Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler AFC DSM ( 8 December 18927 January 1933 ) , better known as Bert Hinkler , was a pioneer Australian aviator ( dubbed " Australian Lone Eagle " ) and inventor . He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person to fly solo from England to Australia , and the first person to fly solo across the Southern Atlantic Ocean . He married in 1932 at the age of 39 , and died less than a year later after crashing into remote countryside near Florence , Italy during a solo flight on another record setting voyage . Early life . Hinkler was born in Bundaberg , Queensland , the son of John William Hinkler , a Prussian - born stockman , and his wife Frances Atkins ( née Bonney ) Hinkler . In his childhood , Hinkler would observe ibis flying near a lake at his school . After gaining an understanding on the principles of flight , he constructed and flew two gliders on beaches near his home town . He later met Arthur Burr Stone , at a travelling show in Bundaberg and again at the Brisbane Exhibition where Hinkler worked with Stone to solve a problem with the " Blériot " , the world ' s first monoplane . In 1913 , Hinkler went to England where he worked for the Sopwith Aviation Company , the beginning of his career in aviation . World War I . During the First World War , Hinkler served with the Royal Naval Air Service as a gunner / observer in Belgium and France , for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal . In 1918 Hinkler was posted to No . 28 Squadron RAF with which he served as a pilot in Italy . Hinkler was an " exceptional mathematician and inventor " and " made a lot of aviation instruments which were in use up until the Second World War . " For example , " one was a gadget to correct drift as airplanes fly a little bit on their side , not straight ahead . " Furthermore , " in WWI , Hinkler invented a machine gun adaptor for air gunners . Back then , when the biplanes were flying upside down in combat , the hot , ejected shells would fall and burn the chest of the gunners as they fired . Hinkler ' s invention had the ejected shells all flying off to one side instead . " Later life and career . After the war , he worked as a test pilot for the aircraft manufacturer A . V . Roe in Southampton . The Australian Government offered £10 , 000 as a prize for the first flight to Australia ; Hinkler entered , but his aeroplane crashed in Europe during a storm . In 1921 , Hinkler shipped a tiny Avro Baby to Sydney . It was filled with fuel and flown non - stop to Bundaberg , Queensland , a distance of 1370 km . During the 1920s he competed in numerous aviation events and set many records , among which was a non - stop flight from England to Latvia . He was a pilot of the British Schneider Trophy seaplane competitor . Hinkler flew the first solo flight between England and Australia , departing England on 7 February 1928 and arriving in Darwin on 22 February 1928 and back in his home town of Bundaberg on 27 February 1928 . This reduced the England - Australia record from 28 days to just under 15½ days . The aircraft used was an Avro Avian , registration G - EBOV . The flight was little noticed before Hinkler reached India but then media interest intensified . One paper nicknamed the flyer " Hustling Hinkler " and he was the subject of the Tin Pan Alley song " Hustling Hinkler Up in the Sky . " For the flights in 1920 and 1928 Hinkler had already won two Britannia trophies and the gold medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale . Hinkler is quoted as telling the Australian Prime Minister Stanley Bruce at this time : " You know , one day , people will fly by night and use the daylight for sightseeing . " ( In 1998 Australian Lang Kidby recreated this flight in a similar 1927 Avro Avian ) . He was invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be seated on the floor of the House in recognition of his achievement . ( The next time such an invitation was extended was in 1973 , to Patrick White , who declined . ) After visiting the principal cities of Australia and returning to England , he was awarded the Air Force Cross for the finest aerial exploit of the year . In 1931 came his most remarkable feat . Hinkler flew in a de Havilland Puss Moth from Canada to New York then non - stop to Jamaica , then to Venezuela , Guyana , Brazil , and then across the South Atlantic to Africa ; this part of the journey was done in extremely bad weather , but despite a tearing