Metal Part Brought Out Of Bush

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30144, 30 May 1963, Page 15

Metal Part Brought Out Of Bush

(New Zealand Press Association)

INVERCARGILL, May 29. A small, twisted piece of alloy with various other metals attached was brought out of the Mistake creek area of Fiordland by a 10-man police and civilian search party today. The piece of metal, measuring about* 4in in length and an' inch or so wide, was first found by two trampers at Easter. The two men, Gerald Oldenhof and Gerald Bok, both Dutch immigrants, today rediscovered the piece of metal where they had cast it aside op the rock bank of Mistake creek.

Police believe this piece of alloy may be a clue to the discovery of the wreckage of a De Havilland Dragonfly aircraft which went missing somewhere in Fiordland about 15 months ago. However, several other theories as to where the metal came from were put forward tonight by Captain I. Ritchie, of Ritchie Air Services, Te Anau, who operates a Dominie aircraft which is similar to the Dragonfly, and who has an extensive knowledge of Fiordland.

Mr Ritchie examined* the metal at Te Anau. He said it looked like an aircraft component but would not necessarily have come from an aircraft. Much war surplus, radio and other aircraft gear had been sold and some of it used by deerstalkers and trampers. That could account for the metal being found where it was.

Mr Ritchie also suggested that the metal could have come from mechanisms used by aircraft in supply dropping.

He said this was his personal opinion only. It was learned later that an aircraft engineer employed by N.A.C. at Invercargill rebuilt the missing Dragonfly aircraft immediately before Captain Brian Chadwick, its pilot, took it over.

The piece of metal which is at present in the possession of Senior-Sergeant J. G. Williams, who led today's* search, will be shown to this engineer probably tomorrow. The 10-man search party struggled through *l2 miles of Fiordland's most rugged country in drenching rain to retrieve the piece of metal. A bid by seme members of the party to flfid pieces of plywood, found by another traipper, some time ago, failed when time ran out.

Three members of the party climbed to about 4000 ft—well above the snow line —In an attempt to find the plywood which may also be connected with the missing aircraft.