Lawrence J. Wackett (later Sir Lawrence) was one of the towering figures in the history of Australian aviation covering, as he did, virtually all aspects of activities: pilot, designer of airframes and engines, entrepreneur and manager.

He started his career in the Australian Flying Corps in the First World War and saw service in Egypt; when the R.A.A.F. was formed in 1921 Wackett decided to move into aircraft design and development and, after a short professional training period, persuaded the then Defence Minister, R. K. Bowden, to set up a R.A.A.F. Experimental Aircraft Station at Randwick, in order to develop aircraft suitable for Australian conditions.[7]

The first design was the Widgeon 1, a flying boat, followed by a much larger amphibian, the Widgeon 11, powered by a 440 hp A.S. Jaguar engine. In 1927, the Widgeon 11 undertook a 9,000 mile flight around Australia.

Two other aircraft were developed at Randwick to the prototype stage: Warrigal 1 (a trainer) and Warrigal 11 a single seat fighter. As a result of a government-sponsored report, the Randwick Station was closed in 1931: Wackett resigned from the R.A.A.F. and transferred, with some personnel and equipment to Cockatoo Dockyard. He continued working for the R.A.A.F. but also undertook several civilian projects including the Codock, a six passenger twin engined airliner, commissioned by Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith.[8]

In 1934, Wackett and some of his staff moved again, to the Tugan Aircraft Company at Mascot, where the Codock design was developed into the Gannett a six/seven passenger airliner, which provided excellent service with the R.A.A.F. and with small airlines in N.S.W. Eight Gannetts were completed when the Tugan Company was taken over to form the nucleus of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Melbourne. The remaining career of Sir Lawrence Wackett is reviewed under the C.A.C. section.

To complete the section on individual innovators, we have to mention Don Harkness, who is remembered as the first Australian who designed and developed a type-approved aircraft engine. The engine in question was the Harkness Hornet, first built in 1928 and later installed in two locally built aircraft types, the Genair and the Wonga.[9]

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering