MINISTER TO LONDON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23952, 30 October 1939, Page 5

MINISTER TO LONDON

HISTORIC TRIP

RAPID AIR JOURNEY MR FRASER’S ARRIVAL ASSURANCE OF SUPPORT (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, Oct. 27. Mr Peter Fraser faced a battery of cameras at Victoria Station at the end of his historic air dash, resulting in his arrival a fortnight after his departure from New Zealand to represent New Zealand at the conference of Empire Ministers to discuss co-ordina-tion of war measures. The trip would have taken 11 days, except that it was considered wise to travel overland from Marseilles.

The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (Mr Anthony Eden) warmly greeted Mr Fraser. The gathering of notable persons on the platform included the Duke of Devonshire and Admiral Bromley. The party was remarkably fresh despite its hard travelling. Mr Fraser was full of praise for the comfort of the Tasman air cross-

ing, and paid a tribute to the efficiency of the handling of the Aotearoa by Captain Burgess and his crew. Mr Fraser said he was unable at present to comment on his mission in detail. The discussions would be most important for New Zealand, but he awaited an indication from'the British Government as to the exact. nature of the subjects for review. “Even after this brief acquaintance of Britain at war. I cannot help being impressed with the calm bearing of the people, he said; Within five minutes of its arrival at the hotel the party was fitted with gas masks. The wholehearted support which is being given in New Zealand to _ the Empire’s war effort was emphasised by Mr Fraser later in an interview. “There was never any doubt as to where New Zealand would stand/ he said, “and the unanimous vote of the Dominion Parliament declared New Zealand on the side ,of Great 1 Britain. The entire .productive resources of the iDbminion are at the disposal of the IBritish ■ Commonwealth. - The first batch of New Zealand’s forces is now l.n: training, ’and others will soon ,be called, up., Naval units will be pro'.j/tdfcflJ Air rForce;: recruits„• are being trained. * 1 • ,-, ■' ~ ,■. Mr Fraser anticipates that he will l>e in London for three weeks. A BIG TASK VALUE OF PERSONAL CONTACT fPEB United Press Association) ;f. WELLINGTON. Oct. 29. Commenting on the task Mr Fraser -bad before him in London, the Prime Minister (Mr Savage) to-day emphasised the value of personal contact “ Personal touch,” he said, gives the Government a better opportunity of co-ordinating in what it is doing, m this case it has a big job, perhaps the biggest job it will ever be called upon 1:o do, and it is desirable to have representative men on the spot to discuss things and see for themsleves what is actually happening. No matter how well you try to do things by cables and letters, they are never done so well as by personal contact.” Mr Savage said the job ahead of them was a big one. and it was easy for misunderstandings to crop up. even through the best of intentions. It was desirable to have men meeting so that there would be no misunderstandings. “We have tried to make it. plain we are going the full distance with the British Commonwealth,” he added. “ and we want to be sure that it is expressed in our actions right through. Mr Savage was unable to say how long Mr Fraser expected .to stay in London. “ I have told him to stay there while there is a job to be done.” he said. THE OFFICIAL TARTY ARRANGEMENTS DURING ABSENCE (Per United Press association) WELLINGTON. Oct. 29. Mr Fraser is accompanied by Mr C. A. Berendsen. permanent head of the Prime Minister’s Department; Colonel Stevens, secretary of the Organisation for National Security: and Mr J. T Waugh, his private secretary. The party left Wellington on October 11 for Auckland and flew to Sydney by the Aotearoa arriving after a good crossing. The secretarial work for all of Mr eraser’s portfolios during his absence will be carried on from the Minister’s office by Mr P. J. G. Smith, private secretary to the Minister of Education. CANADIAN DELEGATION ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND (British Official Wireless) ' RUGBY. Oct. 28. (Received Oct. 29 at 11 p.m.) The Canadian delegation, beaded by the Minister of Mine? and Resources (Mr T. A, Crerar). has arrived in England for an interchange of views and information on questions of supply and defence.

