Blog category - Exhibitions

‘Naked Birds’ Land at Memorial

28 February 2008 by Leigh Harris. 3 Comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918,News, Aircraft Conservation

First World War ‘war birds’ will have their covers restored ready for display at the Australian War Memorial tomorrow.

A special team of French vintage aircraft experts will tomorrow make the ‘last stitch’ of their conservation work on rare First World War aircraft, or ’war birds’ as the aircraft are affectionately known. The war birds are progressively being ‘clothed’ as part of the restoration process, in preparation for the upcoming exhibition, Over the Front.

The most complex work is fitting new camouflage fabric to the German Albatros and Pfalz war birds, which are both over 90 years old. The specialist French conservators are teaching Australian War Memorial staff the use of original techniques and materials to recreate the original design faithfully over the coming months.

Opening at the Memorial in late 2008, Over the front will include five original First World War aircraft:

• Three Australian aircraft- Se5a; Avro 504K trainer and Airco DH9.
• Two rare German fighter planes – an Albatros and a Pfalz

read on

The Bartlett brothers from the 10th Light Horse

22 February 2008 by Mal Booth. 2 Comments
Exhibitions,Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Less than six degrees of separation, The Light Horse

I received an email today from Charles Kenny of Essex in the UK. He has given me permission to post it here and I’ve put in some relevant links where I could.

Reading about your exhibition, I thought you might be interested in a little known connection.

The Bartlett brothers, Stephen and Alfred S., both pearlers of Broome (W.A.), enlisted together in the 10th Light Horse Regiment in May 1915, and embarked from Freemantle on HMAT Anchises in September. They saw plenty of action. Alfred was recommended for a bravery award at Rafa in January 1917 but sadly died of wounds that April and is buried in Gaza. Steve soldiered on in the great ride to Damascus, and then to patrolling the Delta. After the war he settled in England and became an author, writing under the name of Gurney Slade. read on

Development of RAAF and Australian Civil Aviation

19 February 2008 by Peter Burness. 1 Comment
Aircraft 1914 - 1918, Development of RAAF and Australian Civil Aviation

Just a year after the end of the First World War, and only a decade after the short first powered flight in Australia, a twin-engine Vickers Vimy, with a crew of 4, flew from England to Australia.  This 1919 exploit exemplified the progress in world aviation. During the First World War there were men who had never before seen an aeroplane or driven a motor car, who had learned how to fly.

Learning to fly at Point Cook, Melbourne, Victoria. c. March 1916. DAAV00006A

The 1919 Air Race

13 February 2008 by Peter Burness. 7 Comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918, The England to Australia Air Race

In March 1919, four months after the war was over, the Australian government announced that it would give a £10,000 prize for the first successful flight from England to Australia. Despite the obvious dangers, this appealed to some airmen, not yet discharged, who were awaiting repatriation home. There were plenty of war surplus aircraft available and six crews eventually took part. However only two crews finished. The winning team was the brothers Ross and Keith Smith and their mechanics James Bennett and Wally Shiers, flying a Vickers Vimy two-engine former bomber. They embarked from England on 12 November 1919 and reached Darwin on 10 December – a journey of 28 days. Both Ross and Keith were immediately knighted while Sergeants W. H. Shiers and J. M. Bennett, the mechanics, were commissioned and awarded Bars to their Air Force Medals. The £10,000 prize money was divided into four equal shares. read on

Lucky Charms

11 February 2008 by Amanda Rebbeck. 15 Comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918,Collection,From the collection, Heraldry

It is not unusual for servicemen and women to carry with them good luck charms while on overseas service. However one particularly superstitious serviceman was Aircraft Mechanic 2nd Class Henry James Marston, of No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC). Marston wore a wrist chain with an identity tag and three lucky charms – a boomerang, a black cat and a doll.

