66Taking to
the skies:
Aviation and space
66 Australian GeographicI
n 1894 the first Australian took flight.
Lifted by kites, Lawrence Hargrave
reached a height of just 5m, yet he
ushered in an era of exploration that would
take us to the stars. From Charles Kings-
ford Smith’s trans-Pacific flight to Andy
Thomas’s space walks and Dick Smith’s
adventures, the story is as much about
evolving technology as pioneering spirit.ANDY THOMAS (1951–)
An Adelaide-born boy who grew up playing
with rockets and dreamt of becoming an
astronaut, Andy Thomas became Australia’s
first member of NASA’s elite astronaut corps.
He flew four missions over nine years, spending
a total of six months in space.BILL BRADFIELD
(1927–2014)
A backyard astronomer in
SA, Bill is proof you don’t
need high-tech gear to
achieve extraordinary
things. A prolific hunter
of space objects, he has
found 18 new comets.GABY KENNARD (1944–)
Inspired by childhood hero
Amelia Earhart, Gaby
became the first Aussie
woman to fly solo around
the world. In doing so, she
proved that it’s possible for
an ‘ordinary’ single mother
of two to fulfil her dream.CHARLES KINGSFORD
SMITH (1897–1935)
‘Smithy’ was renowned as
our boldest pilot, pioneering
trans-Australian, trans-Tas-
man and trans-Pacific routes.
As well as setting other
records (AG 44), he helped
usher in commercial aviation.Nancy Bird Walton
(1915–2009)
WALTON TOOK flying lessons from Charles
Kingsford Smith, launched outback
ambu lance services and founded the Aus-
tralian Women’s Pilots Association (AG 80).
She got her flying licence at 17 in 1933 and
two years later bought a Gipsy Moth. With
that, she took off on a tour of Australia, giv-
ing joyrides at country fairs. During WWII,
Walton was commandant of an Australian
Women’s Air Training Corps. She was made
an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1990.
Her achievements were remarkable in an era
when women were discouraged from wear-
ing pants, let alone flying planes.WALTON: STATE LIBRARY OF NSW; THOMAS: PAUL J. RICHARDS / GETTY; BRADFIELD: COURTESY DENNIS DI CICCO; KENNARD: COURTESY GABY KENNARD; KINGSFORD SMITH: J. A. HAMPTON / GETTY