The Australian Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) has urged Prime Minister Tony Abbott to change the intended name of the second Sydney Airport.
In an letter sent today, RAeS president Noel Schmidt (AirCdre, Ret'd) has asked the PM to reconsider naming the airport after NSW engineer John Bradfield, and instead name it after aviation pioneer Lawrence Hargrave.
"The Australian Division of the Society applauds the sentiment of naming significant infrastructure after engineers who have made such substantial contributions to Australia," the letter says.
"In this case, however, we believe that a more relevant and fitting pioneer name would be that of Lawrence Hargrave.
"Hargrave was a global aviation pioneer whose work with box kites undoubtedly accelerated the development of the principles of fixed-wing aeronautics. Hargrave’s willingness to freely share his experimental data with others across the globe was an extraordinary contribution to the phenomenon of mankind’s first flight early in the 20th Century.
"It is almost shameful that, in his time, Hargrave was far better known in the USA for the work he was doing than in his own country.
"Hargrave has an immediately recognisable association with Aviation that Bradfield does not. Mascot’s Kingsford Smith airport was named in the same vein. And coincidentally 2015 is the centenary of Lawrence Hargrave’s death.
"On behalf of the Australian Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society I urge you to reconsider the naming of the second Sydney airport."
John Bradfield oversaw the design and building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Story Bridge in Brisbane and several railway stations along the city circle line in Sydney.
Lawrence Hargrave was instrumental in developing theories of lift with his boxkite experiments at Stanwell Tops, NSW. His research laid the ground work for the wing configurations for many early aeroplanes. Hargrave was the first person inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012.