The Red Devil and Captain Harry Butler

 The Red Devil: The Story of South Australian Aviation Pioneer Captain Harry Butler. In this presentation Dr Samantha Battams will recount the story of pioneer aviator Captain Harry Butler, AFC. Butler was a national hero in the early 1920s. Hailed as a top aviator, his legacy continues to this day, yet he has been largely forgotten. Harry Butler returned from war with two aircraft and dreams of starting an industry. With his little crimson monoplane, Red Devil, Captain Butler inspired many thousands as he performed aerial shows in support of Peace Loan efforts. He made the first airmail crossing over a significant body of water in the Southern Hemisphere; established, with the famous engineer Harry Kauper, the first passenger flight business in South Australia; took the first aerial photographs; and set up what became the first Commonwealth Government airport in Adelaide.

From Butler's childhood in the tiny farming community of Minlaton, where he was inspired by stories of early flight experimentation, to his role as a senior flight instructor in the Royal Flying Corps in England and his postwar experiences, The Red Devil tells the story of a pivotal figure in early aviation in Australia and, through his pilot training role, throughout the world.

Bio: Dr Samantha Battams is a Senior Research Fellow & Associate Professor at Flinders University and has been a university lecturer, researcher, community development worker, advocate, health service administrator and management consultant. She has published academic articles and book chapters in the fields of public health and global health, social policy and sociology. She has a passion for history and writing and has written a true crime story (The Secret Art of Poisoning: The True Crimes of Martha Needle, The Richmond Poisoner, 2019) and several non-fiction history articles. See www.samanthabattams.com for further details. PLEASE NOTE - SUPERNOVA MEMBERS MEETNGS ARE NOT OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

You must be a member of the Supernovas to attend ($5.00 per person entry fee to cover facility hire)