MISSING AVIATORS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 48, Issue 81, 16 January 1928, Page 6

MISSING AVIATORS

WARSHIPS FtND NO TRACE. SEARCH BY SEA ABANDONED. , PARTIES OUT IN MOUNTAINS. (Per Press Association.) ■ WELLINGTON, January 15. The Minister of Defence (the Hon. F. J. Rollaston) received a message from Commodore Swabey on Saturday night that an area of 2400 square miles had been searched by the three ships, H.M.S. Dunedin, H.M.S. Diomede and Toia, without discovery of any trace of the missing men or their aeroplane. A later message stated that a heavy sea was then running, which would effectually destroy before daylight on Sunday any wreckage that might still be afloat, and that any further search at sea was considered useless. In view of this the Minister agreed that the warships should return to Auckland and that the Toia should return to Wellington. WRECKAGE ONHILLSIDE.

AN UNFOUNDED REPORT. WELLINGTON, January 14. The Secretary of the Post and Telegraph has received the following state-; znent by telephone from Mr G. S. Phillips, forest ranger, Kaitoke : I. have to report that I have seen > what I consider might be the remains of an airship on the slopes of Omega, close to the Greytown-Otaki track, two-thirds of the way up from the Tauherenikau River "swing-bridge. The objects have the appearance of a tent, two feet wide by four feet high. Number two has the appearance of a grey, white, flat-looking. object. The distance is about ten J miles by a-ir line, and the bearings are from Bayonet Trig roughly ten degreet east of north. This is in a line with Otaki and Featlierson. Smoke was observed in green bush between the headwaters of the Kerekere and Snowy Creek at 4 p.m. on January 13 for.half an hour. Kerekere is on the other side of the Hutt River from Kaitoke. - WELLINGTON, January 15. The rumour that a 'plane was seen off the Otaki district on. the hillside is now discovered to be unfounded.

SUPPOSED SMOKE SIGNALS. . . ! y'\ '. - . DUE TO SCRUB FIRE. WELLINGTON/ January 14. Further reports regarding the supposed smoke signals on the Tararuas go to show.they were probably caused by a scrub fire. Similar smoke' was seen two days ago. The police in the district have taken no further action. Search parties are out in that direction and would have seen the smoke and, no doubt, reported if necessary. Both the Post Office and the police have investigated of smoke signals seen rising in the hills behind Levin and are of the opinion that they come from a scrub fire on the property of Robbie Bros, on the heights above fhakara.

ADDITIONAL REPORTS. WELLINGTON, January 15. The Secretary of the Post and Telegraph "Department received the following additional messages relative to reports • concerning the missing aviators :: 7.50 Saturday evening, from postmaster Jit Shannon: "The police interviewed Mr Robbie, who states that the smoke was from a scrub fire on his propert v, there beinf no other fire in his locality-" ' •, 10.30 Sunday morning, from postmaster at Dan nevirke: "Police state that late last night a resident of Dannevirke reported that he and his family saw tmoke'on the Ruahine Ranges in the direction of Ruaroa at six on Wednesday morning, .which appeared to be signals. He did not report earlier, as he expected he would be ridiculed. This morning several residents of Ruaroa report that they can discern some object on the ranees which* is unfamiliar,' A party of six or seven set out at 10 a.m. to investigate. The police also are starting for the sjcehe." 10.S0 Sunday morning, from chief postmaster, Nelson : —"Gollingwocd reports last night re fire investigations show it has no connection with the missing aeroplane." The {secretary of the General Post OJiice is advised by the postmaster at Levin that a party searched the Mangahao valley and traversed the ranges to the top of Mount Dimtdas, five thousand feet. They found nothing The weather was blaak and owing to dense fog and sleet the country further back could not be explored. The postmaster at Westport reports that the beaches have been searched and several mysterious happenings investigated without result. The stretch between Oparara and Heaphy River will be searched on Monday. The postmaster at Nelson, is arranging for a search between Ivohauranga Point and Patarau River. The master o'f the schooner Fairburn passed close to the coast on Wednesday and saw nothing of the airmen. He thinks the fires reported are hush fires, net signals.

