The Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria. The event has a strong focus on military aviation, featuring aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force, United States Navy and the United States Air Force. Representatives from other air arms have also appeared at the airshow on many occasions, including aircraft from the Royal Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force and many others. It has been said by air show organisers to be the largest air show in the southern hemisphere. The airshow has periodically attracted anti-war protests. History The first air display at Avalon was in 1957 when the head of the Port Melbourne Government Aircraft Factories Geoff J. Churcher OAM decided to put on a display for the employees. As the employees at the factory only ever saw individual parts of aircraft it was decided to mount a flying display at Avalon so the employees could see the final result of their work. 1988–1991: the first air shows To celebrate the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, the first major airshow in Australia was held in Sydney at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air base at Richmond in New South Wales. It was organised by members of the Schofields Flying Club, which had been running small-scale air shows at the small strip at Schofields Airfield. The Bicentennial Airshow featured a vast array of international military types including the F-15 Eagle, Panavia Tornado F3, Sea Harrier, the Royal New Zealand Air Force aerobatic team "Kiwi Red", Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, BAE Systems Hawk and a flypast by a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber. In February 1991 a second air show was held at Richmond, to celebrate the RAAF's 80th Anniversary. This was the last air show run by the remnants of Schoe's, who provided the prime impetus to get the Aerospace Foundation of Australia up and running. The foundation was responsible for forming AirShows DownUnder. With the success of those two New South Wales shows plans were laid for the Avalon airshow. 1992 – Moving to Avalon In 1992, the Australian International Airshow was moved to Avalon Airport near Geelong. Held during October, the show coincided with the wettest spring in Victoria's history. The show organisers nearly cancelled it due to the wet, but the rain stopped just before the opening