On this day in 1975, in a mist-laden Fairbairn RAAF Base, Canberra welcomed a RAAF C-130 Hercules that was carrying 41 evacuees from Saigon.
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Among them were 34 Roman Catholic nuns from the Congregation of Mary the Queen, two orphaned children, a Vietnamese family of three, an Australian Embassy official named Barry Dee, and Kenneth Filshie, an Australian teacher who had spent 19 years in South Vietnam.
Accompanying the passengers was a significant amount of equipment from the Australian Embassy, including filing cabinets, typewriters, and a van. After landing, the two orphaned children, appearing lively despite the long flight, were promptly taken to Canberra Hospital by ambulance and placed in quarantine.
After a meal, the passengers continued their journey to Richmond RAAF Base, where they would later disperse to Canberra, Sydney, and Ballarat.
The crew, led by Flight-Lieutenant David Nicholls, had embarked on their mission from Bangkok the previous day. After a stop in Saigon and refueling in Darwin, they arrived at Fairbairn at 6:10 am on Saturday. Flight-Lieutenant Nicholls described the flight as smooth but noisy for the passengers.
Some passengers, such as Mr. Nugyun Que, his family, and Mr. Filshie, proceeded to Richmond with the nuns, while Mr. Dee remained in Canberra.
With the fall of Saigon, more than 130,000 Vietnamese with links to the United States or the South Vietnamese goverment were evacuated. In the two decades that preceded, about 2000 asylum seekers came to Australia via boat with Australia resettling more than 100,000 Vietnamese refugees from various Asian countries.
