Harry Houdini Flew a Flimsy Aircraft in Diggers Rest. But Was He Really the First to Fly in Australia?
Harry Houdini Flew a Flimsy Aircraft in Diggers Rest. But Was He Really the First to Fly in Australia?
Six years after the Wright Brothers made the world’s first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered aircraft in the US, Harry Houdini—yes, that Houdini, the famous Hungarian-American escape artist and stunt performer—set a similarly impressive record in the small town of Diggers Rest, Victo...
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But Was He Really the First to Fly in Australia?
This kind of question clearly depends on the definition of flight, but it would have been nice for the article to give an honourable mention to Lawrence Hargrave, who lived in Australia since age 15.
Of great significance to those pioneers working toward powered flight, Hargrave successfully lifted himself off the ground under a train of four of his box kites at Stanwell Park Beach on 12 November 1894.
Obviously very different to a piloted and controlled flight like the Wright Brothers and these examples, but certainly notable.
That picture is amazing.
I enjoyed reading about Lawrence Hargrave but his story is incredibly sad.