The current Post Office Gallery exhibition Vantage point: aerial views of Bendigo surveys early aviation in Bendigo, presenting a bird’s eye view of the city in the first half of the 20th century. Alongside 12 large scale reproductions of aerial views of Bendigo taken by pioneering aviator and photographer Charles Daniel Pratt, the exhibition tells the story of the early days of aviation in Bendigo with photographs and ephemera from the lives of early aviators.
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On July 16, 1910, John Duigan made his first successful flight in a biplane designed and built by he and his brother, Reg, at their family’s property, Spring Plains near Mia Mia. The brothers had never seen an aeroplane. Using photographs of other pioneering flying machines and some basic written material they applied their understanding of mechanics, practical engineering skills and determination to design, build and successfully fly what is considered the first Australian-made powered aircraft. In April 1911, they exhibited this plane at the Bendigo Easter Fair with an unsuccessful demonstration at the then Bendigo Showgrounds (now Tom Flood Sports Centre). John Duigan returned a month later to the Bendigo Racecourse in Epsom, delighting spectators with three impressive flights.
Bendigo Racecourse provided a suitable landing and launching pad for several early aviators visiting Bendigo. In June 1914 in his imported Bleriot plane, famous French aviator Maurice Guillaux flew to Bendigo and performed aerial acrobatics including ‘loop-the-loops’ to an awe struck crowd of thousands at the Bendigo Racecourse. Just two years later, in November 1916, Bendigo-born Basil Watson, aged 23, flew from Point Cook, Melbourne to Bendigo Racecourse in 75 minutes in a plane he built himself in his family’s home in Brighton.
The establishment of the Bendigo Aero Club, a dedicated aerodrome in 1929 at Myer’s Flat, was championed by military pilot, Bendigo citizen and aviation advocate Harold Treloar: one of the first Australians to receive a flying certificate and engage in active flying service with the Australian Flying Corps in the First World War. Convinced by Treloar, local Keith Brown, a founding member of the Aero Club purchased a 100hp DH-6 plane from Charles Pratt that had been modified to carry two people. Brown operated a small commercial aviation business (Bendigo Airways Services) from the newly opened aerodrome. Despite the aerodrome hosting small commercial operators like Brown, air shows, a flying school, a short-lived airmail service and a visit from the world famous Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith, it closed in 1936.