SEARCHING THE HILLS. SIGNAL LIGHTS SEEN. WELLINGTON, January 15. The completeness of the mountain search organised, from • Wellington _ in the hope of finding signs of the missing eviators commands admiration. Over 200 men have voluntarily undertaken hard tramps in the roughest country hoping to pick up signs of Lieutenant Moncrieff and Captain Hood, or at lease prove to the bottom the remarkably numerous reports that a 'plane lias been, heard or seen in the area from Levin on the west coast, to Mastertan and the east, and towards Wellington. Tin's triangle, all mountainous, is being tramped by numerous

small parties, each with at least one experienced tramped in charge, and all) in touch and under the direction of the president of the Tararua Tramping Club (Mr F. Vosseler). To-day a party of trampers who had gone into the Tararua. range at Otaki Forks, on the west side, were search-, ing the slopes of Mount Omega, owing to a report by a forest ranger at Kaitoke that he had seen something resembling a tent, two feet wide by four feet high, and a grey-white, flat-looking object/" The search party had made a traverse of Mount Hector, but while on the high country on Saturday afternoon there was a thick mist, today's' weather is fine in that area. They were intercepted before returning, and the Defence Department sent up food and a powerful telescope, so that this report may be thoroughly tested to-day. Additional searchers went from Wellington at- midnight on Saturday to reiTrt'orce this party. During Sunday they reached Bayonet Peak, from which a view could be obtained of the position. At first the fog was too thick, but it eventually cleared, and Forest-Ranger Phillips, who had made* the original report and was with the search party, telegraphed that the objects were located, but the glass was not good enough to see them clearly. All the party agreed that they are iwo white objects with a space between. They decklod to go to the actual spot, and at 1.30 this afternoon seven persons left Featherston. They have arranged to put up a smoke signal at 10 a.m. on Monday if help is needed.

Signal Lights in Hills. A great stimulus was given to the search organisation when a message .vas received from Kahutara, on' Lake Wairarapa, from Messrs Stewart and Church, two well-known farmers, who stated that they were out with other persons catching eels in the Jake late on Saturday night, and saw coloured Sights over "the hills to the westward, it was pitch diark, and they could not be mistaken about the natur* of the lights. Careful note was taken of the direction, and this morning the bearings were, checked with the mountains, and the conclusion arrived at that the lights had been seen between Bull Hill arid Mount Mabel. Accordingly a search party was organised to-day to explore this area, which is rough and mountainous.

Those who have been in touch 'with the two farmers stiite that they are sensible, observant men, whose action in taking bearings indicated that they had something definite, certainly something which must be investigated, especially as it is reported that one of the last things put into the 'plane at Richmond was a box of flares, which an observer at a distance might describe as coloured lights. j Another report of smoke signals comes belatedly from Ruotora, near Dannevirke, from which point a farmer believes he saw smoke signals in the Ruahines on Wednesday night. He did not report the matter, because so many statements were being published, and he feared he would simply bt classed as imaginative. However, in view of the serious position, and thinking over the matter, he considered it his duty to communicate with the authorities, and a search party, including police, has gone into that neighbourhood from Dannevirke.

BAD WEATHER HINDERS SEARCH MASTERTON, January 15. Bad weather on the Tararuas drove out the search parties from Masterton, who have been 'looking for any traces of the missing airmen. The range from the Mitre to Mount Holdsworth has been enveloped in a heavy cloud-bank since Friday, and visibility is poor, which completely negatived the work of the searchers. WELLINGTON, January 15. There is nothing to report concerning the missing airmen, weather conditions making search impossible, the high places being completely enveloped in mist. It is windy, and there has been rain.

BELIEF UNSHAKEN.'

ARAHURA'S STEWARDS' STORY. WELLINGTON, January 15. The four stewards-- on the steamer Arahura remain unshaken in their belief that they saw the light of the aeroplane on Tuesday at 11.13 p.m. They regard it" as the exhaust from the engine, and say they kept it under observation for three minutes. They could hear nothing, but they say that the noise on a steamer the size of the Arahura was sufficient to drown the noise of a 'plane as distant as this one. They estimate the distance as' probably eight miles. The light moved from a point ahead of the Arahura to-a point astern, and could not possibly have been the light of a scow on account of the speed of its-movement.

QUESTION OF SIGNALS. STATEMENTS DISCREDITED. WELLINGTON, January 15. Mrs Hood discredits the statements that her. husband did hot know the Morse code. She declares it would have been impossible for her husband to have qualified as a captain in the Royal Air Force without being able to satisfy the examiners that he had a practical working knowledge of the Morse code. Even when he went annually to Christchurch to undergo refresher courses, she understood that practice in Morse signalling was part of the programme. Mrs Moncrieff also declared that Lieutenant Moncrieff had passed the qualifying test of a certain number of words' a minute. She was confident also of Lieutenant Moncrieff's navigational qualifications, for he had spent the past six months studying the subject.