2AM Henry J Marston’s aluminium identity disc and three good luck charms affixed to a brass wrist chain. REL33983

The boomerang entitled ‘I Go To Return’ is an obvious choice, and may have been bought by or given to Marston before leaving Australia. The choice of the “lucky” black cat is similarly obvious. The silver FUMSUP charm (a play on “thumb’s up”), was a popular motif in Britain during the First World War and also appeared on souvenir china and postcards. The head appears to be made of wood “touch wood” and has a four leaf clover impressed into it. The tiny glass eyes often seen in other examples are missing.  Marston’s mother’s details and address are engraved on the reverse of the identity disc.

read on

Gosford Art Gallery and Lambert

11 February 2008 by Janda Gooding. No comments
George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes, Exhibition, Exhibition Tour

Edogawa Gardens, Gosford

I was in Gosford over the weekend opening the George Lambert exhibition at the Regional Art Gallery. Adjacent to the Gallery are the Edogawa Commemorative Gardens, beautiful restful Japanese-style gardens with lotus ponds, pavilions and a dry stone garden. As I was sitting in the tea house looking across the pond, I was reminded how much the scene resembled a Hokusai Japanese woodcut print as the rain raked across and partly obscured the pavilion in front of me. These are beautiful gardens and well worth a visit in any weather.

Janda giving a floor talk at Gosford gallery

The Gosford Regional Gallery is hosting the George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes exhibition until 30 March 2008. They will be organising some special events to coincide with the exhibition so check out their website for further information.

www.gosfordregionalgallery.com

The Role of Aircraft

06 February 2008 by Peter Burness. No comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918, The Role of Aircraft

In war there has always been the need to see the enemy behind the hill; reconnaissance became a role of cavalry.  Eventually observation balloons played a part as well.  By the First World War, it was apparent that aircraft, being able to get above and well behind the enemy’s lines, could do it so much better. This work was further enhanced by the development of aerial photography.  Observers in aircraft could also direct artillery fire onto targets.  Soon armed single-seat fighters were hunting the reconnaissance planes and it became necessary to arm them and to protect them with escorts. 

A Williamson aerial reconaissance camera attached to the side of an aircraft c.1917. P02163.014

From 1915 nations were racing to produce the best aircraft and weapons to dominate the skies. In one early break-through, mechanical synchronisation of machine-guns’ fire with the revolutions of the engine enabled pilots to fire through the propeller arc. By 1917 fighters were operating in teams or large formations. Some heavier planes including the twin-engined Handley Page 0/400, were also developed to drop bombs; civilians in Paris, London, and several German cities and towns were amongst those to experience this emerging form of warfare.

A Handley-Page 0/400 aircraft with some Bristol Fighter machines at the aerodrome of the Australian Flying Corps. B02114

Who Killed the Red Baron?

06 February 2008 by Amanda Rebbeck. 10 Comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918,Collection, Private Records, The Red Baron

A posthumous photograph of Captain Baron Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron). A03158

I came across a number of first and second hand accounts of the death of Baron von Richthofen whilst I was examining various Private Record Collections in the Memorial’s Research Centre. They made for interesting reading since the events of 21 April 1918 have long been the subject of many enthusiastic debates in the history of the First World War. I have reproduced below for interest some extracts of the letters, diaries and memoirs I read. They have all been written by Australian Flying Corps personnel and describe their recollections of what happened the day the Red Baron flew his last mission. read on

The Dangers of Flying

06 February 2008 by Amanda Rebbeck. 1 Comment
Aircraft 1914 - 1918,Personal Stories, Aerial Operations, Private Records, Training

The aircraft of the 1914-18 period were visibly frail and delicate and quite unlike the capable machines we know today. First World War aircraft were prone to structural or mechanical failures and could easily catch fire. Armament was limited to rifle-calibre machine guns and protection for the crew through armour and parachutes were only beginning to be used in the closing stages of the war. Aircrew operated with few aids to navigation, and were usually exposed to the elements while in flight. read on

More exhibition images

22 January 2008 by Mal Booth. 5 Comments
Exhibitions,Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Our exhibition

I now have a better set of images of the exhibition taken by one of our professional photographers, Kerry Alchin. I had thought that I might just replace some of my terribly dark and grainy images, but after talking to our web team, we thought we might upload this new set as a slide show.

You can stop the slideshow (by double clicking an image) to view more information or you can look at the previous posts, or even post a question in a comment. Here we go, mind the step … read on