Maurice Guillaux flight 50th anniversay 1964
Maurice Guillaux - 50th Anniversary 1964 | Postcards & Philatelics 1913+ | Flying into Harden 1914 | First Australian Aerial Mail 1914 | Australia - photographs & film 1914
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| Australia Post, 1 July 1964. |
The 50th anniversary of Maurice Guillaux's pioneering first Australian airmail flight from Melbourne to Sydney between 16-18 July 1914 was celebrated in a variety of ways, including the issue of special stamps, a re-enactment flight, and celebrations at various localities along the original route. This included Harden, near Young, where Guillaux was forced to stay overnight due to adverse weather conditions. As a result, stories were run in various newspapers, some of which included interviews with individuals who were able to reminisce on the event, and manuscript material such as letters and photographs which were produced whilst Guillaux was still in the country. Some of this material is included below. Much of it is sourced from exhibition materials in the Harden-Murrumburrah Historical Society Museum.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - Seven Short Stages + Guillaux's Schedule. Include a map of the route. It is interesting to note the comments regarding the actual flying time, and the time overhead which also included flying displays prior to landing at the various staging points.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - Epic Flight Re-enacted + Flight Hero Was Killed in France. Detailed account of the original flight.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - Air Services Carry 325m Letters a Year. Reference is made to the re-enactment flight of 1964, plus a picture of W.E. Hart's flight.
* 17 July 1964, Sydney Morning Herald - A Dive for "Black and White." Reproduces a Black & White Whisky advertisement form the Sydney Daily Sun of 31 July 1914, along with a contemporary photograph of Guillaux and his aircraft at the Agricultural Ground, Melbourne.
* 25 June 1964, Murrumburrah Express - Guillaux spent two nights at Harden hotel. Provides an account of Guillaux's forced stopover at Harden for two nights due to bad weather, and the displays given whilst there.
Guillaux spent two nights at Harden hotel
French aviator Maurice Guillaux encountered extremely bad weather in this district
Guillaux was a last minute stand in to make the flight of its kind in Australia. He was scheduled to give an exhibition here on July 16, 1914, but decided to forego this and proceed to Goulburn. Head winds, however, forced him to turn back and this was the beginning of the most eventful two days of the assignment. Guillaux’s Bleriot aircraft was shipped to Australia on April 8, 1914, in the S.S. Orontes. After arrival in Sydney, the next two weeks were spent in assembling and testing the Bleriot 60. Extreme care was taken by Guillaux and his mechanics because the anticipated fame and fortune in this foreign country hinged on the frail French aircraft. Whilst the mechanics were doing their job, Guillaux and his managers were planning their ascents and descents on the capital cities and larger towns of Australia. On April 24, Guillaux was officially welcomed to the City of Sydney by the Lord Mayor. Next day he made a flight to Newcastle, and on the following Saturday the first public demonstration was given in Sydney. During this early experimental and barnstorming period in Australian aviation our postal authorities were not unmindful of the possibility of mails being carried by air. While Guillaux was going on his way with successful displays, our PMG contracted with an American pilot who was in Australia, “Wizard” Stone, to fly an official first ail mail from Melbourne to Sydney. Special souvenir cards were printed and sold to the public at 1/- each. Plans were going along very well, and only a crash would prevent the history making flight. And, of course, this is what happened on Monday, June 1. The machine was wrecked beyond repair. The promoters did not have a replacement aircraft because in those days planes were as scarce as hen’s teeth. To Postmaster-General Mr. Wynne the task of despatching Australia’s first air mail seemed beset with difficulties. Maurice Guillaux up until this time was in no way concerned with the authorities. Our Postmaster General’s Department contracted with Guillaux to carry a bag of about 2000 specially printed postcards, valued today at £12/10/- each. Stone’s crash, however, gave him the opportunity of being the Frenchman to make aviation history in Australia.
Harden Sector
Leaving Wagga at 3.30 p.m. July 17, 1914, bound for Harden, 84 miles distant, Guillaux was favoured with a tail wind that enabled him to average 120 m.p.h. The Bleriot passed over Junee at 3.45 and reached Harden at 4.05. Guillaux was due to give an exhibition at Harden, but with the weather still favourable and a good tail wind he decided to go in to Goulburn, 94 miles away, expecting to land before darkness. Three miles out of Harden, Guillaux says that “I encountered a strong head wind and fearing that I would not reach Goulburn before dark I returned to Harden for the night.” A report in the Wagga Wagga Express gave the reason of the aviator’s return to Harden from the three-mile point as being due to the fear that he would run short of petrol, and would not be able to land in the mountains. Whatever the reasons for returning, there seems no doubt that this turnabout prevented Guillaux from flying into Sydney early on the Friday morning. He spent the night at the Carrington Hotel. Local identity Mr R. J. Simpson tells that the plane appeared “to be a mass of wires,” that townspeople flocked to the racecourse and a police guard was placed on the Bleriot overnight.
