THE WINNERS' WORK.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 246, 17 October 1928, Page 20

THE WINNERS' WORK.

(Winning Entry by Eden Coombes,

Taumarunui, aged 13.)

The Southern ' Cross, that worldfamous 'plane, was being, farewelltdHundreds of excited New Zealanders were there to cheer her off. The popular Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith puffed at his cigarette, and waved and smiled at the people, who waved and smiled back. Mechanics for' whatever they are called) ran here , and there about the machine; there were many handabnlfoa and good wishes—and then we were ready. Before I quite realised it, we were travelling slowly forward, bumping a little, the three mighty engines purring loudly. Suddenly, as I looked out,

I saw the ground drop. We rose highe: and higher, the cheering pieople wavec wildly, and,' as we gained speed, I in stinctively grasped my seat. How, ! wondered, could Kingsford Smith remaii so calm, so coolly-triumphant,, while ] was madly excited, jbl little afraid, bul oh, so very, very proud? . y We were, by high among th< clouds, surrounded by clinging mist. A shiver ran through nie. It cold. We were leaving the landi Looking down, I could see the sun sparkling on the waters of the Tasman—rthe sea that "Smithy" had conquered! Our journey had begun in earnest. Again, I shivered. Oh, the snap of the wind as it whirled past—the cruel sting! Far below, miles and miles wide, grey and grim in 'places, twinkling silver where it was reflecting the sun, the sea was the only thing we had to look at. Hours passed. Long hours that became monotonous; the cold became intense, and rain fell. Always travelling forward, lashed with wind and rain, cut off from humanity, a feeling of inexpressible loneliness crept over me. The day died, and twilight fell. Bright polished stars came out, and twinkled. I -saw Kingsford Smith fjlancc at them, and wondered if lie thought of them as I did— cheery little lights. All through the hours of the darkness we sped on. I fell into a restless doze, and awoke in the early hours of the morning. It was dreadful, with the blackness of night enveloping us, and the cold wind still blowing. Very, very slowly the hours dragged on. A grey streak in the east heralded the dawn. From somewhere a beautiful golden haze appeared, setting fire to the shades of night, bathing the world in glory. Below, I could see the earth—we had reached Australia! All too quickly, now, we raced on, until, away below I could see the landing place, where a great gathering of people were waiting. Faintly, I heard them cheering. '

Swooping down like a gigantic bird, the Southern Cross was guided to earthj her successful journey over, her name

ainted on the walls of fame. As we liHbed out, stiff, cqld, and wet, we were mob" -cl. In the hour of liis triumph, 1 sympathised w,ith "Smithy," as I sought a cosy Ijc ! in a crowded hotel, for I, knew it wouM be some little time before liis admirers wou! Met' him go. I knew be was cold.

The last I saw oi him, as wearily 1 turned away, he was grinning cheerfully, I,e Mew a cloud of cigarette smoke ™,nnw e would not be W^ OU V hiß curette), and and saU«fit i « ut ?graph into an ardent ana satisfied admirer's book.

(Second, by Doris Brown, Fenton Street, Stratford,'age 14.) I was to be a passenger on the Southern Cross on her homeward flight a<yoss the Tasman. I thrilled with delighted anticipation every time I thought of it, and could not sleep at all. At last the j eventful morning arrived, and we were early at the Blenheim aerodrome. Smithy turned' to me. "Take my advice," he. said, betwer i puffs at his cigarette, "and go to sleep." "Oh, Mr. Smith!" I cried aghast. "How could- yoii advise me to sleep on a transTasman flight ? ' Will thie be an 'epoch-' making' one, I wonder t" He shrugged his shoulders. "If I'm anv judge of weather'it" will. New Zealand is a nice pjaee,;andall that, hut it's deuced hard to leave." After politely listening, to the uninteresting'' speeches of half-a-dozen important people, Who all said the same thing, we 'climbed aboard the Southern" Cross, the engines throbbed into a shattering roar, ;and in the glare of the searchlight we sped down the runway and took {off perfectly. - A wild cheer burst from' the assembled people, and, looking down, I* saw the people grow smaller and smaller in the dim'light. The land .quickly receded, and in a short time we were Over the Tasman. ' Nfiw.Zealand was a faint blur oil the horizon. Soon this, too, disappeared, leaving nothing but miles and miles of heaving ocean". Sometimes a cloud intervened, and then I amused myself by translating the messages that "Mac" sent out. The plane was sailing along smoothly—no electric storms or air pockets like those experienced coming oyer. I began to think Smithy's fears ill-founded. It began to grow monotonous—no sound save the click of the Morse tapper and the roar of the engines, no one to talk to—they were all too busy.

