A new exhibition has been opened at the Campbell Town Museum to commemorate a famous air navigator and adventurer born in the town.
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Held on Sunday, the official opening of the Harold Gatty display drew attendees from across the country.
"It was very, very successful," said, Pauline Godfrey, a museum volunteer and one of the main organisers behind the display. "We have got some fantastic comments."
Ms Godfrey said the man is widely known in the United States for his actions in the first half of the 1900s - but less so in Australia and Tasmania. Though Campbell Town's Harry Gatty Memorial Park does also commemorate his achievements.
ALSO IN THE NORTHERN MIDLANDS
After contacting Mr Gatty's living niece five years ago, a group from the museum traveled to meet her and see some of the items she had kept in her Sandy Bay home.
"We all went down, and Jill was absolutely fantastic," Ms Godfrey said. "I was determined that we were going to get the Gatty exhibit up and running - which we did."
Mr Gatty's career is an extensive list of activities, the most significant of which involves a record 1929 non-stop flight from Los Angeles to New York, and another - with stops - around the world in 1931.
He also devised a ground-speed and drift flight indicator - a precursor to modern aircraft auto-pilot - and served in both the Australian Navy and United States Army Air Corps.
Mr Gatty was born on January 5, 1903 at Campbell Town - the son of Lucy Fitzjohn and schoolteacher James Gatty. With his father as headmaster, he later completed primary schooling in Zeehan with his three brothers and two sisters.
His niece traveled to Campbell Town for the weekend event. As did Natasha Heughan, a representative of Lockheed Martin, builders of the aircraft Mr Gatty took around the world.
The display features a number of stands with information about Mr Gatty's work and life, along with replicas of the flight indicator and awarded medals.
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