Wilfred Arthur Baird (1889–1954), also known as Wilfred Arthur Beard, was the first chief engineer of the Australian airline
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
. He established Qantas's reputation for excellence in engineering.
Early life
Wilfred Arthur Beard was born in
Benalla
Benalla
is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822.
It is the administrative centr ...
, Victoria, Australia in 1889, one of 15 children. In 1909 graduated from the Working Man's College (now
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia.
Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...
) with the highest marks in Mechanical Engineering. He then undertook a 5-year apprenticeship with Anderson and Son, an engineering firm in
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Richmond recorded a population of 28,587 at the 2021 census, with a medi ...
. From February 1916 to June 1919 in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he served in the
Australian Flying Corps
The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
and, on loan, in the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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, mostly in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. He developed a reputation for solving difficult technical problems for which he was awarded the
Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include:
*Meritorious Civilian Service Award
*Meritorious Service Med ...
.
Qantas service
In January 1921, Paul McGinness and Hudson Fysh took delivery of the first Qantas aircraft in January 1921, they employed Beard who, as chief engineer, built a team of expert aircraft mechanics at
Longreach, Queensland
Longreach is a town and a locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and Isisford s ...
. Around this time he reverted to the traditional Scottish spelling of his surname Baird. In the early years of Qantas they constructed their own aircraft and Baird supervised the construction of seven DH-50 airliners and a DH-9. As Qantas grew, Baird became responsible for their engineering work at
Archerfield Airport Archerfield can refer to:
* Archerfield, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane, Australia
**Archerfield Airport
**RAAF Station Archerfield, a former RAAF base at Archerfield Airport
*Archerfield Estate and Links
Archerfield and Archerfield Links are a ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Baird assisted the Rev. John Flynn establish the
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...
in Queensland by modifying its first aircraft to be used as an air ambulance and to operate effectively in remote inland conditions.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia to
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, Ceylon (a flight of 3,500 miles over open ocean).
Later life
Baird retired in June 1949, but continued as an adviser at Rose Bay. On 7 May 1954, he died suddenly at his home in
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.
Legacy
A plaque on the
Mitchell Highway
Mitchell Highway is an outback state highway located in the Central West Queensland, central and South West Queensland, south western regions of Queensland and the North West Slopes, northern and Central West, New South Wales, central western ...
in
Charleville Charleville can refer to:
Australia
* Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia
**Charleville railway station, Queensland
France
* Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France
*Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France
** C ...
, Queensland commemorates the first regular Qantas air service from Charleville to
Cloncurry
Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people.
Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry.
Cloncurry is known as ...
on 2 November 1922. The crew of three were Hudson Fysh, Paul McGinness and Arthur Baird.