A five-year labour of love to showcase the work of Lawrence Hargrave has had lift off.
On Thursday, June 8, volunteers at the Lawrence Hargrave Society and the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) celebrated the official opening of a permanent exhibition honouring the achievements of the aeronautical pioneer at HARS Aviation Museum at Shellharbour Airport.
Lawrence Hargrave Society patron Michael Hough AM was the master of ceremonies at the event, which started with a Welcome to Country by Dr Jodi Edwards and included speeches by HARS vice-president Maureen Massey, Shellharbour City Council mayor Chris Homer, Member for Cunningham Alison Byrne, Federal Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones MP and author and historian Michael Adams.
Museum curator Bob Black spoke on behalf of Lawrence Hargrave Society president Rob Deacon, who could not attend due to illness.
The exhibition aims to raise awareness of Hargrave’s invaluable contribution to aviation. In a phone interview, Robert said that the British-born Australian engineer, explorer and astronomer is unfortunately more highly regarded overseas than in Australia.
“He was pivotal in the whole development of the plane and he didn't believe in patents, so he shared his ideas. He sent them all around the world, and people overseas were able to use his ideas as they developed powered flights, so our aim is to tell that story to as many people as possible,” Rob said.
“Without him, we probably wouldn’t have modern aeroplanes because of the three things he invented that had a big impact on the delivery of those early aeroplanes.
“It's such an amazing story… and [the exhibition] is going take Hargrave’s story to thousands more people.”
On November 12, 1894, Lawrence Hargrave became the first person in history to achieve heavier-than-air lift-off after attaching himself to four box kites of his own design and construction at Stanwell Park Beach. Though he reached just 16 feet (about 4.8m) in altitude, his short flight would have ramifications for international aeronautical research that would lead to the creation of the first flying machines. His earlier work on the development of the rotary engine and study of curved aerofoils also helped make significant strides in the development of the modern aeroplane.
Replicas of his inventions – including a full-scale tandem of box kites – are featured in the exhibition.
“You've got a full-sized pictorial wall of Stanwell Park Beach, and if you stand behind [it], there's four box kites on the roof – the actual replicas of the ones that he flew on that day – and then he's hanging from the first box kite just as he would've on that day, so that's the probably the most spectacular thing; trying to actually recreate that image of him flying above the beach as he did in 1894,” Rob said.
“One of the most important things that he contributed to the first flying machines was the developing of the rotary engine, which was the engine they used in those first flying machines. There's one that's actually working there, there's another one that he made there.
“There's other things that we've made ourselves, our technicians have made over the years, we never had a home for them… now they're on display permanently.
“It's going to be a growing display… but it's not just his aviation achievements that we've got on display – he was more than an aviation expert; he was an explorer; he was an astronomer.”
With his many feats overlooked for almost a century, the Lawrence Hargrave Society is proud to have created a space to share and recognise his achievements.
“It's been a lot of work, but just [to] finally be able to tell that story and having found a home for our exhibits, it's an opportunity now to have a space where we can do talks and… education,” Rob said.
“It's probably the best working aviation museum in the world, so just to go down there and go on the planes, and these are planes that actually still fly… and then you go up and see the Lawrence Hargrave display as well – it's just a terrific excursion for anyone.
“It's a good thing, I think, to finally have somewhere that’s settled, and it's a stepping stone to other things, like… we're now trying to get the international terminal [at Western Sydney's Nancy-Bird Walton Airport] named after Lawrence Hargrave. So you have your first great female Australian aviation pioneer and your first male aviation pioneer … both named in honour at the airport.
“It's a great Australian story, a great Illawarra story, a great Stanwell Park story – it's something we can all be proud of.”