Bert Hinkler Papers

Royal Navy certificate for Bert Hinkler for service from 1914-1917.

Certificate of Scholarship presented to Bert Hinkler from the International Correspondence Schools, Kingsway, London, dated 23 October 1911.

Letter dated 24 April 1913, from Bert Hinkler to his mother, from Auckland New Zealand, describing his time on tour in New Zealand with Arthur Stone. 

Arthur Burr Stone (1874–1943) also known as A.B. Stone and 'Wizard' Stone, was an American aviation pioneer.

Letter from Hinkler to his mother, sent from Napier New Zealand. He comments that it is one year since he met Arthur Stone and saw his first aeroplane.

Letter from Hinkler to his mother, from Sydney. He is back in Australia after a crash in New Zealand which wrecked the plane and injured Stone. He talks of his intention of leaving Stone, to get taken on in England.  

 A single page of an undated letter, numbered 5. Hinkler writes of successfully passing an exam and being highly recommended as Gunnery Instructor.

Letter from Hinkler to his mother, from Liverpool, England. His news includes mention of him getting a job at the Sopwith Aeroplane Works in London. 

Letter from Hinkler to his mother, from the Central Flying School at Upavon, England where he is undergoing a course of instruction in aviation. 

Letter to "My Dear Mother" from RNAS Whitely Bay, Northumberland, chronicling a ‘typical day’ in the forces. 

Letter from Hinkler to his mother, from Shepherds Bush, London, giving her instructions to send all her letters care of the Queensland Government Offices, who will forward all his mail to wherever he is stationed. He has met with the editor of the magazine ‘Aeroplane’; Bert outlines his idea/solution to the current problem of night flying and Zep [zeppelin] raids.

Letter from Hinkler to his Mother, sent from London. He tells her his last idea has not gotten further, but he has other ideas which he is progressing with the help and approval of the Officer in Charge.

Letter from Hinkler to his Mother, from France. He relates his experience of various night raids he has done over Bruges and Ghent. He also hopes to have his ‘pilots ticket’ before he leaves England so he can stand a chance of joining the Australian Flying Corps.

Letter from Hinkler to "My Dear Parents" from Eastbourne (England) with the 'pleasing' news that he has passed various tests and graduated as a pilot. 

Two postcards with parts of what appears to be two separate letters, both speak of attacking the enemy from the air, bombing and machine gunning. The postcards have images of mountains and printed text in Italian.

Letter from Hinkler to his sister May, from Italy. He thanks her for her letter giving news from home and gives details of his flying. 

Letter from Hinkler to his parents, from London. He talks of his proposed flight from England to Australia and his frustration with delays as well as of his recently patented 'gadget' the Navigation Board. Includes a typed transcript of the letter. 

Typed letter from Hinkler to his mother from London giving information about his plans to fly home to Australia.

Letter from Charles Grey, editor of ‘The Aeroplane’ magazine Mrs Hinkler (Bert's mother). He writes that Bert left London on Monday to fly to Italy and is reported to have arrived safely. 

Letter from Hinkler to his parents, written from his home 'The Nest' in England. 

Collection of ten hand-written half-pages [being the text of telegrams] describing Hinkler's progress on his solo trip between England and Australia in 1928. Includes his description of arriving in India, Bima, Victoria Point, Singapore, Basra and finally Darwin.  

Letter from Hinkler to his parents, from Manchester. 

Letter from Hinkler to his mother from 'Mon Repos', Southampton

Letter from Hinkler to his mother from Southampton.

Type written letter from Hinkler to his mother from Southampton. 

Letter dated 19 May 1936, from literary agent Rogers & Co, to Mrs Hinkler. He encloses the manuscript of the first chapter of the  autobiography, that Hinkler had started prior to his death.

Two envelopes addressed to Mr William Jenner, Supervisor, c/o Department of Public Instruction, Primary Correspondence School, College Road, Brisbane. One has the received stamp from the Department dated 5 July 1944. 

Letter dated 1 July [1944?], signed Fr. A. Hinkler (Bert's mother), North Bundaberg to Mr W. Jenner, discussing information on Hinkler's childhood. 

Letter of congratulations to Hinkler from the Australian Department of Defence, on behalf of Senator Sir William Glasgow, Minister for Defence. [1928?]

Letter of congratulations to Hinkler from the Australian Department of Defence, on behalf of the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce [1928?]