Lawrence Hargrave Memorial — Stanwell Park

On 12 November 1894, Lawrence Hargrave — a quiet, meticulous astronomer and engineer — strode onto Stanwell Park Beach carrying four box kites connected by a seat. He was lifted 16 feet into the air by the coastal winds, becoming the first person in Australia to achieve powered lift (by wind alone). His box kite design was so elegant and effective that it was adopted by early aviation pioneers worldwide: the French aviation pioneer Gabriel Voisin used Hargrave's box kite structure in his early aircraft, and the fundamental principle influenced the Wright Brothers' wing designs. Hargrave was featured on the Australian $20 note from 1966 to 1994, his box kites depicted alongside his portrait. A memorial cairn at Bald Hill Lookout, above Stanwell Park, marks the site where hang gliders and paragliders now launch from the same updrafts that lifted Hargrave's kites over a century ago. The Lawrence Hargrave School at nearby Austinmer also bears his name.