First to Fly in Australia

So who was the first to fly?....

From 2009 through to 2011 Australia celebrates the centenaries of many Australian Aviation firsts, Taylor, the first heavier than air glider flight, (December 1909), The first attempts and mixed results at powered flight, by Defries, Wittber, Banks and Custance (December 1909 - March 1910), the well documented and successful controlled and sustained powered flights by famed escapoligist Harry Houdini ( Diggers Rest Victoria - March 1910), the first flight of an Australian designed and built aircraft, John and Reg Duigan (Mia Mia Victoria - July 1910), while in 1911 JJ Hammond undertook the first passenger flights, the first paying passenger flight, and the first cross country flight in Australia (Altona Victoria - February 1911)


A debate has raged in Australia for last hundred years as to who was the first to fly in Australia, relying on, or disputing definitions of flight and the testimony of eye witnesses to support or reject the claims of various pilots and the states where those attempts to took place.

The first issue to be resolved is exactly what is the argument about, the first to fly, or the first to achieve heavier than air, powered flight.

First Flight, and First "lighter than air" or balloon ascent in Australia

The first flight in Australia was a lighter than air flight, undertaken by balloon was by William Dean in Victoria on 1 February 1858, the balloon was constructed by H Coxwell in Tottenham in the UK, and imported by George Coppin, manager of Melbourne's Theatre Royal, it was a 40 ft diameter balloon of varnished fabric with a capacity of 31,000 cu ft of gas. It was partly inflated by the Melbourne Gas Company and then transfered by horse and cart to Cremourne Gardens near Richmond where inflation was completed. A valve was leaking and there was only sufficient lift for one person, William Dean who had previous experience lifted off at 5.52pm and about 6.30pm descended somewhere near Heidelberg.

William Dean is therefore the first person to fly in Australia, having undertaken the first lighter than air flight, and the first ascent in a balloon.

.First tethered "heavier than air" ascent in Australia

On 12 November 1894 at Stanwell Park near Sydney, Hargrave used four boxkites to lift himself 16 feet off the ground  in a 21 mile per hour wind, and from 1897 confined his experiments to lifting powers of curved and natural surfaces. Although never to experience powered flight, Hargrave was the first aviator to achieve tethered heavier-than-air "flight" or more correctly ascent in Australia.

.First untethered "heavier than air" flight in Australia

George Taylor aided Hargrave in his later experiments and went on to develop a biplane glider in which he carried out a number of controlled flights over a distance of two hundred and fifty metres at Narrabeen Beach in Sydney  on 5 December 1909 and should be remembered as the first Australian aviator to achieve untethered heavier-than-air flight, his wife was the first woman to make a flight on that same day.  It is unfortunate that his intentions to power his glider with a motor were abandoned. 

George Taylor was first carried aloft by others towing the glider with tethers to gain experience, however this was soon given way to launches from sand dunes and George Taylor therefore achieved the first true "heavier than air" flights in Australia.


.First "heavier than air" powered flight, or simply the first "powered flight" in Australia

As can be seen, the details of each of the "first flights" above, results in specific definitions of those flights, beyond the simple "first flight in Australia" question first posed, it is the issue of the first "powered flight" in Australia that has the experts, and supporters in various states arguing over the details.

Other confusion or dispute arises from what constitutes a "successful" flight, and a number of the early attempts at flight were to consist of brief "hops" in a straight line, with little control, often ending in a crash, and often at such low heights that the aircraft is considered to be flying in "ground affect", rather in true flight from "wing lift" alone.

However debate still rages through to today as to whom the "first to fly" in Australia?, Defries in NSW on 9th of December NSW?, Banks in Victoria on 1st of March 1910?,Wittber in SA on 13th of March 1910?, Custance in SA on 17th of March 1910? or Houdini in Victoria on 18th of March 1910?

Definitions as to what constitutes a flight, of which version of a story is true, and which are embellishments are unfortunately argued on parochial state lines, causing some honest efforts to be minimised, and apparant inconsistancies in events to be ignored when it suits.

Recent debate has brought in the Royal Aero Club of the UK as an arbitor, using its Gorell committee's definition which was created in 1929 to resolve the issue of the first british subject (person) to make the first flight in the UK, and arguing their definition does not refer to the need to demonstrate lateral control (or return to the point of take-off). “The committee decided that, for the purposes of “their investigation”, free flight in an aeroplane occurs when the machine, having left the ground, is maintained in the air by its own power on a level or upward path for a distance
beyond that over which gravity and air resistance would sustain it.”

