Fiftieth Anniversary Of First Flight Over Cook Strait

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32382, 22 August 1970, Page 7

Fiftieth Anniversary Of First Flight Over Cook Strait

(By

W. H. WATMUFF)

A Piper Cherokee will take off from the Royal New Zealand Air Force base at Wigram on Tuesday morning to re-enact the feat of the little biplane which 50 years ago made the first crossing of Cook Strait in a flight from Sockburn to Trentham.

There to see the Cherokee depart will be 75-year-old Captain Euan Dickson, who 50 years ago to the day wrote his name into New Zealand aviation history by being the pilot of the Av r o 504 K biplane '(right) which made the historic flight in a time of 4hr 40min.

The distinction of making the first air crossing of Cook Strait fell to Captain Dickson by only a very narrow margin as the Walsh brothers intended to make a bid for the Cook Strait crossing the next day, flying south from Wellington. Today an estimated 2000 passengers cross Cook Strait by air every day. Yet on August 25, 1920, the feat was considered so momentous that suggestions were made in Parliament that a half-holiday should be declared to mark the importance of the event in New Zealand aviation history. Mail And Passengers On the original flight, Captain Dickson had two passengers Messrs C. H. Hewlett, the deputy chairman of the Canterbury Aviation Company, Ltd, and Mr J. E. Moore, the company’s chief mechanic.

impressed him with the absolute necessity of having the most reliable engines. “My thoughts constantly turned on the reliability of the engine when I saw 15 miles of water before and behind. This was the danger zone—the midway crossing of the Strait,” he said. Mr Hewlett also found the stunting over Wellington “most enjoyable.”

Mr Guthrey to civic representatives en route. Mr C. J. Collings, the Cherokee’s pilot (and the club captain of the Canterbury Aero Club), will pick Captain Dickson up at Rongotai (Captain Dickson will make his flight to Wellington in the comfort of an N.A.C. Boeing 737). The Cherokee will then fly to Trentham where Captain Dickson and the Cherokee will be met by the Minister of Transport (Mr Gordon) and other distinguished guests. That night he will be guest of honour at another reception. On Wednesday Captain and Mrs Dickson will fly to Blenheim to attend a civic luncheon in their honour. Later in the day they will return to Auckland where Captain Dickson lives. At both receptions presentations will be made to Captain Dickson to mark the occasion of the Cook Strait flight of 50 years ago.

Company Ltd. Captain Dickson had succeeded Cecil Hill as the Canterbury Aviation Company’s chief pilot These machines were powered by 110 horsepower Le Rhone rotary motors and although they had been test flown in England, they had done little other flying and were practically new. Captain Dickson said the Avros had a maximum speed of 85 m.p.h., their duration was two and a half to three hours, and they were the best type of aircraft for general purpose work, passenger carrying, joy-riding, crosscountry flying and stunting. It was one of these four, serial number D 6243, which was used by Captain Dickson to make the first Cook Strait crossing. It is believed that this aircraft was destroyed in a crash near Motunau on December 30, 1921, when the pilot, a

Lieutenant H. C. Grout; was killed. Captain Dickson will arrive in Christchurch, with Mrs Dickson, tomorrow to attend a reception to be held at the clubrooms of the Canterbury Aero Club. Among those present will be Messrs J. H. and H. O. Hewlett, sons of Mr C. H. Hewlett; Mrs E. B. E. Taylor, daughter of Mr J. E. Moore, who was a passenger on the first flight with Mr Hewlett, and representatives of all civic and aviation interests in Christchurch. Captain Dickson will watch the departure of the Piper Cherokee at Wigram at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. It will be officially bidden farewell by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr A. R. Guthrey). Thousands of souvenir covers, issued specially for the flight, will be carried as will a number of letters from

Mr Hewlett had earlier accompanied Captain Dickson on a land survey of the flight route to Blenheim. He said he had made the flight for an aerial survey which was made at the request of the Air Board in which it was intended to map out emergency landings en route. South-bound Flight Letters carried on the flight included one from Mr (later Sir) Henry Wigram, chairman of the Canterbury Aviation Company, to the Prime Minister (Mr W. F. Massey) and members of the Air Board. Copies of the “Lyttelton Times” were addressed to members of the Air Ministry, the Mayor of Wellington, and the editors of the Wellington daily newspapers.

A small consignment of mail was also taken aboard the Avro although no official record was kept of the actual number of letters. Twelve copies of the “Lyttelton Times” were taken.

Captain Dickson says he left Sockburn in a strong north-easterly and so made poor time to Kaikoura. He ran short of fuel and made an emergency stop at a farm on the Kahautara River flats where the Avro was refuelled from tins of petrol, secured after some effort. At Kaikoura the town turned out to welcome the three men in the Avro with tea, cakes and good wishes. On its way to Blenheim the Avro encountered fog and few people were at the town’s air field to welcome the aircraft.

On August 28 Captain Dickson left Trentham for the first south-bound crossing of Cook Strait, this time carrying mails for both Blenheim and Christchurch. The Avro left Wellington at 3.20 p.m. and landed at Blenheim at 4.25 p.m., where the Blenheim mail was handed over. It was intended to continue on to Christchurch the next morning but bad weather dogged the return flight to Christchurch. The Avro left Blenheim on September 4 and delivered mail to Kaikoura. Weather again held the plane back and Captain Dickson was not able to complete the flight to Sockburn until September 6. Captain Dickson today is a physically vigorous and mentally alert man who has been thrilled with the commemoration plans of his Cook Strait Flight Pilot’s War Service In the First World War he was an air ace credited with downing 18 enemy aircraft. He took part in 186 bombing raids, and was in charge of 110 raids. He was shot down three or four times. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Bar, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Croix de Guerre. Captain Dickson served his apprenticeship .in Sheffield before the First World War. He attended Sheffield University where he obtained his degree in engineering. In 1912 he first came to New Zealand to install, organise and conduct the engineering machine shop at Price’s Ltd, Thames. In 1915 he returned to Britain to learn to fly. He was commissioned in the Royal Naval Air Service and spent 18 months at the front Invalided back to England for health reasons he was reported fit after six weeks and was then posted as a flying instructor. He eventually had four instructors serving under him. He carried on this job until 1919. Limited Endurance While in England Captain Dickson had been instructed to select four Avro 504 Ks for the Canterbury Aviation

Wellington was unaware of the flight until the tiny Avro, coming from the south, was seen above the capital just before 2 p.m. Within minutes crowds began gathering in the streets, and to please them Captain Dickson put his aircraft through a number of falling leaf and stalling turns. Then the machine set off for Trentham where an advance agent was waiting at the racecourse with a smoke fire to give ground wind direction. Wellington Gaped Captain Dickson flew the Avro down low over the range, made a preliminary circuit around the racecourse, and glided down into the wind just as if he had been up on “a guinea flip.”

The arrival of the Avro at Wellington coincided with the assembly of Parliament ,and the legislators crowded out to watch it pass overhead. Soon after it landed at Trentham a telegraph boy delivered the first shoal of congratulatory telegrams to Captain Dickson, including one from Canterbury members of Parliament, and the Hon. J. G. Coates. The Government Meteorologist (Dr D. C. Bates) said at the time that Captain Dickson had shown great bravery in tackling the crossing and that “the event in years to come wHI be regarded in the same light as the coming of the Maoris in their war canoes.”

It had been intended to fly straight back to Blenheim from Trentham, but after lunch Captain Dickson, in view of the day’s flying, post poned it to the following day. Reflecting on the flight, Mr Hewlett said the trip had