Ansett's first Electra arrived in Australia early in 1959 and along with two sister ships served the airline's Australian domestic routes until 1971 when they were withdrawn from service in favour of jet aircraft. The Electra's service record with Ansett ad been so outstanding that rather than sell them, the airline decided to convert them into freighters for their rapidly growing all-cargo services. So satisfactory were the Electra freighters, that a fourth one was added to the fleet in 1975.