In addition there are many events that have few witnesses, or inconsistant testimony from and between witnesses as compared to the pilots own claims, and in some ways we must rely on the opinions and observations of the day by reliable independant witnesses, journalists and photographers, and the Australian Aerial League.  

Defries - 9th December 1909, Victoria Racecourse, New South Wales.

The first recorded attempt at powered flight in Australia occured in December 1909 by Colin Defries, virtually at the same time of the first manned glider flights by Taylor.

Mr L.A. Anderson of Melbourne had imported A Wright Flyer and Bleriot from Europe which returned to Sydney with Colin Defries with the intention of providing public displays. On the 4th of December 1909 Defries attempted to fly the imported Wright Flyer "Stella" at Sydney’s Victoria Park racecourse but hit sleepers in the grass, damaging a wheel. On the 9th December 1909 Defries was reported by newspapers to have succeeded in flying 115 yards in a straight line at a height of 3 to 15 feet.

A second attempt was made on the 18th of December where a flight in a straight line of about 300 yards or a quater of a mile was reported at a height of 2 to 15 feet however this flight ended in a crash when the pilot lost his hat and turned to catch it, causing the aircraft to land heavily and ground loop.

There are also suggestions that Defries attempted to fly the Bleriot on the 18th of December also ending in a crash?, and reports from others such as Taylor and the Australian Aerial League who described the outcomes only as "hops" or unsuccessful attempts.

For a trained pilot, Defries accomplishments in Australia were quite disappointing, he took no further part in proceedings in Australia and quickly returned to the UK. The local newspaper and eye witness reports of his flights in Australia were significantly different to the claims he made on his return to the UK and published in the 9 January 1910 Flight magazine, including of a flight on the 9th of December 1909 that "rose to a height of about 35 feet, and covered about a mile in 1 & 1/4 minutes", he also claimed to have flown on the 10th of December 1909 with a passenger C.S. Magennis, however this flight is not recorded by local newpapers or historians at all.

Flight magazine reported on Houdini's flights in its 30 April 1910 edition, after receiving letters from Houdini which includes a claim as the first to fly in Australia - "Houdini had made twelve short flights of varying duration, and he
claims to be the first flyer in Australia. He says the reports with regard to Mr. Defries' flights on a Wright flyer were very much exaggerated, and he never did anything more than a long hop. Since then Mr. Defries' machine has been tried by Mr. R. Banks, who came down suddenly from a height of 20 feet and smashed the machine"

The Victoria Park racecourse is at its longest, only 440 yards or 1/4 of a mile, and these claims made by Defries on his return to the UK, and conflicts between the newspaper reports in Sydney and the reports by Taylor on behalf of the Australian Aerial League was the start of the apparant ongoing embellishments, claim and counter claims that has clouded "who was the first to fly in Australia" for over a century.

By this time world aviation had moved on from the bunny hops of Kittyhawk in 1903, by 1909 Bleriot's were crossing the English Channel and Wright Model A's had set new altitude records of 1600 ft, and many then, and even today, do not consider Defries exhibited control, or sustained flight.

However it seems clear that Defries did lift the aircraft off, and briefly travel in a straight line, and he is therefore able to claim his was the first powered flight in Australia.

Banks - 1st March 1910, Diggers Rest, Victoria.

By March 1910, Houdini had his aircraft at Diggers Rest, outside Melbourne, along with Ralph Banks, an American, who had brought the repaired Wright Flyer previously used by Defries down from Sydney.  Banks was determined to beat Houdini into the air and attempted a flight on 1^st March, only to have a sharp gust of wind cause his aircraft to dive into the ground after take off, smashing it completely, Banks escaped with minor injuries. 

Wittber - 13th March 1910, Bolivar, South Australia.

Houdini’s other competitor was a Bleriot monoplane, which had been purchased by an Adelaide businessman who had visited Europe and England in the hope of finding an aircraft capable of being demonstrated and sold in Australia.  While he was in England, the French flier, Louis Bleriot had flown from France to Dover in England, creating a storm of controversy about the vulnerability of England to an Armada of flying machines and gained himself, and his aircraft, a great measure of excellent publicity.  Mr. Jones, the Adelaide businessman concerned, recognised the achievement of Bleriot and his aircraft and paid ₤1,000 in advance, for a Bleriot type XI monoplane, number 37, powered by a 24hp Anzini rotary engine.  This aircraft, an advanced type for the time, employed primary flight controls, which would be recognisable today.  A control column was used with a series of levers and cranks to “warp” or alter the shape of the wing, in order that the amount of lift developed by the wing to be increased or decreased, a rudder bar operated by the pilot’s feet, allowed the aircraft to veer right or left, and a forward or rearward movement of control column would cause the nose rise or fall in flight. 

