WHILE Melton Shire gears up to celebrate 100 years since showman Harry Houdini made history in his Voisin biplane near Diggers Rest, Museum Victoria's Scienceworks will court controversy with a display highlighting the efforts of aviation pioneer Colin Defries.
Controversy surrounds who was the first aviator to make a successful powered flight in Australia.
Some historians support the view that Houdini's efforts on March 18, 1910 make him the first, while others say Englishman Defries was the first when he took to the air at Sydney's Victoria Park Raceway on December 9, 1909.
On Thursday, March 18 - 100 years since Houdini's flight - the engine from Defries' biplane will go on display at Scienceworks, highlighting the achievement, drama and controversy of early flight in Australia.
The engine is part of the Going Places: the Technology of Transport exhibition. The exhibition explores how science makes it possible to fly, float and cover vast distances as we move around the globe.
"The story surrounding early flight in Australia is a tale of trial, error, skulduggery, showbiz and big egos," says Museum Victoria's curator David Crotty.
"The engine from Defries' aeroplane is one of the most significant aeronautical artefacts in Museum Victoria's collections."
The exhibition is from March 18 until October 17 at Scienceworks, 2 Booker Street, Spotswood. Adults $8; children and concession free.
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