Harold Gatty Print Page
The monument commemorates Harold Gatty (1903 - 1957), aviator and navigator for Wiley Post on the first round the world flight.
Harold Gatty was born in Campbell Town and his assistance was sought by the one-eyed stuntman, oil rigger and air adventurer, Wiley Post, to fly around the world. They set off from Roosevelt airfield, New York, on 23 June 1931 in the Winnie Mae, a Lockheed Vega monoplane powered by a single Pratt and Whitney Wasp engine, and re-landed there on 1 July.
They had covered 24,900 kilometres in eight days, fifteen hours and fifty-one minutes, with actual flying time of one hundred and six hours, eight minutes. The easterly route across the North Atlantic, Siberia, the Bering Sea and Alaska called for pin-point navigational accuracy. The airmen were accorded a tumultuous ticker-tape reception in New York City.
Location
Address: | Midland Highway & Pedder Street , Campbell Town, 7210 |
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State: | TAS |
Area: | AUS |
GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -41.922847 Long: 147.490723 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
Monument Type: | Monument |
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Monument Theme: | People |
Sub-Theme: | Aviation |
Approx. Event Start Date: | |
Approx. Event End Date: | |
Monument Manufacturer: | Hobart Technical College |
Link: | http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonli… |
Dedication
Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 1960 |
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Harold Gatty Memorial
Plaque :
This monument is to honour the memory of Harold Gatty who in 1931 won world wide fame as an air navigator after his record - breaking flight with Wiley Post in the Winniemae.
During the Second World War as a Group Captain in the R.A.A.F. he was Director of Air Transport for the Allied forces in the Pacific area.
Born at Campbell Town in 1903 - Died at Fiji in 1957.
This memorial was constructed by the Hobart Technical College.
J.C. O’Brien Warden 1960