William Ewart Hart (20 April 1885 – 29 July 1943) was an Australian aviator 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. Hart was born and educated in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. 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 *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. 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 fi ...

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. 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 biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

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 aviators Australian military personnel of World War I Australian World War I pilots Aviation pioneers 1885 births 1943 deaths {{Aviation-bio-stub