The Ballarat man was also the first Australian military aviation casualty of World War One. 

A commemoration ceremony to mark 100 years since Merz’s passing was held at the Ballarat New Cemetery on Saturday. 

Air Commodore Dr Tracy Smart unveiled a plaque at the ceremony to honor the late lieutenant. 

Family, friends and Ballarat dignitaries paid their respects at the morning service, including City of Ballarat Mayor John Philips.

In February 1915, the Australian government sent a small team of aviators to support the British effort in Iraq, which included Merz. 

On July 30, 1915, Merz was killed.

Merz and Lieutenant William Burn were travelling from Nasiriyah to Basra in Iraq but never arrived.

Two days later their plane was found badly damaged, with no trace of the airmen.

An inquiry into their deaths found the men were forced to land due to engine failure and were attacked and killed by a group of hostile Bedouins. 

Despite extensive searches, the bodies of the two men were never found.