Inner city parachute demo 120 years ago

A tight demo: the Old Exhibition Grounds on North Terrace in about 1890.

When was South Australia’s first parachute jump made?
It almost certainly wasn’t this one, reported in The Advertiser in 1890 – at least not judging by the irritable tone of the reporter who remarked on the public’s expectation that such daring spectacles should take place on time and without keeping spectators waiting.

You have to assume they might have seen it all before!

But it must have been a challenging spot!  It was a remarkable achievement – aiming to land on what, even today, would be a tight target on North Terrace, Adelaide. And it was made even more interesting since the “aircraft” involved was a balloon. We're still looking for records of SA's first parachute jump – any clues? Give us a call.

Here's the original story from the newspaper of the day.


A PARACHUTE LEAP

The Advertiser,
Monday, December 15, 1890

There was an attendance of several hundreds at the Old Exhibition Ground on Saturday afternoon to see Signor Leo Hernandez make his parachute descent.
The public has in the past been accustomed to so much delay in these spectacles that the majority only begin to roll up about an hour after the advertised time.

This was the case on Saturday, the result being that although the ascent was billed for 3.15 pm it did not take place until 20 minutes to 5.

A lecture by the aeronaut on ballooning was promised for 3 o'clock; it did not take place. But as the people came to see a jump from the clouds, they did not mourn much over the loss even of  "marvellous tales of hairsbreadth escapes," preferring to see this sort of thing for themselves.

The entertainment was given in connection with Messrs Wirth Bros “Wild West Show”, which is to open here this week.

The balloon was made in the Old Exhibition Building and is of fine calico, 76 feet high and 150 feet round.

It hold 75,000 cubic feet of gas. It was inflated by the “quick hot air” process in about half an hour.

Signor Hernandez's parachute is slung differently to that of some of the aeronauts who have visited Adelaide, being fixed not at the side of the balloon, but between the balloon and the trapeze on which the descent is made.

At 20 minutes to 5 the balloon was full and got away splendidly, Hernandez, who is a colored American, swinging head downwards on the bar at he shot up into the air.

The balloon, gleaming in the sunlight, drifted gradually northward, and as it went the aeronaut scattered in the air showers of many colored papers, which glittered with rainbow hues as they came dropping back to earth.

After about four minutes the balloon seemed stationary, and Hernandez no larger than a spider at the end of a web. Then the parachute expanded, presumably as the balloon began to descend, and the aeronaut was seen to have freed himself and to be coming gradually downwards at about the same pace as the balloon.

The descent only took about two minutes and Hernandez touched earth on the North Parklands, near Barton terrace east, and about a mile and a quarter north-west from the starting place.

Messrs Wirth's buggy picked him up and brought him back to the grounds, where he was heartily cheered by the crowd.

He explained that owing to the parachute being a new one he had been unable to make the drop as soon as expected as he had been obliged to cut through three ropes to get away from the balloon at all.
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