The Oswald Watt Gold Medal is an Australian aviation award presented by the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia (RFACA), and has been described as Australia's highest aviation award. It is awarded for "a most brilliant performance in the air or the most notable contribution to aviation by an Australian or in Australia". Established in 1921 following the death of Oswald Watt, the medal has recognised both notable flights and broader contributions to Australian aviation, and is awarded on merit rather than on an annual basis.
Background
The medal is named after Lieutenant Colonel Walter Oswald Watt (1878–1921), an early Australian military aviator and a leading figure in the Australian aero club movement. Watt became the first Australian military officer to gain a pilot's licence in 1911 and later served with distinction in the French and Australian flying services during the First World War.Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, p. 16 After returning to Australia, he became foundation president of the New South Wales Section of the Australian Aero Club in 1919 and played an important role in the development of civil aviation regulation in Australia.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 16–19
Following Watt's death in 1921, he left £500 in his will to the Australian Aero Club to fund a gold medal to be presented each year to the aviator who achieves "the most brilliant performance in the air" by an Australian or in Australia.
The first awards were approved retrospectively in 1927, after the bequest and administration of the medal had been settled. The medal has since been administered by the national aero club federation under its successive names, from the Australian Aero Club Federal Council to the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia.
List of recipients The list of recipients includes many of the best-known names in Australian aviation, including Bert Hinkler, Charles Kingsford Smith, Hudson Fysh, and Dick Smith.