Page 11 - David Coles Australian Military Aircraft Book Interior Sample

the hope of gaining sales and even set up an assembly plant in Melbourne. Hammond made his first flight in Australia in Perth and then moved to Melbourne where he conducted many flights with passengers, including one flight from Altona to Geelong and back.
The Minister for Defence at the time was Senator George Pearce. He had already passed a Bill in Parlia- ment for the ‘Universal Training Scheme’ raising the preparedness of the Army, and oversaw the purchase of a new and modern fleet for the Navy which arrived in Sydney in 1913. After favourable reports by Major C. H. Foott regarding the demonstrations of the Bristol Boxkite aircraft, Hammond and his team were invited to demonstrate the aircraft in Sydney where members of the Australian Army attended to observe and be taken for flights. The team set up at Ascot Racecourse, the site of the modern-day Mascot International Airport, and made his first flight over Sydney on 18 April 11. On 3 May, Hammond flew with Army Captain Niesigh from Botany Bay to the Army camp at Liverpool 30 km away. The next day LTCOL Antill was taken up to conduct a reconnaissance of the Liverpool camp and surrounding areas. While this ended Hammond’s time in Australia, one of the more important flights of the demonstration
tour was conducted by MacDonald on 6 May. On that day his passenger was photographer Mr J. Kimbell, from the Sydney Daily Telegraph who took the first aerial photographs ever taken in Australia, including one of the fortifications on Bear Island at the mouth of Botany Bay. This photo in particular gave rise for concern for the Army and the newspaper was forbidden to publish it; however, as a result of the picture, Brigadier General Gordon went for a flight with MacDonald on 9 May, stiffening the resolve of many officers to get aircraft for the Army.
Armed with the advice from the Army, Senator Pearce attended the 1911 Imperial Conference in London where it was decided that aviation would be devel- oped throughout the Empire (although Australia was the only Dominion to do so before WWI). When Pearce returned to Australia, he made it a priority to secure political and financial support for the establishment of a military flying school. Finally, on 30 December 1911, the Commonwealth Gazette called for the ‘Appointment of two competent Mechanists and Aviators’. Although an actual military flight was still over three years away, this date can truly be claimed as the day Military avia- tion in Australia had its birth.
Student under instruction on one of the Central Flying School Bristol Boxkite aircraft Australian Army Flying Museum
CHAPTER ONE \\ CENTRAL FLYING SCHOOL (CFS) 1914-1919
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