Their graceful flight inspired him to build his first glider eight years later. Unfortunately, its grand launch from the top of the henhouse was less than a success and Mrs Hinkler told him to get his head out of the clouds. This did not dissuade young Bert, who declared that one day he would own a real plane.

He kept his word. After completing the first non-stop Sydney to Bundaberg flight in 1921, Hinkler taxied the plane through local streets to greet his astonished mother on her doorstep. He went on to become the first pilot to fly solo from England to Australia.

Lores Bonney . . . driving was too dangerous, so why not learn to fly? Picture: Qld Museum

PIONEER aviator Lores Bonney was also restricted by the conservative early 1900s. She was better known in Brisbane as the wealthy wife of a local leather manufacturer. Husband Henry refused to let her learn to drive – it was far too dangerous.

But Bonney couldn't stand being housebound and took to hitching a ride with the milkman to take flying lessons at the nearby Eagle Farm airport.

Henry, surprisingly, supported her and bought a plane, which she called "My Little Ship".

Bonney was the first woman to circumnavigate the country and to fly solo to both England and South Africa. But she was always a female in a man's world.

"I rigged up a clothesline in the cabin. People were amused to see my washing strung out behind me as I came down from my eight-hour hops on the way to Africa."

Charles Kingsford Smith flies his Southern Cross over New York on a trip around the world Photo: Qld Museum

THE road to success was not easy for Charles Kingsford Smith. The challenge was gaining experience and money for his expensive hobby.

Kingsford Smith first sat in a cockpit at the age of 18, as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps.

From there he went to Hollywood to work in the fledgling film industry. He was a stunt flyer, walking out on the wings and hanging upside down from the undercarriage of a plane.