Walter Bassett.

About Walter Bassett

Sir Walter Eric Bassett was an Australian engineer, soldier and academic. He studied engineering at the University of Melbourne before joining the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. Bassett won the Military Cross for gallantry on the Western Front before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps. Wounded in the hip on 1 June 1917 Bassett was disabled for the remainder of his life. On his return to Australia he joined the faculty at his alma mater, lecturing in mechanical engineering and aerodynamics. Bassett arranged the construction of the first wind tunnel in Australia. He later helped establish aeronautical engineering courses in Sydney and, in 1958, joined Monash University as a lecturer and member of its council. Bassett received honorary doctorates from Monash and Melbourne.