I have chosen for my address the subject of Co-ordination of Aeronautical Research in the British Commonwealth, not only because this is a very important and vital matter, but because at this time there are being held in Melbourne meetings between aeronautical research workers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom in certain fields of research. Simultaneously, in Canada similar meetings are being held between aeronautical research workers from Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.

Aeronautical research, like human flight, is of comparatively recent origin as far as serious work is concerned. In Australia we can be proud to have had one of the pioneers—Lawrence Hargreaves—while the Wright Brothers based the design of their aircraft on experiments with aerofoils carried out in a wind tunnel of their own design.