In March 1917, Mr Watson tragically died when the plane he was flying crashed into Port Phillip Bay.

The accident came just months after Mr Watson had written himself into the history books and linked himself forever to the city of Warrnambool.

At 6.35pm on January 25, 1917, Mr Watson landed a plane at Warrnambool Racecourse.

The landing was the finish point of a remarkable flight for Mr Watson, one which began at Point Cook, one hour and 55 minutes before. 

The journey set an Australian record for a non-stop cross country flight. For Warrnambool, it was an even more momentous occasion as it was the first time a plane had landed in the city.

President of the Warrnambol and District Historical Society Janet Macdonald said Mr Watson’s landing created great excitement.

“Watson’s arrival attracted huge crowds to the racecourse to gain their first glimpse of an aeroplane,” Ms Macdonald said.

“He remained in Warrnambool for three days, during which he staged an aerobatic display on the Saturday afternoon, entertaining his audience with low flying, looping-the-loop.”

A report from The Standand said this display drew “breathless wonderment” from the gathered crowd. 

The article said the skill of Mr Watson “might well rank as one of the most remarkable achievements of man in his successful utilisation of the forces and laws of nature”. 

While Mr Watson thrived on the opportunity to show off his array of party tricks to the people of Warrnambool, the journey from Point Cook was less light-hearted and produced many challenges.

The trip was 166 miles with the average speed of the plane coming in at 86 miles per hour.

Mr Watson used the Melbourne to Warrnambool railway line as a key navigational tool for the journey. He followed the tracks as he flew at heights ranging from 500 to 4000 feet. Between Colac and Camperdown, Mr Watson flew directly above the train. This created great excitement with the passengers on board cheering and waving handkerchiefs out the window. 

But his focus was soon shifted from the adoration and back to the business of flying the plane when he ran into turbulence near Camperdown.

The report from The Standard said this created an “uncomfortable experience.”

“His machine got into an air disturbance and went through some violent motions, causing him to slightly bruise his back,” the newspaper article said. 

Mr Watson had to navigate his way through a rain storm in Terang before skies cleared as he entered Warrnambool. 

The aviator was keen to make the most of the experience for both himself and the people of Warrnambool so he flew towards the post office in the middle of town.

“He then circled round over the principal part of the town and headed for the racecourse,” The Standard said. 

“The whirring of the engine was distinctively heard in the houses and streets and mild excited prevailed for a few minutes as thousands of spectators watched his graceful but rapid progress.”

It may have looked like a graceful arrival in Warrnambool but Mr Watson later revealed that was far from the case.

He told The Standard he encountered an air pocket as he was hovering over the racecourse preparing to land. This caused the plane to drop 50 feet, leading Mr Watson to state that he would have bounced out of the plane had he not been strapped in.

Despite this hiccup. Mr Watson landed safely on the racecourse.

He was greeted by the Mayor, Cr Webb, and other dignitaries. Mr Watson presented a letter from the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir David Hennessy.

In the letter, Sir Hennessy said he hoped Mr Watson’s arrival was a sign of things to come.

“I have much pleasure in sending you greetings by aeroplane piloted by my friend, Mr Basil Watson,” the letter said.

“I hope when the cruel war is over and victory crowns our efforts, we, all over the Commonwealth, will be able to fly from one state to the other.”

Remarkably, the historic flight to Warrnambool was completed in a plane hand built by Mr Watson.

From a young age, Watson had dreamt of building and flying planes.

From 1914 to 1916, Watson lived in the UK, working for the Sopwith Aviation Company.

His love of flying may have led to his untimely death but his achievements as a pioneer of the sky have given him an elevated place in history.

The Warrnambool and District History Society opened an exhibition honouring Mr Watson on January 20 which will run through until the end of February at HeritageWorks.

Among the artifacts gathered is the seat of the plane in which Mr Watson met his demise.

Ms Macdonald said Mr Watson’s flight to Warrnambool was a significant historical event.

“At that time, Warrnambool was still a town. It wasn’t proclaimed as a city until 1918,” Ms Macdonald said.

“This really put the town in the spotlight, to have the Lord Mayor of Melbourne send a letter to the Warrnambool mayor was a big deal.

“The other thing was that it was wartime, so very few people in Warrnambool would have had the chance to see a plane before. In those days people didn’t travel that much, even less so in the war years. 

“Warrnambool has had an interesting aviation history but never really reached the heights of something this glamorous again.

“For a city as big as Warrnambool, that is as far away as we from to Melbourne as it is, it has historically remained reasonably isolated by air.”

HeritageWorks is opened Monday to Friday from 10am to 3.30pm.