Display Here
Friday dawned cold and wet in Harden, but despite the weather Guillaux flew the plane giving the locals sheltered under umbrellas a thrilling display of aerobatics. He apologised for not looping the loop because he did not not have “the braces that held him to the machine.” Three Harden residents were taken at intervals for joyrides. Guillaux’s representatives at Goulburn phoned continuously during the morning reporting extremely bad weather. Although the agent begged him not to take off, the airman left Harden at 2 p.m. This stage to Goulburn was 94 miles, but Guillaux battling against a headwind did not get very far. Over Galong, exposure to the cold wind and rain cause the airman to be overcome with air sickness. At this stage the Bleriot was averaging only 40 m.p.h. so Guillaux once again turned back to Harden – a very unhappy Frenchman to spend another night.
Lonely Feeling
Guillaux, recalling later this night at Harden, said: “I had a lonely feeling and was worrying about getting away next day.” As it turned out he had every reason to worry, for after leaving Harden on July 18 at 7.15 a.m. the 94 miles took the Bleriot exactly two hours. Strong head winds were encountered all the way and Guillaux related that “I shall never forget the awful experience I had to undertake. As soon as I rose I had to battle my way and had to negotiate a passage through the icy atmosphere above those cruel mountains.” These two hours called for really skilled flying and Guillaux stood the test. The debonair Frenchman, as he has been called, may be excused for his seemingly melodramatic description of the flight as he went on to say that “never have I seen such an inhospitable region as this. Deep yawning chasms seemed to be calling me down into their merciless depths never to rise again. There is no place to land in this awful mountain country. If I had any motor troubles it would have been good-bye because there were only eucalyptus trees to land upon."
Guillaux went on to say that although the railway lines were impossible to follow, it was the smoke from the engines that helped guide him to Goulburn. At 9.15 a.m. an almost frozen Guillaux clambered out of the cockpit of the Bleriot and hurrying to the signal fire. Never had the sight of the bonfire been so doubly welcome to a lonely airman, as was this one burning fiercely on the Goulburn racecourse on that Saturday morning. After a short exhibition flight Guillaux at 11.05, the next landing stop was planned for Moss Vale, just under 50 miles away. At times he was forced to fly at 18,000 feet and when searching for Moss Vale he had come down to 10,000 but still could not find a landing field nor sight the bonfire.
50 Miles Short
So, on to Sydney – but for some reason Guillaux’s maps stopped 50 miles short of Sydney Town! Furthermore, he had been specially instructed not to arrive at his destination much before three o’clock. With the aid of his compass, the plan therefore was to find some cleared area to make the first “forced landing” on the Melbourne to Sydney air route. After flying 113 miles from Goulburn, Guillaux sighted a clearing near Liverpool. He made a good landing at 12,35 p.m. and was warmly welcomed by a Mr and Mrs Clarke, who invited him to lunch. With only 22 miles remaining, the end of the record making flight was almost in sight. When Guillaux took to the air at 2.05 lunch was with him and a tail wind found him killing time over Parramatta and Manly. After casually flying over several football grounds and waving to the crowds, Guillaux decided he had best come in to a landing at Moore Park. In his own words “with a certain amount of trepidation, I made my final descent in a blinding storm. I was very cold but I was very happy. I had delivered the mail.” And so at 2.50 p.m., as soon as he touched down, the gallant French airman was besieged by admirers. The lifting of the mailbag was the signal for renewed cheering. The Governor General Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson shook Guillaux by the hand. Then the airman was carried shoulder high into the nearby sports ground as the band played the “Marseillaise” he handed to the Governor, Sir Gerald Strickland, a letter from the Governor of Victoria. Guillaux had delivered the first official air mail in Australia, he had flown the first air freight and he had made further history because the 580 miles covered were a world record for the carriage of an aerial mail.
Notes included in the advertisement, along with a facsimile and English translation of a letter by Guillaux:
It was Lipton's Tea that was carried on the aerial mail.