TASMAN FLIGHT

WEEK-END JOURNEY TRIP IN AOTEAROA SWIFT, SMOOTH TRAVEL A week-end in Australia has been made possible by Tasman Empire Airways and the flying boat Aotearoa. Passengers who left Auckland on the morning of Friday. October 13, set a new week-end fashion by spending a full day and a-half in Sydney and being back in Auckland in dme for lunch on Sunday. They had travelled nearly 2500 miles in comfort and safety, making a double crossing of the Tasman high above the storms for which that sea is notorious and enjoying every moment of a journey that marked an important stage of development in New Zealand transport. The flight to Sydney was notable for several reasons. The passengers included the Acting, Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) on his way with an official party to attend the Empire war conference in London, and by choosing the Aotearoa to travel to Sydney Mr Fraser became the first New Zealand Minister to fly the Tasman. Also among the eight passengers were two women, Mrs Fraser and Mrs T. J. Waugh, wife of Mr Fraser’s private secretary, who became the first New Zealand women passengers to fly from the Dominion to Australia. Finally, the flight was memorable because it was the first on which passengers were carried by air across the Tasman on a commercial basis. Breakfast in Comfort Memories of earlier flights, -ct the ambition of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith to see a transtasman service, and of the fate of the original Aotearoa, flown by Hood and Moncrieff, came back to the passengers as the 21J-ton flying boat rode easily above a Tasman Sea that from 8000 ft showed a dimpled surface through low-lying cloud. But for cheerful conversation, books and magazines it would have been a lonely journey, with blue sky meeting darker blue sea on an indefinite horizon, and the unchanging scene robbing the travellers of any sense of speed, or even of movement. Hail rattled sharply on the metal hull as the Aotearoa sped under a dark cloud, but there was sunshine and clear air on the other side, blue sky meeting blue sea again, and the wide wing and shapely body of the flying boat cast a tiny shadow that dunced on the water. Breakfast, was served, and passengers, comfortable in the warmed cabin and sntig with heavy rugs and foot-muffs, drew tip to the tables as the steward took their orders. This was no picnic meal, but a breakfast that would have graced the table of any hotel. And so steady was the ship that not a drop of coffee was spilled from brimming cups. Eclipse of the Sun The world outside grew dark, and passengers thought timorously of the Tasman’s reputation for storms. Instead of early morning sunshine growing brighter every moment, the sky became grey, and the sea lost its lustre. Clouds that had been fleecy became leaden, and a passenger touched the switch of the wall-lamp by his seat. Looking backward, past the tall rudder, one of the travellers suddenly remembered that a partial eclipse of the sun had been forecast, and there was a sudden rush to the windows to see the sun partly hiddbn by shadow. Almost unnoticed the muffled roar of the four Perseus engines was a steady monotone, lulling most of the travellers to sleep in their deep chairs. Two hours later most of them woke to find the steward waiting with coffee and biscuits. Idly they looked down and found that clouds had appeared between ship and sea. The impression of solitude was heightened now, with the flying boat alone in an empty sky, and not even a seabird for company. Surprise for Ship Books, a game of cards, and a visit to other travellers in different cabins served to pass the hours for those who stayed awake. Then it was lunch time and again the steward appeared with his' neat, monogrammed table clothes and even more impressive menu. “That was, without exception, the. fastest meal I have ever had,” Mr Fraser announced, when somebody told him that he had lunched at 150 miles an hour. •, A young officer, trim in his blue and gold, came down from his mysterious sanctum above, where the crew- keep the ship on her course, and tend their faithful motors. “A ship has been sighted” he said, “and we will pass over her in a few minutes." From the sky the passengers watched, and under the wing slid a toy freighter. Perhaps those on board her mistook the Aotearoa for an enemy, because suddenly the ship changed course, zig-zagging away from the imagined menace. Tiny men ran aft, to where the ail travellers imagined they could see a gun mounted, and then stopped to stare at the flying boat’s friendly registration numbers. Aeroplane and Warship A Royal Australian Air Force machine flashed her silver wings as she turned to dive and bomb a floating target, the second reminder for passengers that there was a war. A third was the misty shape of a large warship. seen vaguely in the distance, and then Australia seemed to leap from the sea. Botany Bay, and behind it the vast expanse of red roofs, and the spidery span of the Sydney bridge, slid over the horizon, and the Aotearoa. her airscrews whispering, glided down to the smooth water of Rose Bay. For a day and a-half passengers enjoyed Sydney hospitality and then, at 4 o’clock on the Sunday morning, they were back in the Aotearoa. With her motors roaring and her curved bows throwing a creaming wave into the darkness, the ship sped over the black water, and passengers watched the flicker of the floating flares that marked the runway. Airborne in half a minute, the monoplane turned across the millions of blazing lights that marked Sydney’s streets and buildings, and then headed out into the darkness, fastened firmly to safety by the invisible chain of radio. Speeding Homeward With a friendly wind to speed her home the Aotearoa cruised easily at 10,000 feet. Breakfast time came, and then mid-day, and only once did the machine change course, to greet a lonely steamer plodding along nearly two miles below. Any qualms that might have been felt on the westward journey had disappeared as experience proved the comfort of air travel, and passengers smoked, read and chatted with rarely a glance beyond the cosy cabin. Over the vague horizon a dim shape came slowly, the long white cloud that welcomed the Maoris on their pioneer voyages, and that is still there to tell the air traveller that New Zealand is in sight. The Aotearoa was nearly home to the land that gave her her name, and it lacked four minutes, to eight hours after leaving Sydney when her hull brushed thf waters of the Waitemata.

