WONDERFUL FLIGHT

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 225, 19 June 1936, Page 7

WONDERFUL FLIGHT

England-Australia By Air PASSENGER’S STORY “Wonderful, memory-haunting flight,” is the way in which a recent passenger on the Imperial Airways’ service from England to Australia describes the journey, "Your air-liner ascends smoothly,” he says. "The Croydon airport vanishes below, and away behind you lies the smoke pall over London. The Surrey hills, appear ahead —then the fields of Kent. Soon you see the Channel in the distance, reminding you of a vast sheet of quicksilver. Out over the sea you fly—vessels far below looking like toy boats on . a pond. Now the coast of France is slipping past beneath, and as your air-liner heads for Paris you glimpse a network of fields and woods on either side of roads lined by poplar trees. Soon the Baris airport can be seen beneath. Then comes a train link to Brindisi, with France and Italy unfolding themselves beyond the windows of yotir wagon-lit. At Brindisi a flying-boat lies read for the air crossing to Alexandria. This is one.of your most delightful stages! Corfu with its superb coastline! Athene! The enchanting blue of the Mediterranean! Then comes Alexandria, and on to Cairo —where you enter one of the big landplanes, ascending to gain a bird’s eye view of the Pyramids and of the desert as you wing your way upward. “So on to Gaza, and on. over hallowed land—that wonderful Biblical country of Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, the Dead Sea, and the Jordan Valley. Presently, away in the distance, appears Rutbali Wells, which looks just like one of those desert forts one reads about in ‘Beau Geste.’ After this you fly on over desert country. Then comes Bagdad—‘Jewel of the East.’ On beyond Bagdad you are over desert again. There is a magnificent view of the ruins of that wonderful Arch of Ctesiphon; after which you approach the legendary site of the Garden of Eden. Then comes Basra, and you find yourself flying s on down the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf. “Here, now, is Koweit—with camels filing slowly into the gates of the town and Arabs in their flowing robes; then Bahrein with its picturesque pearl-ven-dors. The triangular sails of fishing boats can be seen as you fly on down the coast. Then you reach the rest-house and fort of Sharjah, with its square towers and Arab sentries. On again, you are soon looking down on the Gulf of Oman, with flocks of birds far below. Now the coast curves, and on beyond Gwadur you sight the famous ‘Cathedral Rock’—standing out as such a landmark along the coastline. And so to Karachi, famous airport of India. On beyond Karachi you pass over flat-topped hills and deserts. Then comes Hyderabad with its high-walled fort. Desert again now, and after this Jodhpur with its splendid hotel. Delhi comes next, and very impressive it looks as you gaze down on it from above. Then, after Cawnpore, you” fly high above the Ganges; and so to Allahabad and Calcutta. “ “From Calcutta you proceed via Akyab, Rangoon, Bangkok, Alor Star and Penang to Singapore. All these stages are full of interest. You look down on fascinating panoramas of jungle, sea coast, and rice fields. From Singapore you fly above islands and winding .waterways ; and then on over the coast of Sumatra. Jungles and streams appear in all directions. After which comes Palembang with its red roofs. Now you are looking down on swampy jungles, after which the cost of Java appears, and the views change to beautiful islands with cocoanut palms. Boats with white sails appear ahead; then you sight the luxuriant foliage and red-roofed houses of Batavia.

“Your next stage finds you en route for Sourabaya. Picturesque mountains alternate with cultivated land; after

which you fly over country which is more rugged and wild. Across the Bali Strait your air-liner passes. Thon comes Rambang, and after that you are making for Koepang. First you skirt Sumbawa Island with its wooded hills. Then you pass over further islands with native villages clustering in kampongs. After this there is the Java Sea, and not long afterward Timor Island appears in view. Now. the bay of Koepang lies below, and you alight at Koepang to be waited on by attentive Javanese boys. Aloft again, you are over the Timor Sea. On and on, your engines running smoothly, until away in the distance a faint streak appears on the horizon. Australia is in sight! “After a halt at Darwin you fly . on over bush country to Daly Waters, tiny, lonely station. Beyond Daly Waters the land grows more open and pastoral; but while heading for Brunette Downs the country is seen to take on a dry, desertlike appearance. Then after this, for mile after mile, the country extends m flat pastoral land. The last stages of your flight are completed in swift succession—Normanton, Longreach, Charleville, and finally the end of your aerial journey at Brisbane. More than 12,000 miles in a great trans-Empire air voyage which is unique in the scenic and other wonders it unfolds !”