Minister (the only person who could authorise the exemption, Mrs. Jones' wonderful son, Charlie) but the exemption was refused, but the Minister's determination was ignored, and the aircraft left anyway.
Sadly, the executive who took this humanitarian decision "took early retirement" soon after, as a result of pressure from Canberra.
To Charlie, Labor votes in Sydney were more important than an emergency in Darwin.
Tootle pip!!
PS: That aircraft took a bunch of HF and VHF radios and as many charged batteries as they could find around the hangars, plus an R/O and radio tec., it turned out to be a very smart move.