SAFETY IN AIR

SCIENCE AND SKILL NO LONGER AN ADVENTURE EFFICIENCY OF FLYING BOAT Precautions taken for safety in modern commercial aviation were vividly brought home to passengers who flew from Auckland to Sydney and back in the flying boat Aotearoa between October 13 and 15 Members of the crew were bombarded with questions relating to the machine and its navigation, and it was gradually borne upon the travellers that flying is no longer an adventure. Science and technical skill have made it a business, and one that will play an increasingly important part in New Zealand’s life. Since the Aotearoa carried almost a double crew, the extra officers making the trip for purposes of training, there were always experts available to reply to eager inquiries, and passengers were able also to see for themselves how dangers have been overcome. Both women passengers, Mrs P. Fraser wife of the Acting Prime Minister, and Mrs J. T Waugh, wife* of his secretary were keenly interested both in the accuracy of the navigation and the manner in which ample reserve of power made it possible to forecast the time of arrival to within a few minutes. Huge Petrol Consumption Motorists on board had visions of petrol-coupons when they learned that the Aotearoa used about 1000 gallons of fuel to fly from Auckland to Sydney. and a similar quantity for the return journey. They were also grateful for the modest appetites of their family cars on being told that the tank feeding each engine with lubricating oil held 30 gallons, more than enough to supply the ordinary motorist for two vears. Mysteries of the constant-speed prooellefs. which vary the pitch of the blades in response to .throttle movements. and virtually act as a gearbox does in a motor car. also impressed the travellers. There was comfort if ii was needed in the knowledge that although the journey was of only about 1200 miles, enough fuel is carried to give the Aotearoa a range of over 2000 jniles, a margin to satisfy the most ‘imorous passenger. Power of Engines All on board were impressed by the manner in which the four big engines lifted the Aotearoa off the water in about half a minute. The explanation came Igter. when an engineer told the oassengers that there was a total of 3600 horse-power available to whisk the weight of 21i tons into the air. and that' at normal cruising speed the horse-power drawn from the engines was between 2500 and 2800. A crust of ice. gradually building up over the leading edge of the wing, round the carburettor intakes and all over the bracing wires for the wingtip floats, could be clearly seen. Passengers understood then how ice can in gome circumstances bring a machine down dangerously low, and in a few minutes they learned how a pilot can rid his craft of this unwelcome burden. At a slightly lower altitude, free _of the moisture-laden clouds, the machine flew into warmer air, and the ice melted steadily, until the Aotearoa was free of the extra weight. Advance Precautions Passengers had been told to expect a fast trip, with a fair amount of cloud and good flying conditions. The forecast was fulfilled to the letter, and this called for an explanation of the mysteries of meteorology. Those on board learned of the weather maps, of the reports carefully collected from half a hundred centres, and of the skilled scientists who plotted the course in advance. Some of the elements of navigation were explained, and passengers found themselves speaking learnedly of azimuths, bubblesextants and radio bearings. Regret was general among the travellers when the flight ended. All agreed that their experience had converted them to air travel, and one spoke for the party when he said: I would like to be going again tomorrow.” The Aotearoa’s crew was as follows: —Commander, Captain J. W. Burgess; first officers. Messrs W. J. Craig and F B. Chapman: second officers, Messrs C. A. Macdonald and G. R. White; flight engineers, Messrs A. S. Peek and E. R. McNamara; radio operators, Messrs G. W. Cussans and A. C. Whillans; flight clerk. Mr R. A, Phillips; steward. Mr L. G, McMillan.