Lawrence Hargrave with box kites, 1894

Description

This is a sepia photograph, measuring 24.2 cm x 29.3 cm, of aeronautical inventor Lawrence Hargrave (left) and an unidentified man in Stanwell Park, on the coast between Sydney and Wollongong, New South Wales. They are assembling five box kites and joining them together, in preparation for using them to lift a man into the air. The kites are labelled 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' and 'E'. There appears to be a form of spring scale attached to the kite section marked 'C', and the men may be measuring the force applied by the wind. They are in fairly open country high above the sea, where it is likely that the winds would be strong. Hargrave is in shirtsleeves and leaning back, straddling a seat attached to the kite marked 'E'. Behind the kites is the reel of wire that was attached to the kites, to prevent them from flying free.

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