This is a paper back book with a plastic-laminated cover. There are 61 pages with diagrams, photographs, illustrations, advertisements, posters and newspaper cuttings. The cover is mainly grey and white in colour with printed material in a red insert and two photographs superimposed over the background.This book gives details on the life and work of Basil Watson (1893-1917), a pioneer aviator in Australiabasil watson, warrnambool and aviation pioneer, australian aviators

Book. 'Basil Watson Pioneer Aviator', soft cover 61 pages with black and white and some colour photographs, published by Penfolk publishing Blackburn Victoria.Carole Winterbiography, basil watson, watson basil- air pilots- test pilots- air mail service, aviator, carol winter

The Hollywood film stars pasted on to one side of this paper are of no historical interest to our Society. The four paper items attached to the other side relate to the pioneer aviator, Basil Watson. He flew the first aeroplane to come to Warrnambool in January 1917. Watson flew from Point Cook to Warrnambool in one hour 55 minutes, an Australian cross-country flying record at the time. He had built his own aeroplane which was 18 feet long with a wing span of 26 feet and it had a 7 cylinder 50 H.P. rotary Gnome engine. In Warrnambool he amazed the crowds with his dare-devil aerial acrobatics, looping the loop 14 times over the Warrnambool Racecourse. Watson also brought several letters with him, making him the bearer of the first aerial mail to Warrnambool. Sadly Basil Watson died when his plane crashed at Point Cook in March 1917, just two months after his record-breaking flight to Warrnambool. The Warrnambool and District Historical Society has in its collection the small galvanized bucket seat which came from Watson’s plane and the original first air letter written by the Mayor of Melbourne to the Mayor of Warrnambool. These four items are of considerable historical interest as they are souvenirs issued at the time of Basil Watson’s aviation exploits in the early 1900s and Watson is of great importance in the aviation history of Warrnambool.This is a piece of paper (possibly from a scrapbook) with one torn edge. Pasted on to the paper on one side are newspaper photographs of early Hollywood female film stars. On the other side are four items relating to the pioneer aviator, Basil Watson – an airmail post card, a newspaper black and white photograph, a souvenir black and white photograph and a card with an illustration of an early aeroplane (pictured upside down). ‘The Aerial Postman Basil Watson’ ‘Official Souvenir Australian Aerial Mail’ basil watson, pioneer aviator, aviation in warrnambool’s history, history of warrnambool

This booklet relates the life of Basil Watson. It tells in detail his early life, background, his home built aeroplane, his display flights and his tragic death and the story since. This year marks 100 years since one of Australia’s pioneering aviators, Basil Watson arrived in Warrnambool and delivered the first airmail to the town. Basil Watson was born in Bendigo in 1894. His interest in aviation which began at a young age, took him to England at the commencement of WW1 where he worked at Brookland in aviation workshops and as a test pilot. Despite crashing and suffering injuries he was not deterred. He returned to Australia and by 1916 Basil had built his own plane. He soon took to the air performing tricks and barnstorming to the delight of onlookers. His connection to Warrnambool lies with his delivery of the first airmail to the town, an event which was filled with much excitement. Basil Watson, pioneer aviator landed his 50hp home built aeroplane on the racecourse on Saturday January 27th 1917, after a flight from Point Cook. The trip of 166 miles took just under two hours, and set a record non-stop cross country flight for Australia. Watson was heartily welcomed by the Mayor, to whom he delivered three letters, the first aerial post to Warrnambool. One of the letters, from the Mayor of Melbourne Sir David Hennessy to the Mayor of Warrnambool is now in the W&DHS collection: I have much pleasure in sending you greetings by aeroplane piloted by my friend, Mr Basil Watson. I hope when the cruel war is over and victory crowns our efforts, we, over the Commonwealth, will be able to fly from one State to the other. With best wishes for the New Year. Yours truly, DV Hennessy. Basil Watson was unfortunately killed two months after his historic visit to Warrnambool. While participating in an air show at Point Cook, the plane he way flying that day crashed into the sea. This booklet tells the story of an interesting part of Warrnambool and Australia's aviation history. It has special significance as it enlightens two significant items in our local collection, namely the letter which he delivered and the seat from his aircraft.A small 29 page booklet with blue and white photograph of Basil Watson in his aeroplane. It contains a number of black and white and some colour photographs. Introduction from the author, "This small booklet recognises the short career of Basil Watson. He came to my attention when researching the French aviator Maurice Guillaux who carried the first official air mail in Australia, Melbourne to Sydney in two and a half days 16/18 July 1914..... Tom Lockley 1 June 2017. Handwritten inside front cover,"These items may be of interest to add to your material about Basil Watson. Its a pity that the 100 year anniversary of his flight was not more widely recognised but thank you for mounting some of his records. Tom Hockley."warrnambool, basil watson, first airmail flight, aviation career of basil watson

Basil Watson departed Melbourne on 24th January 1917, on the initial leg of Australia's first 'barnstorming' aviation tour, promoted by the entrepreneurs Albert Sculthorpe and R. Sissons. During the trip, which lasted over a month, Watson visited Warrnambool, Hamilton and Mount Gambier, before returning via stopovers at Casterton, Hamilton, Warrnambool and Camperdown. At each town he presented a public flying demonstration for crowds of spectators, featuring his usual aerobatic displays with feats such 'looping the loop', upside down flying, somersaulting and 'perpendicular nose dives', generating much amazement and admiration. The promoters had received approval from the Postmaster General's Department to carry an experimental airmail consignment on the return journey from Mount Gambier, and Watson landed in Albert Park on his arrival back in Melbourne on 27th February, carrying over 1,000 pieces of airmail collected from each of the towns on route. Much of the mail was in the form of official souvenir postcards commemorating the event, which were reposted on arrival to local addresses in Melbourne. Churchward, M. (2017) Basil George Watson, Pioneering Aviator (1894-1917) in Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/15473 Accessed 18 December 2018.Book. ' Basil G. Watson, Pioneer Airman, the Mount Gambier to Melbourne 1917 experimental air mail'. Grey cover, 39 pages with photographs and illustrations.H.N. Eustisbiography, aviation, basil g. watson, aviation, airmail, bendigo, basil g. watson.eric j. ames pty ltd printers, 14 chesser street adelaide