The Bleriot arrived in South Australia and Mr. Jones engaged an engineer, Bill Wittber, to assemble and rig the aircraft.  Bill’s ability as an engineer and his interest in aviation, wetted by such magazines as “Flight”, made him an excellent choice for the job.  Assisted by Fred Custance, the machine was assembled and displayed in John Martin’s store in Rundle Street, Adelaide.  From there it moved to Bolivar, a country town outside Adelaide, where the first attempts at flying it were to be made.  At this point, none of those involved had ever flown an aircraft!  The Bleriot manual was consulted carefully and on 13^th March, the aircraft was run around the paddock with Wittber at the controls.  The machine struck a tussock, lurched into the air and after about 15 metres, landed.  Whilst it was only a short distance and Wittber never claimed it as a flight, it was landed without damage. 

Custance - 17th March 1910, Bolivar, South Australia.

On the morning of 17^th March, 1910, Custance is believed to have taxied the aircraft around the same paddock several times.  It is claimed that he later was able to make a successful take-off and achieved a short flight circling the paddock, however that flight was un-witnessed, and claimed to have occured at 5am in the morning, prior to sunrise. Another attempt in front of witnesses resulted in the aircraft apparently stalling and crashing causing extensive damage to the propellor, undercarriage and wheels.  Subsequently, it was returned to Adelaide for repairs and was later destroyed by fire while in storage that winter. 

Years later Bill Wittber's version of events and a dedication on a plaque only acknowledges one flight by Custance on the 17th of March, resulting in a crash, and correspondance from Jones adds further concern including a claim by Jones that it was he, not Custance, who was the first to fly in Australia on that day in Bolivar..

Unfortunately some confusion and dispute therefore exists in respect of these claims, and the reliability and independance of witnesses, but they are certainly deserving of being recognised as some of the first attempted powered flights to take place in Australia. It seems clear flight in a straight line briefly was achieved by both Wittber and Custance, however of no greater outcome than the earlier flights by Defries in December 1909.

Houdini - 18th March 1910, Diggers Rest, Victoria.

While little publicity attended the efforts in South Australia, those of Harry Houdini at Diggers Rest received wide reporting.  Houdini had a full understanding of the value of publicity and there were a number of would-be aviators, including Banks and a young Harry Hawker, present at Diggers Rest for his initial flights and his efforts were widely reported in the newspapers of the day. 

Following the advice of his mechanic, a Mr. Brassac, Houdini waited until the 18^th March, when weather conditions were perfect and taxied the aircraft to test the engine and controls.  Then he opened the throttle, the engine roared and the aircraft surged toward a clump of trees and then soared skyward and stayed aloft for a minute. He landed safely and went on to fly on two or more occasions that day and on the 21^st March flew for seven minutes.  Undoubtedly, Houdini had mastered the ability to pilot an aircraft in controlled powered flight and sustained flight, and would go on to give further demonstrations at Rose Hill in Sydney.  Houdini’s Voisin aircraft resembled an enlarged powered version of the box kites, which Hargrave had experimented with some fifteen years earlier.

Houdini invited Hargrave to attend and watch the Voisin in flight, but Hargrave declined, saying he had invented these boxkite aircraft many years earlier.

Houdini's flight at Diggers Rest was witnessed by onlookers, media and representatives of the Aerial League of Australia and was certified by that body as the first successful powered flight in Australia, despite the earlier known, witnessed and other attempts described above.

Powered by a 60-hp ENV engine the Voisin was a type that amassed considerable flying hours in Europe, and while, perhaps, not as advanced as the Bleriot monoplane, was certainly capable of sustained flight in the hands of an experienced pilot.

The Voisin brothers in Frace had created the worlds first commercial aircraft factory with more than 70 examples of their early 1907 design being built, and many being used by famous pilots for historic first flights. The Voisins acknowledged the influence on their work of Australia's own Lawrence Hargraves, and originally described their aircraft as simply "Hargraves" because of their boxkite like structures used for both the main wing and tail. Despite lacking a rolling control through either ailerons or wing warping, the Voisin design was used by many famous pioneers and used for the historic first flights in a number of countries including Italy, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Russia and Mexico.

