Hinkler Hall of Aviation

Museum to local aviator Bert Hinkler — England-to-Australia solo, 1928

Address Botanic Gardens, Mt Perry Road

The Hinkler Hall of Aviation, on the edge of the Botanic Gardens, is a serious aviation museum dedicated to Bundaberg's most famous son. The centrepiece is the actual Avro Avian Hinkler flew to Australia in 1928, and a full-scale replica of his Ibis amphibious prototype. A flight simulator, several other restored aircraft, and a detailed history of his career fill the rest of the building.

Hinkler's small house — reassembled in 1983 from his original Southampton home — sits across the path. Allow two hours. A useful contrast to the rum-and-turtles version of Bundaberg.

things to do museum
A story
Bert Hinkler grew up in Bundaberg and built his first glider on the beach at Mon Repos in 1912. In 1928, aged 35, he flew solo from Croydon, England, to Darwin in 15 days — half the previous record. He died in 1933 attempting the same route the other way; his aircraft crashed in the Italian Apennines and was not found for four months.