Nowadays, the flight path is a common one for business people and tourists alike but in 1921, the feat was remarkable given planes were stretched flying from Launceston to Victoria.

Captain Andrew Lang, who also flew during World War 1, piloted the Curtiss aircraft in what doubled as one of Australia's first ever aerial reconnaissance missions.

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The Curtiss Seagull was an open cockpit flying boat designed to hold two people and was very modern for the time.

Lang was joined on the journey by Alexander James Hill, who worked as a mechanic and later Frederick Laidler in the role of aircraft engineer.

The journey was commissioned by Lebbeus Hordern to discern Australia's east coast practicality for maritime operations and provide information to the government to help defend the coastline.

TAHS member Chris Bryne said that World War 1 had just concluded and provided the impetus for the journey.

"The first world war had just finished and everyone was concerned about a naval attack on Australia," he said.

"The idea was to do this reconnaissance mission where they would fly and take photographs, all in concert with the defence department."

The Tasmanian Aviation Historical Society has played a key role in marking a pioneering moment in Australian aviation history with a commemorative newsletter.

Mr Byrne said that the journey between the two cities which involved several little hops between destinations was miraculous given the available technology.

"They couldn't fly very high ... they did these little hops all the way down until they made it to Launceston.

"They were flying very slowly, so any sort of turbulence they'd be battered up or down ... the technology to go from Melbourne to Launceston had just existed.

"The technology was just so basic, it really was a feat of endurance ... this wooden flying boat was just absorbing water and that made it harder to fly."

By marking significant moments such as this, Mr Bryne said that the aviation industry was able to remember just how far it had come in that time.

"The engine technology just got better and better," he said.

"It is one of those very early pioneering flights where Tasmania was joined to the mainland by aviation," he said.

"The technology was so basic [but] after the 1930's, commercial aviation really started after that.

"Technology just got better and better."

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