M. Guillaux carried with him tea in a Thermos flask. He was well protected from the cold, with his leather jacket round his waist. He wore a scarf, and from his neck floated the French colour. - Extract from "The Daily Telegraph," 17/7/14. "Sensations dogged me to Goulburn. The high stratum of air was bitterly cold. When I alighted I was practically frozen: but soon came to under the influence of a cup of hot tea which had kept its temperature in the thermos flask I carried with me. - Extract from Sunday "Sun," 19/7/14.
18 July 1914
Messrs. Lipton Ltd.
Tea Merchants
Sydney
Gentlemen
Lipton's Tea was the strongest stimulant I used on my Melbourne to Sydney flight. I must say I found it the most delicious tea I ever tasted, and it was due to the recommendation of a Melbourne friend that I decided to carry it with me in a vacuum flask. I found it very soothing to the nerves. They tell me that Lipton's tea is very high in public esteem, but I doubt that it has ever been at such a height as I carried it on my flight with the first aerial mail in Australia.
Believe me, yours very truly,
M. Guillaux.
* 17 July 1964, Sydney Morning Herald - From Bleriot to Boeing .... Advertisement by the Australian Post Office.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - Two Stamps for Flight. Transcribed as follows:
The two special stamps issued by the Post Office for the fiftieth anniversary commemorative flight depict the monoplane in which Guillaux carried the first airmail from Melbourne to Sydney. They were designed and recess-printed at the Note Printing Branch, Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne. The 5d denomination is sage-green in colour, and the 2/3 is red. A new airmail sticker has also been issued. It is larger than the present sticker and features the Southern Cross constellation of stars as used on the Australian flag. This new design is in keeping with the trend overseas to issue airmail stickers bearing a national motif. Many motifs, including the kangaroo and the boomerang, were considered for the new sticker, but the Southern Cross was considered the most appropriate as it is a name which holds a special place in Australia's aviation history.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - First Cargo Item. Refers to an item from the 1914 flight, namely a package which contained a bottle of O.T. cordial and some Lipton Tea.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - Commemorative Flight to Touch Down July 17. Transcribed as follows:
An Australian-built Victa Airtourer 100 will arrive at Harden on July 17 on the fifth stage of a commemorative flight over the route of the first Commonwealth Airmail Service. The aircraft is expected to land at Harden at 1.10 p.m. The chief test pilot of the Victa Aviation Division, Mr. Vic Walton, will fly the aircraft. The commemorative flight is being organised by the Department of Civil Aviation and Postmaster General's Department to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first "aerial mail" delivery made by the French pilot M. Guillaux in 1914. The Victa Airtourer will carry philatelic mail as well as official letters to the Acting-Governor and the Premier of New South Wales, and to the Lord Mayor of Sydney. The flight will follow the route flown by M. Guillaux in a Bleriot. The aircraft will leave Melbourne on July 16 and fly to Mangalore, Wangaratta and Albury. The next day it will go from Albury to Harden and Goulburn for an overnight stop. Mr. Walton will then fly to Liverpool, and is scheduled to arrive at Mascot airport at 2.50 p.m. on July 18. His arrival at Mascot will coincide with a special flight by a Qantas Boeing 707 from Melbourne to Sydney. The Postmaster-General Mr. Hume, and the Minister for Civil Aviation, Senator Henty, and leaders will be at Mascot to welcome the arrival of the scheduled flight. Special 5d. and 2/3d, stamps will be issued by the Post Office to celebrate the anniversary. After a brief ceremony on the tarmac the public will be allowed to inspect the 707, the Airtourer and a Bleriot, believed to be the one used by Gillaux on his original flight.
* Undated newspaper clipping, 1964 - Historic field day link: Local significance in air mail flight. Transcribed as follows:
The first air mail flight between Sydney and Melbourne will have a particular significance for organisers of Murrumburrah High School's agricultural field day tomorrow. On July 17, 1914, pilot Marcel Gilloux landed at what was then the Harden race course during the first air mail flight on what was then the longest mail route in the world. A concrete circle was painted white and set into the ground to denote an emergency landing spot at the bottom of Tillet Avenue. Gilloux was flying a Bleriot bi-plane and field days organiser Tom Kemp said the school had only recently been made aware of the full significance of the site by longtime resident Mervyn Anderson, who visited the site to point out the circle and retell its history. As part of the field day exhibit, the circle will be whitened again and a small display will be set up at the site, providing historical information about its significance in Harden's past.
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Maurice Guillaux - 50th Anniversary 1964 | Postcards & Philatelics 1913+ | Flying into Harden 1914 | First Australian Aerial Mail 1914 | Australia - photographs & film 1914 |
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Last updated: 9 June 2023
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