COBHAM’S SUCCESS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 6 August 1926, Page 5

COBHAM’S SUCCESS

AUSTRALIA REACHED.

EXCITEMENT AT DARWIN.

AVIATOR’S WARM WELCOME

BY CABLE —PBESS ASSOCIATION—CO ■> f£L!GHT DARWIN, Aug. 5.

Mr Cobham has arrived. After circling the H.M.S. Geranium, he touched the water off Mindil Beach, between Fanny Bay and the entrance to Darwin harbour. The whole town wa,s greatly excited when it was known that Cobham would land to-day, and almost the whole of Darwin’s population of between two and three thousand gathered behind the beach and round the aerodrome awaiting his arrival. The crowds waited hour after hour scanning the sky for the speck which would represent the aeroplane. When it was finally sighted rapidly approaching until even the figures of the aviators were visible, there was a great roar of welcome, which was sustained while the aeroplane circled the warship and finally settled in the water between the ship and the beach. The aviators were conveyed aboard the warship and welcomed by the act-ing-Administrator of the Territory and a numoer of loading citizens. The aeroplane wili be brought ashore, the floats taken off, and the wheels attached. It will then fly to the aerodrome, where it will be overhauled before the flight to Melbourne is resumed.

JOURNEY OCCUPIED 37 DAYS. DARWIN, Aug. 5. Cobham landed at three in the afternon. He was met by Colonel Brinsmead, Director of Civil Aviation, who will accompany him across Australia. Cobham’s journey so far has occupied 37 days, but the actual flying time is much less. He received many congratulatory messages, including one from Mr S. M. Bruce, Premier, on behalf of the people and the Government of Australia.

ANNUITY FOR ELLIOTT’S MOTHER. ToNDON, Aug. 4. Sir Charles Wakefield has arranged to pay the mother of Elliott, who was fatally shot by a native while flying with Cobham, an annuity of £IOO in recognition of her son’s heroism in the cause of British aviation.

AUSTRALIA AT LAST. AFTER MANY DIFFICULTIES. COBHAM’S STORY OF HIS TRIP

(Copyright to the Press Association) Received 10.20 a.m. to-day. SYDNEY, Aug. 6.

Mr Cobham telegraphs from Darwin: “Australia at last, and although we are. not half way on the round, trip, it was with feelings of great satisfaction that we circled over Darwin after a 500 miles flight direct from Koepang over the open sea Such a flight was a very lonelv task, and one gets a little anxious when the allotted time Iras passed on a calculated compass course and the land not in sight. However, after five and a half hours the land came into sight. _, ‘‘We have been over a month getting to Australia. We left Rochester at dawn on Jnn e 30, and on that day we covered 1200 miles over France and the Mediterranean to Naples. Had that spejed been kept up we would have been in. Australia some weeks ago, but many misfortunes were in store for us : After delays, we reached Mesopotamia, and when descending to Baghdad it was like going into a Lot oven, and the sudden change from the cool upper air made ns feel suffocated.

“Next day was tragic, for theni poor Elliott was shot, the bullet passing through the side of thei aeroplane and tli'o petrol pipe before striking him. We were flying low att the time, owing to ?j dust storm, and -I heard an explosion. I though something! was wrong with the machine, but it was the noise of an Arab’s rifle, aJ.few’ feet below. It was a great shock when Elliott died, and I felt like abandoning the flight. However, I decided tq carry on and do survey work on the way out aud not worrv unduly about speed, but find out tiie possibilities of the different seaplane air lines on the route. We purposely flew through the monsoon period in order to find out whether regular air routes could possibly be maintained in the monsoon period, and we feel convinced that, with a properly organised air route, with wireless communication for forward weather reports, we should have no difficulty in maintaining regularity. We feel sure that within the next five years there wall be a. chain of air liners from Britain to Australia. “A delay at Bunder abbas was caused by a heavy gale. We had to beach the machine and to stay up all night for five nights running, to refloat it at high tide, and to beach again when the tide went out. Then, on our way to Delhi, we encountered terrific sandstorms and great beat. From here onwards we got into the monsoons, but managed to fly between the storms to Calcutta . Thien we struck the force of the weather, and the trip to "Rangoon was the worst of all, there being practically no visibility. We doubted whether the air-cooled engine would, carry on in such a deluge, but it to make no difference. Finally we had to land in a creek and to enquire our’ whereabouts. A passing steamer with a, native captain had no maps; he could not read minfe, but I found out where he .came from and' where he was going. I thus knew my position, and twenty minutes later 'auded at Rangoon at last. “After more delay, we reached Batavia and flew along the Java coast in delightful weather. Many times we flew low over whales and sometimes swordfish. I tried to photograph thlc ocean bed through the transparent water. We continued our journey to Binia, where \ui saw two live dragons, being two prehistoric reptiles captured from th(e island of Komodos. This is the only place in the work! where these dragons are found. They are terrible creatures that tear their prey to pieces with their claws and swallow everything whole. When annoyed they spit forth, vile odours like the legendary dragon. “We had another good flight to Koepang, mostly over the sea route. We discovered an ideal seaplane base nearby at Dolphin Bay. . '•Comparing our flight with that of Sir Ross Smith, the knowledge gained on both: should make excellent survey materia 1 , because both were done at opposite seasons of the year, and one on an aeroplane and one on a sfer.plane. ■* “We hone to start on the return flight as soon as the machine is overhauled in Melbourne, and to fly as quickly as is possible and safe, to complete the air route survey and flying .propaganda.”