George Hardacre: A Pioneer of Aviation

George not only had a mechanical mind, he had a great interest in machinery. At a time in the world when aviation was little known, he was keenly interested in it and was reportedly among the first men in the world to fly. In 1897 he patented what is believed to have been Australia's first flying machine. It is reported that he flew from Woolgoolga to Moonee. One report says that the flying machine was described as an umbrella-like contraption and was attached by a running wheel to a steel cable stretched between two trees. It handled perfectly when the inventor stepped aboard and handled the levers. The machine not only rose in the air, but stayed there with its passenger pumping like a Trojan. Then the wind smashed him and the machine into a tree. Even after emerging from the wreckage, he was still fired with enthusiasm. He took it up into the air about 17 times until the police stopped him in case of injury to spectators. This leads to the question of how long it took him to develop the plane to the patent stage as there are no pulleys for guide wires on the patent diagrams. Also there was no need to pump as the flying machine has an engine. According to family reports, George's last flight was from Woolgoolga to Moonee Headland and they crashed into some trees. The wreckage was then destroyed during a bush fire. We will let you decide if the flying machine did fly! This model was made by Mr Vince Brooker. It took him nearly 10 years from conception to the finished product. The machine was installed in time for the opening of the museum on 18th September 2015. Vince followed George's plans.

There is indisputable evidence that George Hardacre patented the design for an ornithopter.¹

There is clear evidence that this ornithopter, at the time of the patent-application, hadn’t flown.²

And here is the point.  – There is only one historical reference to a Hardacre machine that flew. This reference is the 1931 interview with George Hardacre, where it is stated by the interviewer that George had a glider, but it wasn’t quite a success.³

But this reference to a glider makes sense. In a September 1897 article published in Clarence and Richmond Examiner, and titled “The Coming of Human Flight”, it is made clear that gliders, rather than ornithopters or zeppelins, were the key to flight.⁴

In 1900, 1901 and 1902, the Wright brothers gradually learnt how to control the 3 axes of flight for a glider, before adding an engine in 1903.

An ornithopter gains its lift simply by flapping wings from a standing start; while a glider requires a launch pad which creates movement of air across the wing. References to a cable suspended between two trees, and a trolley charging along Woolgoolga jetty, speak of a glider rather than an ornithopter.

The 1930s expression “not quite a success” is a polite way of saying that, without Wright-like controls, a glider simply nose-dives or stalls.

While hearsay is a perfectly sound foundation for a family legend, proper historical evidence is required in order to justify an object’s inclusion in a museum.

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References.

^1. Patent number 7487, granted by the News South Wales Patents Office on 30 August 1897. Copies of the “Letters Patent” and the patent application are held by Coffs Harbour Museum.

^2. An entry in Lawrence Hargrave’s journal for May 22nd 1897 describes a meeting with George Hardacre where Hargrave “advised him [George] to spend no more money on patents but make something that would fly.” A copy of this journal-entry is held by Coffs Harbour Museum.

^3.  Coffs Harbour Advocate, 25 September 1931, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article185197036

^4.  Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 21 September 21 1897, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61320047

Compiled by Museum volunteer Geoff Watts. 

Small model of Hardacre Flying Machine.