William Ewart Hart (20 April 1885 – 29 July 1943) was an Australian

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

and dentist. He was the first qualified pilot in Australia. His aviator's licence, No. 1, was issued on 5 December 1911 by the Aerial League of Australia. William Ewart Hart was often referred to as “Billy” or “Bill”. His birth was registered as taking place in the Hart family home on Darcy Street Parramatta. His father William Hart Junior and grandfather Mr William Hart, were well-known businessmen from the

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

shire of

Wentworthville Wentworthville is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split betw ...

. His father purchased a property on Wentworth Avenue, building ''

Castrella ''Castrella'' is a genus of flatworms belonging to the family Dalyelliidae Dalyelliidae is a family of flatworms belonging to the order Rhabdocoela Rhabdocoela is an order of flatworms in the class Rhabditophora with about 1700 species desc ...

'' in July 1888, where young William would most probably have grown up. His father was known to be a philanthropist and supported young William and the Australian aviation industry financially. Hart was born and educated in the

district. Aged 16 he was apprenticed to a local dentist, Mr Maxwell. He was registered as a dentist on 26 June 1906. After registration he practiced as a dentist in

Wyalong Wyalong is part of the Bland Shire located in the Northern Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. Established as a gold mining town, it is now a quiet town with historic buildings a few kilometres east of West Wyalong, the major distric ...

, where he rode the first motorcycle and drove the first car in town. He went on to practice in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. In September 1911 Hart met Joseph Hammond who was touring Australia as a demonstration pilot for the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company. He bought (for £1,333) a

Bristol Boxkite The Boxkite (officially the Bristol Biplane) was the first aircraft produced by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company (later known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company). A pusher biplane based on the successful Farman III, it was one of the ...

from Hammond, received some instruction from Hammond's mechanic, McDonald. A gale blew the plane, which was parked at Belmore Park, Penrith, over, and it was wrecked. Hart, with the help of friends and the mechanic, built a new aircraft, using some salvaged parts. Timbers were supplied by Hart’s father. He first flew the machine, solo, on 3 November. The next day he flew from Penrith to

with his younger brother Jack as passenger, completing the first cross-country flight in New South Wales. In 1963, a monument was erected in Parramatta Park where he had landed. On 30 June 1912, Hart won an air race—from

Botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

to Parramatta Park and return, and billed as the 'First International Aviation Contest'—when his opponent lost his way due to rain clouds and landed at Belmore. The race had been planned for 16 June 1912, but had been deferred due to bad weather. William Ewart Hart in his Bristol Boxkite Biplane

William Ewart Hart in his Bristol Boxkite Biplane

References

External links

Programme of 'First international aviation contest : W. E. Hart v. "Wizard" Stone, Sydney to Parramatta & return', Saturday, June 15, 1912.
Australian military personnel of World War I Australian World War I pilots Australian aviation pioneers 1885 births 1943 deaths {{Aviation-bio-stub