Harry Butler (aviator)
| Henry John 'Harry' Butler | |
|---|---|
Captain Harry Butler AFC (ca.1918)
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| Full name | Henry John 'Harry' Butler |
| Born |
9 November 1889 Yorketown, South Australia |
| Died | 30 July 1924 (aged 34) Adelaide, South Australia |
| Cause of death | Cerebral abscess |
| Resting place | North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth, South Australia |
| Monuments | Minlaton, South Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Spouse | Elsa Gibson |
| Aviation career | |
| Air force | Royal Flying Corps |
| Rank | Captain |
| Awards | Air Force Cross |
Henry John 'Harry' Butler AFC (9 November 1889 – 30 July 1924) was an early Australian aviator, an air force officer, and a World War I flying ace. When he flew an air mail run from Adelaide across Gulf St Vincent to Minlaton on 6 August 1919, it was the first over-water flight in the Southern Hemisphere.
Butler was born on 9 November 1889 at the main hospital of Yorketown on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula. The son of John James Butler and Sarah Ann née Cook, he grew up on a small farm near Koolywurtie. From an early age he showed a strong desire to fly and an aptitude for mechanics; whilst at school he built model aircraft and studied the flying capabilities of his mother's chickens.
In 1915 he entered the Australian Flying School at Point Cook, Victoria. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, and was commissioned three weeks later. In 1918 he received the Air Force Cross, and when demobilized in 1919, he held the rank of captain.
He returned to Australia with a Bristol monoplane and an Avro 504-K. The monoplane became known as "the Red Devil", and it was in this plane he made the 67 mile (108 km) water crossing from Adelaide to Minlaton in 27 minutes.
In partnership with Harry Kauper, he converted the Avro to seat two passengers, and operated as the Captain Harry J. Butler & Kauper Aviation Co. Ltd. initially out of an aerodrome at Northfield. Butler then bought 60 acres (24 ha) of land in part of then-largely rural Albert Park in the Woodville district, and in October 1920 he moved his operations there, establishing the "Hendon" aerodrome, also known as "Captain Butler's Aerodrome".
On 21 July 1920 he married Elsa Birch Gibson at St Paul's Anglican Church, Adelaide.
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