Ahead of us was a bank of leaden cloud. The Southern Cross began to rise till we were right over the storm. Ice formed on the plane. I was shivering in spite of my fur coat. The lightning was playing all round the propellers, and brilliant flashes lit up the cabin. I wondered why we didn't rise higher. Peering out, I saw that Ulm had left the second cockpit and was working frantically at the control wires. Down we plunged right through the middle of the storm. Litchfield had gone out to help Ulm. Smithy, steady of nerve, sat ready to shut off the engine as soon as it became absolutely 'necessary. Mac sent out messages for help, and I. could do nothing but wait. Subconsciously I deciphered the Morse. .S.O.S. Control wires jammed. Well Cross 8 " ° at 88 as PQ Bs iM e .—-Southern

levators were only .inclined at a f ''f so our descent was not very last, it was nerve-wracking to be slowly crashing tq the sea. The angry waves seemed to come up to meet us. Then wires succeeded in fixing the wires. The engines roared at full speed, and we soared.upwards just as a wa\e touched the wheels and sent them spinning round at; a terrific rate. The wireless sent ncws;^,^ ;^cA Smithy turned and grinned. - "A eloso shave," he yelled futilely. , After that we encountered only a cor pie of squalls and a few air-pockets. I almost felt like dosing off to sleep when a searchlight stabbed the air in front of

us. The hum of our escort of aeroplanes came above us, then I saw that we were flying above an enormous crowd of wildly cheering people. The Southern Gross swooped down and taxied to a standstill in the glaring light. There was a tremendous roaring all around us.

"Wake up, you silly fool!" said Kingsford Smith. "IH put this wet sponge down your back," said Ulm.

"I'm not asleep at all," I replied indignantly.

"Then shake it up, or you won't see Kingsford Smith fly over this morning," said my brother, dropping the aforementioned sponge down my hack. "It's nearly 7 o'clock."

(Third by Amy Brown, 76, Ardmore Road, Ponsonby, age 16.)

Dear Mother.— I know that you will be anxious to hear all about my wonderful trip across the Tasman. Yesterday we landed here in Sydney, after a trip that lasted a little over twelve hours. It was a little before dawn when we received an intimation from Dr. Kidson that the conditions for the next twentyfour hours would be ideal for the projected flight. Accordingly, after a hasty meal we drove down to the aerodrome, were a huge crowd was waiting, having' received in some strange fashion the nsws of our impending departure. The huge machine was all in readiness, and the flyers and myself were soon in our places. The lasfr good-byes were said, a roar arose "from the crowd, and the huge 'plane began to run slowly across the field, gathering speed as it went. Then Kingsford Smith, who was in charge, touched the joy-stick, and I felt a moment of panic as the earth fell away beneath us. But this soon passed as I saw that we were sailing smoothly through the air, with the roar of the engines in our ears. The sun was just coming up over the eastern horizon, and the wind that (whipped our faces was cold and keen. Suddenly, we rushed without warning into a cloud bank, and for the next'few moments were engulfed in wet, clinging mist. Then we emerged, and, glancing down, I saw a wonderful sight. ' It was as though we were flying over vast snowlields, for beneath us was a mass of fleecy clouds, that looked as soft and yielding as cotton wool.. On, on, we swept, and by this time the sun had fully risen and Was sending its warm rays over the sleeping world! Glancing out, I saw that we were passing over a range of dark, forbidding hills', splotched with black shadows where the sun had not penetrated. Then we had passed over them, and were flying over a sunlit plain, dotted here and there with houses, while here and there a village nestled. Away in the distance was a blur which I took to be a town.

For .some little time I refrained from glancing out, and when at last I looked again I was surprised to see that we were ovef the Tasxnan. AH'that was to be seen was a mass of grey, tossing waters, stretching as far as eye could see.

All that day the Southern Cross raced on, hungrily devouring the miles that lay between us and Australia. Occasionally I could see the wireless operator tapping out messages, and my mind leaped ahead with them through the air, to where the crowds awaited our arrival at the Sydney aerodrome. - Sometimes w« plunged Into cloudhanks; once we passed through a rainstorm, but still we raced on, until at last darkness fell. It was a wonderful sensation to be spee:llri'.? over a world hidden from us by tii•> i'ii\?loping darkness. * °

Then, suddenly, oat of the blackness ahead darted a thin gleam or light. "The searchlights!" I thought; and knew, that my wonderful adventure was nearly over. But I had no time for regrets, for soon we were darting down through the darkness towards a row of lights. •.* -■> At last the machine gave a little jar, and began to trundle along the ground' before it finally came to rest. As I was assisted from the 'plane, I was wearily conscious of but one thought: I had helped to reconquer the Tasman, that cruel monster which had already taken its toll of lives— and I breathed a sigh of relief as my feet once more tpi; plied blessed terra firma.

(Fourth by Flora M. Soar, Seacliffe Road, Onehunga, age V.) The morning the Tasman airman came t6 Auckland I was so late for school aud the teacher told me to stand in frout and tell the class all about their coming. I told them I had touched Kingsford Smith's plane with my hand, and how I did wish it was the Southern Cross.

I didn't think .then that I was going back across the Tasman with the brave airmen. *

We left Blenheim before it was quite daylight. It took my breath away, like a swing, when we started to mount very high. The day came on lovely and bright, as the Government man said it would. I felt so happy as we kept flying along. I felt like Mr. Ulm said they did on their way from America, as though. we were riding on top of the world.

Mr. McWilliam let me poke the wireless messages through to the pilots on a stick, which was great fun. When night came I began to feel so tired, as there was nothing to look at, and then 1 began to feel frightened, and wish I was at home with my mother. We were in a storm, and the thunder and lightning came so close to us. I cried and shivered, but no one could take any notice of me. I thought of what I did at home at night when it thundered, so I hid by head and asked God to take care of us.

The next thing I remembered I was in Mrs. Ulm?s arms, on the ground. I am not going to cross the ocean again in an airship until lam big. lam only going to hear about them from the newspapers and listen over the wireless.