On November 12, 1894, Lawrence Hargrave performed an experiment on a remote beach on the east coast of Australia that would change the course of history.

The 44-year-old climbed into the seat of his invention, a flying machine consisting of a series of four box kites and was propelled 16 feet (4.8 metres) into the air.

The test at Stanwell Park Beach, near Wollongong, was a significant breakthrough, proving that heavier-than-air flight was possible and safe.

The "cellular" design would influence the designs of aircraft inventors across the world — including the Wright Brothers who almost a decade later would achieve the first powered flight with a pilot on board.

But unlike the Wright Brothers, who kept their famous design secret and obtained a patent, Hargrave simply gave his inventions away.

He claimed at the time that his creation was "now at the service of any experimenter who wishes to use it".

Richard Webb is an engineer who rebuilt Hargrave's flying machine, which was on display for the 130th anniversary of the flight.

He said future generations benefited from Hargrave's generosity.

"He sent a lot of stuff to the Wright Brothers over in America and they used it and I think they even patented some of his ideas," he said.

The original flight was achieved using wind gusts of approximately 30 kilometres an hour.

A planned re-enactment of the famous flight was called off due to insufficient wind, however, onlookers witnessed individual kites being flown, demonstrating the principles of Hargrave's invention.

"It proved they could do it, and they didn't need a hot air balloon," Mr Webb said.

"Once you developed a motor to drive it, you had the first aeroplane virtually.

Lawrence Hargrave was born in Greenwhich, England in 1850 and emigrated to Australia with his father as a 15-year-old.

The inventor worked as an engineer on several expeditions before taking a job at the Sydney Observatory where he worked as an astronomer.

Following his father's death, he quit his job to follow his passion — aeronautical engineering.

In 1889 after 36 failed attempts, Hargrave developed the three-cylinder rotary engine that would become widely used for the first half-century of powered flight.

"The first three-cylinder radial engine he built was the forerunner to the engines in the first world war aeroplanes," Mr Webb said.

"Pistons spin around a stationary crankshaft, which is very unusual, but that is how [those] aeroplane engines worked."

However, due to the weight of the motor, he was unable to generate sufficient lift to develop a powered aircraft.

Instead, he focused on developing gliding and wing design.

In 1892, Hargrave discovered that a curved wing surface appeared to give greater lift than a flat supporting surface — a crucial discovery in the development of aircraft.

To further his experimentation, Hargrave moved his wife and six children to the northern Wollongong suburb of Stanwell Park In 1893.

Part of the appeal of the suburb was its strong coastal winds.

Two months prior to his historical flight, Hargrave attempted to test his new box kite design but it failed to leave the ground.

Fellow inventor and longtime penpal Frenchman Octave Chanute wrote at the time of the 1894 flight, Hargrave had built "no less than 18 flying machines of increasing size, all of which fly".

Chanute and the Wright Brothers would both use the box kite design.

Hargrave did not believe in patents and from 1884 to 1906 published at least 28 papers in scientific journals.

He also gave his models to museums to ensure the public continued to have free access to them.