Lores Bonney's first flight

Mrs Maude Rose Bonney arrived at the Eagle Farm aerodrome to meet her husband’s cousin, Bert Hinkler. Husband at elbow, steering her through the small crowd of Hinkler’s adoring fans, she was nervous but excited as they made their towards Hinker’s Avro Avian biplane, dubbed Avian Cirrus.

 

 

(Bert Hinkler and Avian Cirrus, G-EBOV)

Bert was at the tag end of his round-Australia tour in the wake of his record breaking flight from England to Australia. Not only had he been the first to fly solo over the route but he had reduced the England–Australia record from 28 days to a little under 15 1/2 days. Maude, or Lores as she preferred to be called—a diminutive of Delores—and her husband, Harry, had hosted a party for Bert and his wife the day before. As her guests chatted, she was captivated by Bert’s descriptions of his aerial adventures. She listened with more than polite enthusiasm as he discussed the intricacies of the sturdy Avian Cirrus and his now famous flight. Mentally, she climbed into the cockpit with him. When she told him she had never flown, he promptly offered to take her up the next day.

 

 

(Lores Bonney and Nance Hinkler)

And so, there she was at Eagle Farm on Friday 7 September 1928, elegantly attired in frock and coat, topped off with a leather flying helmet and goggles, standing by Bert’s graceful aeroplane which, to her, seemed like ‘a great silver bird perched awaiting flight’. With Bert at the controls, she climbed in, arms filled with a bunch of roses from her own garden. They hadn’t a destination in mind but, when she told him she wanted to deliver them to a friend at Yeerongpilly, their route was set.

Lores may have never flown before, nor could she drive but she had an innate sense of direction. She had no trouble picking out landmarks, calling them out to Bert. She certainly impressed him with her navigational talent. He thought she had a good ‘bump for location’. And indeed, they found her friend’s house with little difficulty. Bert circled above while she tossed out the roses. Then she gave herself up to the thrill of the flight. Her ‘first taste of the air’.