IPEC Aviation – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

DerekB03/06/202306/06/2023

Aviation Heritage Vol. 54 No. 2 (June 2023) Contents Listing

The latest quarterly AHSA journal - Aviation Heritage - has recently been posted to members. The contents of all articles are listed below: Aviation...

1929 After a forced landing west of Wyndham, WA, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Harold Litchfield and Tom McWilliams were stranded for a ninth day on 8 April 1929. Ulm recorded the following in his log: "All had a good sleep last night, as it came up cold and drove the skitos away. My, but we are all weak. Smithy and I trudged across the mud flats to the south and searched for snails, bringing back about 200, of which we had half for lunch. As usual Mac heard all the stations again last night, but no news for us. Smithy is knocked out to-day, but most of our very heavy work is finished and we are all resting. Radio from VIS and 2FC again tonight telling of the efforts to locate us. Then more strength-sucking efforts turning the generator. We each turn from 10 to 15 seconds and then all have a quarter of an-hour spell. It sounds easy, but each go we are each just falling over and gasping for breath. It needs four of us to do the job. Mac at the key, one turning, one holding the light, and the other holding the friction drive. It is peculiar, to listen here on the radio to press and other messages about ourselves being lost. Thank God for this and our receiver. It is a wonderful help to us now. Tobacco ran out this morning; we have tried to smoke leaves but they are awful." The West Australian Government requested Colonel Mansbridge (Resident Magistrate at Broome) to take charge of the coordinated air and land search in that area, and supplies of petrol and oil were rushed northward. James Woods, who was the first rescue pilot on the scene and had been flying long hours for seven days, and Bert Heath were instructed by Major Brearly (General Manager of Western Australian Airways) to take a day off searching to rest and allow maintenance to be carried out on their aircraft. Numerous ground parties continued searching from several mission stations and cattle stations. Les Holden piloting his big DH.61 "Canberra" arrived at Wyndham in the evening of 8 April after flying from Newcastle Waters, NT with a stop at Wave Hill. Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock in the "Kookaburra" remained in Alice Springs for the day. Hitchcock sought medical treatment for a leg wound he had suffered in the crash of a Bristol Tourer in September 1928. They also replenished their kit of tools, which had been stolen in Broken Hill (or possibly in Sydney). Matheson and Finn in the Goulburn Aero Club's Gipsy Moth departed Young at dawn and flew to Nyngan, landing at 10:00 for a fuel stop. They reached Cunnamulla, Queensland for an overnight stop. Captains J. Tracey and H. Jolley in their Gipsy Moth arrived in Brisbane after flying from Mascot, and stated that they intended to depart from Eagle Farm airfield on Wednesday. The forced landing by the Southern Cross and its consequences became known as the "Coffee Royal" affair. Sources: Parnell, N. and Boughton, T., Flypast, A Record of Aviation in Australia, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1988; Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld), Mon 15 Apr 1929, Page 9, "LIEUTENANT ULM'S LOG"