ANZAC DAY 2025
ANZAC Day, air power
On this day we honour those who have sacrificed so much for Australia
A sacrifice that must always be remembered.
William Hart in his Bristol Boxkite( National Library of Australia PIC / 15611 / 16017) by John Horne
The first aircraft to fly over Blacktown was piloted by Parramatta dentist William Ewart Hart on 3 November 1911. Accompanied by his sixteen-year-old younger brother, John, he flew from Penrith to Parramatta Park, using the railway line as a guide. They reached an altitude of 900 metres and completed the journey in nineteen minutes. After breakfasting with their father, a wealthy timber merchant in Parramatta, Hart chose to return to Penrith alone, as the westerly wind had strengthened considerably. Buffeted by the wind, the aircraft became increasingly difficult to control. Spotting a paddock near Seven Hills Railway Station, owned by Mr Best, Hart decided to land his Bristol Boxkite there. Once the wind settled, he resumed his flight back to his base in Penrith.
Air power had arrived in the Shire of Blacktown, and William Ewart Hart became the first person to fly over Blacktown City and land an aircraft there. Blacktown and the First World War When the First World War began, Hart became a pilot in the Australian Flying Corps. Other young men from Blacktown Shire also became pilots or served as ground crew in the Australian Flying Corps, which was replaced by the Royal
William Ewart Hart Australian Flying Corps( Australian War Memorial DVAV0008)
Australian Air Force in 1921. Among them were:
Leslie Anstiss, a motor mechanic from Harold Street, Blacktown, joined the Australian Imperial Force on 23 August 1915 before transferring to No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, in 1918. He became a Flying Officer Observer. His name is recorded on the Blacktown Roll of Honour.
Jack Riverstone Faviell, born in Riverstone, trained as a pilot in England and graduated in December 1917. He later trained other men to become pilots.
Themetre James Hammond, a 23-yearold grazier from Riverstone, enlisted on 29 September 1916. He flew with No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, on the Western Front but was shot down and killed in a dogfight over Lagny, France, on 12 June 1918. He has no known grave, but his name is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial in France, the Australian War Memorial’ s Roll of Honour in Canberra, and the Riverstone Public School Roll of Honour.
Joseph Richard Ibbett, with connections to Riverstone, enlisted in January 1917 and served in England with No. 6 Training Squadron, Australian Flying Corps.
Leslie Herbert Irwin, who moved to
Blacktown after the war, initially served as an infantryman in 1916 and 1917 before becoming a Sergeant-Cadet with No. 6 Training Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, in 1918. He later became the Manager of the Bank of New South Wales in Blacktown and the Federal Member for Mitchell in the Australian Parliament. He had a strong association with the Blacktown Squadron of the Australian Air League, and the hall on Kildare Road, Blacktown, is named‘ The L. H. Irwin Memorial Hall’ in his honour.
William Lyttle King, aged 22 when he enlisted in 1916, had ties to Wentworthville when parts of the suburb were within the Shire of Blacktown. He commenced flying training at the NSW Aviation School in Richmond( now a RAAF Base) and served with No. 69 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, on
the Western Front. He was severely injured in a crash while ferrying a new aircraft
18 ISSUE 49 // APRIL 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT