Brumby St, Surry Hills

G’day Charles Touma here. And today, I’m on Brumby Street, just off Elizabeth Street in the magnificent Surry Hills to talk about the first ever aeroplane factory, established in the Southern hemisphere which was right here at 6-8 Brumby Street. George Augustine Taylor was fascinated by flight from a very young age and was inspired when the Wright brothers produced the very first ever powered aeroplane in North Carolina in 1903. At that stage, Australia was still working on balloon and kite technology. But in 1909, George Taylor got together a group of local aviation engineers to form what he called the “Aviation League”. The group lobbied the government to help finance the start of an aviation industry. The government announced a prize of 5,000 pounds to design and construct a flying machine for military purposes. At the time, defence spending was being increased rapidly due to the increased threat from Japan and Germany. So from 1909, the aeroplane factory here on Brumby Street was a hive of activity.

Taylor’s attempt to win the competition however, was a disaster. When the plane he entered had an engine failure and the plane would not start. Taylor sued the company that built the engine but lost the case. In December, Taylor took one of his gliders to Narrabeen Beach and recorded the first ever untethered flight in Australia. He laid horizontally on the glider and controlled it by directing his body and shifting his weight. As WW1 approached, the factory started producing War Kites, which had wings of 4.5 metres on each side and a space for a pilot, as well as building a large aeroplane. One of the main technological advances was the inclusion wireless radios which enabled communication with the pilot. Unfortunately, Taylor was an epileptic and died from a seizure whilst having a bath in 1928. Now I’ve been selling real estate in the Surry Hills and Redfern area for almost 20 years and have sold many just a short stroll from this property here in Brumby Street. One of them being 477 Riley Street in Surry Hills, another one being apartment 79 at Princes Gardens which we sold last year. Now I hope you found this story about Surry Hills’s aeroplane factory, interesting. My name’s Charles Touma. Thanks for checking in.