gale and practically no visibility for part of the way because of low and heavy clouds , he drifted a comparatively small distance off his course . From West Africa he flew to London . For this he was awarded the Segrave Trophy , the Johnston Memorial Prize , and the Britannia Trophy for the most meritorious flying performance of the year . This was the first solo flight across the South Atlantic . He was only the second person to cross the Atlantic solo , after Charles Lindbergh . Hinkler married in 1932 . On 7 January 1933 , Hinkler left London Air Park , Hanworth , England , in the Puss Moth in an attempt to break the flying record to Australia held by C . W . A . Scott of 8 days 20 hours . Nothing more was heard of him until his body was discovered in the Tuscan Mountains in Italy . His plane had crashed into the mountains on 7 January 1933 . He was buried , with full military honours on Mussolini ' s orders , in the Protestant cemetery at Florence . A monument in his memory was erected at Prato Alle Vacche in the Pratomagno mountain by the Aretino Aero Club . He was survived by his wife . He is remembered as being thoroughly courageous without being reckless , and was successful in his amazing feats because he was practically faultless as a pilot , and knew exactly what he and his machines could do . Honours . The Federal electorate of Hinkler , in Queensland , is named after him . In 1978 he was honoured on a postage stamp depicting his portrait issued by Australia Post Thornhill , Southampton , Hampshire , England has three places in honour of Bert Hinkler : Hinkler Road , Hinkler Pub , and Hinkler Park , which contains a monument to him erected by the residents of Thornhill . In 1983 , " Mon Repos " , the house in Thornhill that Bert Hinkler and his de facto wife Hannah ( Nance ) Jarvis built , was saved from demolition and relocated to the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens , serving as a historical museum in his honour until 2008 . On 8 December 2008 , the A $ 7 . 5 million Hinkler Hall of Aviation was opened to the public in Hinkler ' s home town of Bundaberg . Adjacent to his English home " Mon Repos " , the hall continues the role the house played as a historic museum dedicated to the memory of Hinkler ; this has allowed the house to be refurbished to a more domestic state and now serves as a joint attraction with the Hall of Aviation . Qantas has named an Airbus A380 after the aviator , with his name featured on the aircraft . Hinkler Park in Bundaberg , Queensland , now hockey fields , marks the original location of Hinkler ' s landing in 1928 after his historic 1928 solo flight . The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland erected a monument atop the Sloping Hummock , an extinct volcano and one of the Bundaberg region ' s highest points . A bust of Hinkler sits at the southern end of the Burnett Traffic Bridge . Hinkler Crescent , once a taxiway for the original Darwin Aerodrome , Fannie Bay , Darwin , NT , Australia is named after Bert Hinkler and has a commemorative plaque in the pavement . Hinkler Park , a popular park and playground in Katoomba , New South Wales , was dedicated to Hinkler in 1934 . The park features a climbing frame in the shape of his aircraft and a picnic shelter featuring a commemorative plaque . Hinkler Park , adjacent to the lagoon at the north end of Manly Beach is named in his honour , and is also the site of a building for the Australian Air League . The first training Squadron opened at Manly , New South Wales on 17 January 1935 . Songs were written about Hinkler , including " Hustling Hinkler " , recorded by Len Maurice and Fred Monument , and " Hello ! Hinkler " sung by Frederick George . Bert Hinkler was also awarded the Oswald Watt Medal four times in 1927 , 1928 , 1931 and 1932 . Relic survives the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster . A small piece of wood , a relic from one Hinkler ' s hand - made gliders , was presented to the U . S . astronaut Don Lind in early 1986 as a token of appreciation for his coming to Bundaberg to contribute to the Hinkler Memorial Lectures . Lind in turn gave it to Dick Scobee , the captain of the ill - fated final " Challenger " mission . Scobee took the wood with him on board the " Challenger " , inside a small plastic bag that he placed in his locker . After the explosion , the bag and the wood were recovered from the sea , identified , mounted , and later returned to the Hinkler Memorial Museum .