The Duigan Centenary of Flight - 2010
Nothing Great was ever Achieved without Enthusiasm
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The Centenary of the first Australian made aeroplane to fly in 1910, the Duigan aeroplane, will be celebrated in July, 2010, at Mia Mia, Victoria, the district where the plane was built and the early flights took place. Other aeroplanes were flown in Australia in 1909 and 1910, all of oversea's design and construction. An imported Wright machine from the USA was flown briefly, by Colin Defries in Sydney on December 9th, 1909; other European aircraft also arrived including an imported Bleriot, flown by Fred Custance in Adelaide on 17th March, 1910 and the most notable of these, an imported Voisin, which was flown by Harry Houdini at Digger’s Rest on March 21 st, 1910.
(photograph © copyright "Duigan Family Archive")
The First Australian made aircraft to fly, The Duigan 1910 Pusher Biplane
To celebrate this important event of the Duigan Centenary of Flight, a flying replica is being built to reinact those important flights of Australia's first locally designed and built aircraft, and we would be pleased to have your support for that important commemorative event.
(photograph © copyright "Duigan Family Archive")
John Duigan at the controls of his 1910 Pusher Biplane
The Duigan Aeroplane was designed and constructed by John Robertson Duigan with the assistance of his younger brother, Reginald Charles Duigan on their parent’s property, ‘Spring Plains’ at Mia Mia near Kyneton Victoria. After many trials, the first flight was achieved by John on 16th July, 1910, thus making this event to be the first flight of an Australian aeroplane.
This website will provide updates on the Replica Project, details on making a donation to its construction, as well as providing an historical record of the Duigan Biplane, Duigan family members, and the celebrations planned for Mia Mia in 2010.
Media and Public Enquiries to:
Mark Pilkington
Secretary, AARG
Duigan Centenary of Flight - 2010
613 9580 7752
0418 174 957
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webmaster - M.Pilkington - contact email: info@aarg.com.au
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