WATCH ON COAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 272, 16 November 1936, Page 9

WATCH ON COAST.

POST OFFICE ORGANISATION. SCHEME WORKS PERFECTLY. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLIXGTOX, this day. What helped to create the impression that Mr. E. Clark's remarkable performance lii crossing the Tasnian 111 a single-engined 'plane was very matter of fact was the complete absence of rumour and incorrect reports of sighting Ills machine. This was largely due to systematic organisation by the General Post Office, which arranged that all offices throughout the Dominion on the coast with a westerly aspect should act |as observation posts, and the scheme worked perfectly. The official instruction was that any postmaster sighting what might be Mr. Clark's 'plane was immediately to put in a telephonic call to the Wellington office, where there was a complete description of the machine, though this was not provided to observers 011 the coast. Thus -they gave their descriptions without any unconscious bias 111 favour of a monoplane with a. red body and silver wings. Two boys at Puponga, near Cape Fare- ( well, had the thrill of being the first to sight Mr. Clark. Their report, which was carefully checked by the postmaster, was that at's.2o p.m. a 'plane was seen flying south-east at a good height through the clouds. As this report failed definitely to establish identity, the Post Office waited hopefully till , six o'clock, when, from Waikawa Bay, came another report which provided identification details beyond doubt, while the route right across Tasman Bay towards Blenheim gave further corrohora- < tion. The Picton postmaster was ad- t vised to keep a good lookout and 24 1 minutes later telephoned Wellington i that a monoplane with silver wings and 1 a red body had passed overhead, bound 1 south. ( The Blenheim landing soon followed, c and when Mr. Clark decided not to dis- f appoint the waiting thousands at Wigrapi the Post Office resumed its c watching, with the result that .the c 'plane's journey was traced over Kai- 6 koura at 7.40 p.m. and at 8 p.m. the > Cheviot postmaster reported the 'plane | c over Port Robinson. - 1