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Hinkler’s Message to Australia; Incidents of My Flight (1928)

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Incidents of my flight

Clip description

This clip features one complete side of a two-sided gramophone record. In 'Incidents of my flight’, pioneer aviator Bert Hinkler recounts key events in his record-breaking solo flight from England to Australia.

Curator’s notes

Hinkler gives a personal account of his flight noting that, due to the extensive press coverage his voyage received, the public is already well informed about the details. Hinkler’s low-key presentation emphasises that aviation is a safe and routine form of transport. It seems that aggressive mosquitoes were the greatest hazard he faced on his journey.

Bert Hinkler Incidents of my flight.

I hate making speeches or addresses and it is not an easy job to describe my flight from England to Australia because the papers have told you practically everything there is to be told about it. You know all about my great little bus and how I managed to make good time and get through with everything in tip-top order and condition.

Now that the job is done I can best bring to mind the highlights of the trip. What appeared to me to be the big things.

There was the start. It was one of those grey murky mornings when I hopped off from Croydon Aerodrome in England, but the warmth of my fellow flyers’ good wishes and the knowledge that I had the most trustworthy bus and engine in the world, dispelled any qualms I may have had. Then, to make Rome in a day’s non-stop flying was a jolly good augury. I felt that everything was going to turn out all right.

It was a dreary job flying over the 400-odd miles of practically unbroken desert to Basra. It was anything but comfortable when I struck the big jungle fire on the way to Rangoon. And I don’t mind admitting that the storms I ran into over the Malay Peninsula and the Dutch East Indies were not the best companions in the air.

These were the bad times, but they were in the minority. All things considered, the going was mighty good. I can assure those unacquainted with flying that to sit in the snug little cockpit, to see the world rolling away below, and hear the sweet even note of the engine – well, to me, flying, this is the salt of life. You have every faith in your bus, the compass points the way. And you know that at every landing place along the route, there are friends to meet you. There is a wonderful bond of friendship amongst flyers, a kind of fellowship of the air. And that is one reason why flying is such a wonderful thing.

But I’m getting off the track a bit. At dawn on February the 22nd, I took off from Bima on my last hop of 900 miles to Darwin. I had had a rotten night. Those mosquitos at Bima are the world’s worst. I can sleep in most places and at most times, but those ‘squitos were just too much for me.

Anyway, the Avian was unaffected, the Cirrus ran perfectly the whole way and the job was a most enjoyable success. Of course, I was pleased. It was good to be able to do something for one’s country. I tried, I succeeded. That my fellow Australians appreciated my effort makes me the happier.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

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  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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