HERBERT JOHN LOUIS (BERT) HINKLER 1892-1933

Bert Hinkler from The Pioneers Courtesy or Russell Naughton

 

INTRODUCTION TO AUSTRALIAN PIONEERS Email from Andrew Fullarton, 7-26-01 Dear Ralph      It's good to hear from you. I found your site most interesting, having always been interested in the pioneer days of aviation. Here are a few bits of info on Wizard Stone, and I'll send more as I find it.      He was born in 1874, and came to Australia late in 1912 with what I think was an American - built Bleriot monoplane - I've seen it referred to as a "Metz-Bleriot".       His mechanic was Bert Hinkler, a young Australian aviation enthusiast who later became a famous solo long-distance flyer. In 1913, after completing his Australian tour and surviving a few severe crashes, he went to New Zealand. He also was a motorcycle wall-of-death rider and did some of this in Australia as well, and in New Zealand he had a try at setting a new land speed record.       I've read various articles about Wizard Stone over the years and am told that back in the '60's a book was written about him, which a friend of my father has a copy of. I've also read that back in the US, Stone was test pilot for the Queen Aircraft Company, builders of another Bleriot copy.      That's about all I can think of for now, and I've attached a photo of a little-known pioneer Australian aviator, Laurie Marshall, with the biplane that he built here in Melbourne in about 1911. It's not known for certain whether he succeeded in flying it, but he experimented with it until he went bankrupt, and the engine is now in a museum.       'Bye for now, and I look forward to hearing from you again. Best wishes from Andrew Fullarton

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Bert Hinkler" +aviation, using the Google search engine, (8-1-06), you will find about 9,380 links! Among the most helpful are the following.

 

Hinkler House Memorial Museum & Research Association,      This is probably the preeminent source for information on the life and career of this pioneer Australian aviator. It includes sections on: The Hinkler House, His Life, His Achievements, His Aircraft and relevant links. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

The Pioneers      As usual Russell Naughton has assembled an impressive number of important stories, photos and links to other sites which feature Bert. You can access this site by clicking on the title above.

 

Bert Hinkler died in 1933.   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this pioneer aviator, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back