Houdini's flight on the 18th of March in his Voisin was witnessed by enthusiasts, newspaper reporters and representatives of the Australian Aerial League, and was certified and acknowledged as the first controlled powered flight in Australia.

In Summary - "First Powered Flight in Australia"

Of course 100 years on, it is difficult to gather further information to prove or disprove individual's claims, the evidence or reliability of witnesses or the facts and truth of each disputed story.

It seems today clear Defries made the first attempt at Powered Flight in Australia in NSW on 9th December 1909, and although only flying briefly in a straight line, and therefore made the first brief powered flight on the same day based on public witnessed reports, he therefore is able to be considered the first powered flight.

It also seems clear that Houdini made the first successful, controlled and sustained Powered Flight in Australia in Victoria on 18th March 1910. His efforts on that day consisted of a substantial flight of significant height and length, demonstrating all axis of control, completing turns, and the first circuit in Australia, and therefore able to be considered the first successful, controlled and sustained powered flight.

A recent paper proposed that these two events be described as:

* December 9, 1909. The “first powered, straight line flight” by Colin Defries on a Wright Model A, at Victoria Park Racecourse, Sydney, NSW.

* March 18, 1910. The “first powered, circling flight” by Harry Houdini on a Voisin Biplane at Diggers Rest, Vic”

However the control, sustained length of flight and therefore success demonstrated in Houdini's flight is much more than simply completing a circle as against a straight flight.

Rather than arguing over who was first, today's generations should be focusing on celebrating and remembering the efforts of all of these pioneers.

All of these flights had been made in aircraft built commercially overseas, of types well proven to fly successfully in the hands of others, and two most successful flights todate were undertaken by overseas pilots with overseas flying training and experience, and there was no reason why these flights should not have been successful, and why some of these efforts were not well regarded then, or now.

Despite the arrival in 1909 of these overseas aircraft, and various attempted or successful flights in various locations through early 1910 there was an even more impressive effort being developed by two local Australian brothers without any access to commercially built aircraft or formal flying experience or training.

First flight of an Australian designed and built aircraft.

The Duigan brothers undertook their development privately on a family property in Victoria, and across 1909 undertook tethered tests with a home built glider loosely based on a Wright glider form. John Duigan, a trained engineer based his developments on the writings and calculations of the UK scientest Hiram Maxim, and photographs sent from overseas.

Following his glider tests he commenced design and construction of a powered aircraft, loosely based on a Farman form becoming the 1910 Duigan pusher biplane being locally designed by John Duigan, and constructed by John and his brother Reg.  This aircraft, constructed of Australian components including a motor designed and built in Melbourne, was subjected to rigorous testing by Duigan before any attempt at flight.  His first short flight of 24 feet was achieved on 16 July 1910 at the family property "Spring Plains", Mia Mia (between Kyneton and Heathcote, Victoria), was the first flight of an Australian designed and built aircraft.

First Cross Country and Passenger Flights in Australia

More aircraft were imported into Australia in 1910 hoping to attract Government contracts, Gaston Cugnet was sent from France by Bleriot for the possibility of establishing a permanent aviation business in Australia, and undertook his first flight, for a duration of 7 minutes and reaching a height of 200 feet, at Altona in Victoria on 15 November 1910, and attempted a further flight at the MCG on 3 December 1910, but the aircraft was badly damaged when windy conditions caused it to crash into the adjoining tennis courts.

 New Zealander J. J. Hammond, employed by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Co.(Bristol), accompanied two Bristol Box Kites to Australia, giving demonstration flights in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, and offering the Box Kite aircraft for sale from the factory at ₤1000 and 50HP Gnome engines for ₤50. He made his first Victorian flight at Altona Bay on 18 February 1911 for 31 minutes and up to a height of 3000 feet. 

On 20 February 1911 He flew the first cross country flight between towns in Australia from Altona Bay to Geelong in Victoria, covering 40 miles in 55 minutes, returning the next day.  On  28 February at Altona Bay, Victoria, he undertook the first powered passenger flight in Australia, taking his mechanic Coles on a 7½ minute flight, and then took Mrs Hammond on a 12½ minute flight, the first woman passenger flight in Australia.  On 2 March 1911, again at Altona Bay, Hammond took J.Bailleau as the first paying passenger in powered flight in Australia covering 12 miles at 700 feet, while on 26 March 1911 Hammond flew with his assistants L.F. McDonald and Coles both as passengers to demonstrate the weight carrying performance of the Box Kite and gave many demonstration flights thereafter in Melbourne and Sydney.