Engine made by Geoffrey Hargrave, 1911
Object No. B537
The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences holds the largest collection of material of the aviation pioneer, Lawrence Hargrave. While the invention of the aeroplane can be attributed to no single individual, Hargrave belonged to an elite body of scientists and researchers (along with Octave Chanute, Otto Lilienthal and Percy Sinclair Pilcher) whose experiments and inventions paved the way for the first powered, controlled flight achieved by the Wright Brothers on December 17, 1903. This particular engine model is significant because of its association with Lawrence Hargrave. It was produced by his only son, Geoffrey, and reflects the many skills he acquired from his father, including an inquisitive and scientific mind, manual dexterity and innovativeness. The model also serves as an example of one of Lawrence Hargrave's most influential inventions, which arguably formed the basis of the idea for the famous French Gnome engine, the primary source of aircraft power for the French Allies in World War I. Lawrence Hargrave's greatest contribution to aeronautics was the invention of the box or cellular kite. This kite evolved in four stages from a simple cylinder kite made of heavy paper to a double-celled one capable of lifting Hargrave sixteen feet off the ground. The fourth kite of the series, produced by the end of 1893, provided a stable supporting and structural surface that satisfied the correct area to weight ratio which became the foundation for early European built aircraft. For example, Hargrave's box kite appears to have been the inspiration for Alberto Santos Dumont's aircraft named '14bis', which undertook the first powered, controlled flight in Europe in 1906. Similarly, Gabriel Voisin stated in his autobiography that he and his brother Charles, who manufactured the first commercially available aircraft in Europe, owed their inspiration to their construction of a Hargrave box kite. Via correspondence with Octave Chanute, there is also evidence that Hargrave's box kite influenced the design of the aircraft used by the Wright Brothers during their historic flight in 1903. Hargrave's contribution to aeronautics can also be observed in other ways. For example, he conducted important research into animal movement and produced a number of flapping models which successfully demonstrated a means of propulsion. He also designed and produced alternative power sources including a variety of engines. Beyond aviation, Hargrave undertook exploration work in the Torres Strait and New Guinea and assisted in the discovery voyage of the Fly River with Luigi d'Albertis. He also contributed to the study of astronomy with his development of adding machines to assist Sydney Observatory in its calculations, researched and wrote on Australian history and was an early proponent of a bridge across Sydney Harbour. References Adams, M., "Wind Beneath His Wings - Lawrence Hargrave at Stanwell Park" (September 2004) ADB Online, "Lawrence Hargrave", http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090194b.htm (Downloaded 18/7/2007) Grainger, E., "Hargrave and Son - A Biography of John Fletcher Hargrave and his son Lawrence Hargrave" (Brisbane, 1978) Hudson Shaw, W & Ruhen, O., "Lawrence Hargrave - Explorer, Inventor & Aviation Experimenter" (Sydney, 1977) Roughley, T.C., "The Aeronautical Work of Lawrence Hargrave" (Technological Museum, Sydney Bulletin No.19, 1939)
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Summary
Object Statement
Aero engine with propeller, three cylinder rotary, designed by Lawrence Hargrave 1889, made by Geoffrey Hargrave, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1911
Physical Description
Three cylinder engine mounted on two steel posts that are bolted to a wooden rectangular base. One post is stainless steel, the other is steel. The wooden propeller is made from timber laminated from four sections, which is shaped as one piece with a centre hole. The hole has been covered with plywood and bolted on with 6 bolts. Specifications: Bore: 4 inches Stroke: 4 inches Valves: Cam operated exhaust, automatic inlet in piston head Cylinders: Machine cast iron, integral head, no fins Conrods: Bronze Carburettor: Fabricated from thin sheet of brass Ignition: Magneto with single spark plugs to each cylinder and driven by exposed brass spur gear
PRODUCTION
Notes
This radial rotary engine was designed by Lawrence Hargrave at Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales, Australia and made by his son Geoffrey Hargrave at Woollahra Point, New South Wales, Australia around 1911.
HISTORY
Notes
Geoffrey Hargrave most likely produced this copy of his father's three-cylinder radial rotary engine while he was a student at the Sydney Technical College. Correspondence between Lawrence Hargrave and Professor Barraclough, dated 1912, indicates that the engine suffered a broken crankcase and that in 1914 it was fitted with a new one. In 1928, the engine was transferred to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences from the Technical College. Geoffrey Hargrave was the only son of Lawrence and Margaret Hargrave, born March 21, 1892. Like his father, he took an interest in invention and was encouraged to pursue studies in engineering, which he did at the Sydney Technical College during his late teenage years. Geoffrey showed particular prowess in maritime technologies and sailing, as well as aeronautics, and he designed and constructed a number of models including this radial rotary engine. During Geoffrey's teenage years, Lawrence made a number of maritime vessels for him, sometimes as a reward for his hard work at college. One of these was an eighteen-foot sailing craft made from tinned sheet steel. It took Lawrence 3 months to build (or 495 hours). The hull weighed 300 lbs and the vessel carried lugsails on three masts. Soon after the outbreak of WWI, Geoffrey was enlisted to the army in a mounted unit, but later transferred to the infantry as a machine gunner. At the beginning of 1915 he sailed for Egypt with the 2nd Australian Expeditionary Force (under the nickname 'Stirrups'), but was transferred again to the Dardanelles in the same year. It was here that Geoffrey was killed in action on May 4, 1915.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Sydney Technical College, 1928
Acquisition Date
19 November 1928
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