8 May 1914

In 1914 Lebbeus Hordern, a wealthy Sydney merchant, imported a Maurice Farman ‘hydro-aeroplane’, the first seaplane in Australia. Its 70 hp Renault engine enabled a maximum speed of 60 mph. It could carry ‘two seventeen-stone passengers’ or three passengers of lesser weight. On May 8, 1914, Maurice Guillaux flew Hordern's Farman for the first time. Over the next few days he made many flights carrying passengers.