My husband’s Great Great Grandfather, David Cannon McConnel was an Australian pioneer from 1840. Whilst reading his letters written to his mother in 1843, I was intrigued when he suggested she fly out to see his property “Cressbrook”, near the Moreton Bay Penal Colony. Researching flight lead me to the existence of the Aerial Steam Carriage. Patented in 1843 and widely advertised throughout the British Colonies the machine never got off the ground. The Atlas newspaper wrote in March 1843: “ ..an invention which if only partially succeeds, must revolutionise society, and instead of dwelling on the tolerably-sized surface of the globe or world, by the ease of intercourse, will become so small that we must migrate to the stars. What becomes of free trade when goods are spinning among the clouds, flying with goods from all parts of the world?”