A Famous Person: Bert Hinkler
by Scott Muller
Bert Hinkler was born on December 8th, 1892 in Bundaberg, Queensland. His full name is Herbert John Louis Hinkler but he is best known as Bert Hinkler. He was the eldest son and had two brothers and two sisters in his family. His family's home at 69 Gavin Street, North Bundaberg was still there until 1988 when it was destroyed in a fire.
Around the age of 11, he studied ibis birds flying at a local lagoon. By watching their wings and tails he got ideas to design his first glider. He practised flying his gliders at Mon Repos Beach near Bundaberg.
Bert Hinkler was educated at North Bundaberg State School.
His first job was at the Bundaberg Foundry Company. When he was 18 years old he worked for another aviator called ''Wizard'' Stone in New Zealand. Then he moved to England and at 21 he was employed as a mechanic with Sopwith Aviation Company. During World War I he trained as a gunner with the Royal Naval Air Service and then became a pilot with the Royal Air Force. After the war he got a job as a test pilot with A.V. Roe and Co. It was then that he started making his record breaking solo flights.
Bert Hinkler is most remembered for achieving the first solo flight from England to Australia in 1928. He flew in a singleengined Avro Avian plane which took him 16 days to complete his journey. This broke the previous record which was 28 days. When he took off from London the only ones to see him leave were his wife and a representative of the company he worked for. He arrived in Darwin though to a hero's welcome. During his tour of triumph around Australia he was cheered in his home town of Bundaberg by more than 1500 people. The Avro Avian plane he flew is now on display in the Brisbane Museum. There were other famous aviators flying around the same time such as Kingsford Smith, but unlike them Hinkler always flew solo.
For this record breaking flight Bert Hinkler received the following awards:-
Royal Geographical Society of Australia / Asia (QLD) medals.
Thomson Foundation Gold Medal for services to science of aviation.
Air Force Cross (in recognition of the distinguished service he gave to aviation by his flight in a light aeroplane from England - Australia)
Gold Medal presented by the Institute of Surveyors.
Gold cigarette case with the Australian Coat of Arms on it presented by the Prime Minister.
500 pounds from the State Government.
2000 pounds from the Commonwealth Government.
Apart from his famous flight in 1928. Bert Hinkler made numerous other flights and received many awards for his flying achievements.
Some of these include:-
1917 - awarded Distinguished Service Medal for flying bombers during World War 1 in France.
May 1920 - flew from London to Turin in Italy in Avro Baby G-EACQ. He set a duration flight record by flying non-stop.
March 1921 - on a visit to Australia from England he flew non-stop from Sydney to Bundaberg. After he landed he taxied his plane down the street to park outside his mother's home.
1929-1930 He put all his money into designing and building an amphibious monoplane which he called the Ibis. He tried to get his design into production but couldn't find a company to build them.
November/December 1931 - South Atlantic crossing from New York to London in a Puss Moth plane. He received a great deal of praise for his accomplishment but very little money.
Hinkler's 1928 England to Australia record had been reduced by English flyer C.W.A. Scott to 8 days and 20 hours. On 7th January 1933, Hinkler left London in a Puss Moth plane in an attempt to break this record. His plane crashed though in the Italian Alps. It was discovered a few months later on 27th April 1933. A state funeral procession was held for him and his grave is in Florence in Italy.
An original piece of one of his gliders was aboard the space shuttle Challenger which exploded on take-off in 1986. It was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and is now on display in the Hinkler House Museum in the Bundaberg Botanical Gardens.
Bert Hinkler has been referred to as Bundaberg's favourite son. There are many monuments, special displays and places named after him around the town. One of the most significant attractions is Hinkler House found in the Botanical Gardens. This is the house where Bert Hinkler lived in England. He named his house there Mon Repos after the beach near Bundaberg that he went to with his gliders. In 1982 it was under threat of being demolished but was saved by a small group of Bundaberg residents and the Premier of Queensland. The house was dismantled and marked brick by brick in England, sent to Australia and rebuilt here. It is now a memorial museum containing many pictures and memorabilia of Hinkler's life.
1998 will be the 70th anniversary of Hinkler's solo flight from England to Australia. A Brisbane man called Lang Kidby is planning to build and fly an Avro Avian to repeat Hinkler's journey.
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