First Air Mail Arrives in Sydney

Horowhenua Chronicle, 30 April 1931, Page 8

First Air Mail Arrives in Sydney

NEW ERA IN EMPIRE COMMUNICATIONS. Received Wednesday, 9.20 p.m. SYDNEY, April 29. The first English air mail arrived at Sydney by the air liner Southern Sun to-day and opens a new era in Imperial communications, the trip having occupied twenty-five days. The Melbourne portion of the mail was transferred to ‘ the Southern Star which is expected to arrive in that city this evening. MAIL ARRIVES IN MELBOURNE. Received Wednesday, 11.0 p.m. MELBOURNE, April 29. The Southern Star, with the British air mail, arrived at 3.55 p.m. Southern Cross Leaves for Singapore ' Received Wednesday, 9.50 p.m. SOURABAYA, April 29. The Southern Cross yesterday afternoon was welcomed by a large crowd. It started for Singapore this morning. The plane stuck in the mud, but with the assistance of soldiers it finally got away at 9.40 a.m., local time. PRESS EXPLOIT ARRIVAL. Received Wednesday, 10.40 p.m. SYDNEY, April 29. With the arrival in Sydney of the first British air mails, which event was marked by an interesting official ceremony at the Mascot aerodrome this evening, the evening press here printed a series of splendid pictures of aeroplane activity at Darwin and Koepang, and also the badly-damaged City of Cairo, group photographs showing the pilots of the ill-fated air liner, Dutch officials and natives, and the inhospitable scene of the crash at Koepang. The Sun also publishes an epitome of news from the London papers of the date of the City of Cairo’s departure on April 4 for Australia. One item relates to the purchase by Queen Mary of an attractive painting of St. John’s 1 Westminster, by Mr. J. H. Young, who is described as a former member of the staff of the New Zealand Press Association in Sydney. TO AUSTRALIA AND BACK IN 21 DAYS. Received Wcdnesdav, 9.0 p.m. LONDON, April 29. Captain Neville Stack, with Mr. J. R. Chaplain, left at daybreak x in an open two-seater from Lympne in an endeavour to fly to Australia and back in 21 days. Interviewed, he said: “Kidston has shown the Post Office how the air mail services to South Africa can be improved. We hope to point the same lesson and even go a stage further. We may beat Scott’s magnificent record on the outward flight, but that it not our object. Our motive is really to demonstrate the urgent necessity of a regular fast service to the eastern portions of the Empire. It is useless using comparatively slow machines for mails. It is possible to run a regular mail service to Australia in ten days instead of tho present 15 in the experimental schedule. What a single machine ean accomplish, relays of men and machines can out-do easily.” Chaplain was aide-de-camp to Lord Byng when Governor-General of Canada, and comes from a millionaire Vancouver family.