LONELY ISLAND

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 151, 12 April 1950, Page 4

LONELY ISLAND

URGENT CALL FOR MEDICAL SUPPLIES AIRCRAFT MAKES SPECIAL FLIGHT (P.A.) AUCKLAND, April 11. Medical supplies urgently needed to save a woman’s life on the lonely Atiu Island, in the Cook group, were dropped at the week-end by a Douglas aircraft of the National Airways-Corpora-tion after a special arrangement had been made by radio. The aircraft was flown by Captain R. C. Barclay, of Auckland, who had with him Captain D. Carlaw, also of Auckland. A call for assistance was received by the Resident Commissioner’s office at Rarotonga while the Douglas aircraft Puweto was there in thfe course ef a routine flight. The message said that in the opinion of the resident doctor on Atiu the woman, who was seriously ill, would die unless medicines were sent with the minimum of delay. Because it cannot be opened in flight the passehger entrance door was taken off the Puweto at Rarotonga. The medioines were taken aboard in a speo ial insulated package, and the 160 mile flight was begun immediately. The runway on Atiu, which is too email to be used by the Douglas, was chosen as.the dropping point, and tin islanders, who appeared from the air to have dressed in their best specially for the occasion, were out in force to mark the spot with a cross of stones. Captain Barclay brought his aircraft as low as possible and as the aircraft crossed the runway the flight engineer, Mr D. Asprey, dropped the package. Its'receipt was later acknowledged by radio from the island.