Prime Minister Tony Abbott was due to honour aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler Thursday in a meeting with the man organising a tribute to the pilot.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At a meeting in Canberra, Mr Abbott will present Brisbane aviation enthusiast Kevin Lindeberg with a written tribute to Bundaberg-born Hinkler.
Mr Lindeberg has arranged for a Hinkler memorial to be built in the Italian Alps, where the pilot crashed and died in 1933.
The tribute marking Hinkler, 100 years of aviation and the future 100 years, will be placed inside a time capsule to be placed near the memorial in Italy.
This memorial is part of Australia's official 100th anniversary World War I celebrations and is Australia's only official WWI event in Italy.
Hinkler died when his plane fatally crashed onto Italy's Mt Pratomagno on January 7, 1933 on a flight to Australia.
He flew with the RAF's 28 squadron over Italy during WWI.
Italian man named Gino Toichhioni found the aviator's body on April 27 1933, once the mountain snow began to melt.
Mr Toichhioni took Mr Lindeberg to the site.
There has been no memorial at the site.
Australia's ambassador to Italy Mike Rann will join Italian government members and British RAF representatives at the memorial unveiling on August 2.
Mr Abbott will also present Mr Lindeberg two framed photographs of Hinkler being welcomed to the House of Representatives and to the Senate on March 15, 1928 by then-prime minister Stanley Bruce.
"The Prime Minister is signing a message to go into the time capsule which is to be sealed into the base of the memorial monument honouring Bert Hinkler," Mr Lindeberg said.
"That is to be open in 100 years' time."
Mr Lindeberg has pushed the idea since April 2014, arranging a boulder from the site of Hinkler's first flight on the beach at Bargara to be ferried to the Italian Alps by Toll Holdings.
That Queensland boulder has been shaped into the monument.
The Queensland Government has also supported the project, making it one of the few official European-based 100th anniversary celebrations of WWI.
On Thursday the Australian Government formally recognises the project and Hinkler's place in WWI commemorations.
"I am greatly honoured by the Australian prime minister lending the dignity of his office to support this important WWI centenary commemoration," Mr Lindeberg said.
"This is a special event in honour of a famous aviator and WWI.
"It is likely to be the only event on Italian soil which brings together the allies of the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia to commemorate not just Bert Hinkler – and his service in Northern Italy - but also all those other Australians who participated in the Great War."
The federal seat of Hinkler – centred on Bundaberg – was created in 1984.
The project is being overseen in Italy by the Italian mountain trekking club, the Italian Alpine Club Arezzo Branch.
Queensland's former premier Campbell Newman in December 2014 congratulated Mr Lindeberg on his effort.
"Bert Hinkler is a Queensland hero and the dedication you have shown to honouring his memory with this project, which has clearly involved substantial background research and personal commitment, is truly admirable," Mr Newman wrote.
"The memorial you have described seems like a fitting tribute to an aviation pioneer."