This is a booklet produced in 1967 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the aeroplane flights of Basil Watson in 1917 (the Mount Gambier to Melbourne 1917 Experimental Air Mail). In the 1967 Mount Gambier/Melbourne air mail flight re-enactment the aircraft was from Aviation Services (Hardingham) Limited, a Piper Cherokee, and on board was Douglas Watson, Basil Watson’s nephew. Basil Watson was a pioneer aviator who built his own plane which had a 50 H.P. Rotary Gnome engine. He flew the first aeroplane to Warrnambool in January 1917, bringing with him the first air mail to the town. In Warrnambool he amazed the crowds with his dare-devil aerial acrobatics over the Warrnambool Racecourse. He died two months later, crashing into the sea near Point Cook. This booklet is of great interest as it gives details of the life of Basil Watson, important in Warrnambool’s history as the first man to fly into the town in 1917 and the first person to bring air mail to Warrnambool, including a letter from the Lord Mayor of Melbourne to the Mayor of Warrnambool. This is a booklet of 16 pages produced to commemorate the Mount Gambier to Melbourne 1917 Experimental Air Mail Flight. It has a grey cover with black printing and an image of an early model aeroplane on the front cover. The text includes illustrations, maps and black and white photographs. The first page has two signatures. The booklet has been stapled but the staples have been removed.‘Donated by Mrs Giles W’bool’ ‘J.C.Hardingham, Pilot’ ‘D.Watson’ basil watson, history of aviation in victoria, history of warrnambool

This letter, the first air mail letter sent to Warrnambool, was written by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir David Valentine Hennessy and carried by the aviator, Basil Watson on the first flight to Warrnambool January 24th 1917. The letter was delivered to the Mayor of Warrnambool, Cr Webb.There were several other letters delivered at the same time but this is the important official one. Basil Watson was a pioneer aviator who built his own aeroplane which was 18 feet long with a wing span of 26 feet and it had a 7 cylinder 50 H.P. Rotary Gnome engine. Watson flew from Point Cook to Warrnambool in one hour 55 minutes, an Australian cross-country flying record at the time. In Warrnambool Watson amazed the crowd with his dare-devil aerial acrobatics, looping the loop 14 times over the Warrnambool Racecourse. Basil Watson died when he crashed his plane into the sea near Point Cook, just two months after he landed in Warrnambool. This letter is of the utmost significance being the first air mail letter delivered to Warrnambool. It is an important memento of the first aeroplane flight into Warrnambool by the pioneer aviator Basil Watson. This is a cream-coloured sheet of paper folded in two to make four pages. It has handwriting in black ink on two pages. The writing is a little faded. The first page has the logo of the Melbourne Town Hall. The pages are partly torn at the folds. ‘Town Hall, Melbourne, 21/1/17. Lord Mayor’s Room, Dear Mr Mayor, I have much pleasure in sending you greetings by aeroplane piloted by my friend’s son, Mr Basil Watson. I hope when the cruel war is over and victory crowns our efforts, we all in the C’wealth will be able to fly from one state to the other. With best wishes for the New Year, …….. (signature indecipherable), D.V. Hennessy. His Worship the Mayor of Warrnambool.’pioneer aviation in the western district, basil watson, history of warrnambool

This is the seat from the aeroplane of Basil Watson. Photographs held by the Warrnambool and District Historical Society confirm that this was Watson’s aeroplane seat. He was a pioneer aviator who had built his own plane which was 5.5 metres long with a wingspan of 8 metres. It had a 7-cylinder 50 HP rotary Gnome engine. Basil Watson flew this aircraft to Warrnambool in January 1917, becoming the first person to fly to Warrnambool, coming from Point Cook in one hour 55 minutes – an Australian cross-country flying record at that time. Watson amazed Warrnambool crowds with his dare-devil flying, looping the loop 14 times over the Warrnambool racecourse. He also brought with him the first aerial post to arrive in Warrnambool and the Warrnambool and District Historical Society has the letter he brought written by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne to the Mayor of Warrnambool. Two months after he was in Warrnambool Basil Watson was killed when his plane crashed near Point Cook in March 1917. Parts of the plane were salvaged and the seat was donated to the old Warrnambool Museum in 1918. It remained there until the museum was dismantled in the early 1960s and it was later passed over to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society. The tag on the seat today is an old Warrnambool Museum label. This is a most significant item as it is the original seat from the aeroplane of Basil Watson, an important early aviator in Australia’s history and it is also an early 20th century memento of the many treasures from the old Warrnambool Museum (1883-1963). The seat shows the primitive nature of early 20th century aeroplanes in Australia. This is a metal (galvanized iron) seat with a semi-circular base and a curved back stretching around from one end of the base to the other end. The back has a rolled metal edging on the base and the top. On the sides are two slots with a khaki-coloured cloth strap passing through the slots. This strap has a metal buckle at the end. The metal in the seat is somewhat blotched and discoloured. A luggage label is tied to one of the slots and has a name typed on it.Mr Watsonbasil watson, aviator, old warrnambool museum, history of warrnambool