FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18832, 21 March 1931, Page 21 (Supplement)

FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA.

ACCOUNT OF AIK JOURNEY. BY FLIGHT-LIEUTENANT OWEN. Members of the South Canterbury Aero Club had the opportunity last evening of hearing Flight-Lieutenant H. C. Owen give an account of his recent flight from England to Australia. There was a good attendance of members, Mr B. Saunders presiding in the absence of the president (Mr S. D. Mason). Flight-Lieutenant Owen, who hails from Melbourne said that he set out in 1928 with his companion, Moir, their intention then being to be the first Australians to fly from the Commonwealth to England. Others had flown from England, commencing with Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith, and he wanted to be the first to make the journey the other way. However, just when it appeared that they would succeed they crashed just outside of Athens, and this frustrated their hopes. He traced the route they took on the way out, going along the central inland route in Australia to Wyndham before hopping off across the Timor Sea, and proceeding to Batavia. On the way to the latter place they broke their journey, and landed a Sourbaya, 400 miles short of their objective. Proceeding on their journey, Batavia was reached and their next hop was to Singapore, and thence they flew to Victoria Point, in Southern Burma. In continuation, of their flight, they reached Agra, where they were royally treated by the inhabitants, being decorated with garlands of flowers and feted generally. Flight-Lieutenant Owen said that the reception here had a sequel, and this was that he had his wallet stolen, and he landed in London absolutely "broke.” Going on to Karachi they encountered a terrific sand storm the sand being encountered at an altitude of 5000 feet. Next they crossed over to Bundar Abbas, and on arrival they found that the law of the country provided that no one could fly over it without a permit to land. The commanding ofßcer of the forces wanted to know why they had landed these, and

Molr told him that It was on account of the sand storms. He could not . understand this, and said, "If Lindbergh i can lly the Atlantic why could you not ' fl y fr om Bundar Abbas to Boshire?" He forgot, said Flight-Lieutenant Owen, that the Atlantic does not throw up a lot of sand storms. Arriving at Cairo, , they proceeded along the North : African coast, and stayed a night in a small town, being housed with Gypo soldiers. "The plaoe was absolutely alive," said the speaker, "and it was . useless to try and kill the things—there were millions of them. All we could do was to wait until daylight." They crossed to Athens, and It was Interesting to see the shipping in the Mediterranean, Including vessels belonging to the British Navy which were carrying out manoeuvres. Following the coast of Corinth on the way to Athens, they encountered some bumpy air passages. He had heard a lot of the flying conditions in New Zealand, but New Zealand could not turn on the bumpy conditions that were experienced In Corinth., Arriving at Athens, they landed in a more or less sea- of mud. None of the Greek officers could speak English, and they had only a smattering of French. Eventually a mechanio from the ranks was sent to them who spoke English. This came as a surprise, but what was amusing was that Moir asked this man: "Can you speak English?” and the man answered, “No, I can’t speak English, but I sure speek American." (Laughter). Next morning they Intended setting out for Rome, but they got into some mud, and the machine was damaged, and all that was saved of It was the engine, which was sent back to Australia. So ended the attempt to fly to England They proceeded to England by rail across the Continent, and spent three months visiting places of interest, including the premises of aircraft firms and enginemakers. Having made their arrangements, Flight-Lieutenant Owen said they prepared to return to the Commonwealth in a Vickers biplane, a single engine job, constructed entirely of metal, without a particle of wood. It was regarded as the most efficient type of machine in the world at the time. They took oS at Brooklyn, and ftew to Bolynne, and thence across to France. They tried to see something of the battle fields but they were all under cultivation. The cemeteries were beautifully kept. In continuation of their Journey they passed east of Paris, and all they saw of the city was a ha2e of smoke. They followed the course of the Rljine to-

' wards the south of France, passing snow-capped mountains, and landed at Marianne, a small place close to Marseilles. (They sought lodgings at a dingy hotel, but were told they could not be accommodated, but a couple of francs did the trick, and a couple were turned out to make room for them. The next hop was to Rome, where they put up at splendidly equipped aerodrome. Flight-Lieutenant Owen said that from what they gathered the Italians were very keen on aviation, and had a Continental air mail service. The day they landed was a Customs holiday and there was no one to check the machine and books. “The only meal we had," said the speaker, “was about a mile and a half of spaghetti, and being hungry we enjoyed it.” From Rome they passed on to Naples, and then down the foot to the toe of Italy, and then struck off for Malta, and landed at the aerodrome of the Royal Air Force. The next stage of the journey was to Tripoli, A distance of 400 miles, and this was the only section where they experienced a tail wind, with the result that the mileage was covered in 41 hours. They stopped at Mengazi, a place occupied by the Italians, although this was the centre of the Arab population. The Arabs were heavily taxed, and they were rebelling against it. In order to quell this rebellious spirit, the Italians used bombers, dropping a ton and a half of bombs on them at a time occasionally. The Arabs were hostile to bombers, and the fliers were warned against going the inland route, so they crossed over the Red Sea, They visited Marza Matruh, a scene of the exploits of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Going on to Amanu they flew over numerous Bedouin camps. The next stage was to Bagdad, and thence they flew to Karachi and Allahabad in turn. The Royal Air Force has up-to-date landing grounds to aerodromes at convenient places all along this route right to Calcutta. Coming to the last hop to Darwin, Fllgh-Lieutenant Owen said everything went well until nearing the country, when the engine commenced to cough, and the speed dropped from 80 miles to 50 miles an hour. Darkness came on, and they sighted the Cape Don lighthouse, and altered their course in that direction. They cruised round, and by the aid of grass fires lighted by the lighthouse people they saw 1 a pie>.e of land which had been cleared by the natives, and decided to land. This proved disastrous, in that they struck some stumps, and the machine was ripped badly, and they were both

thrown violently from the plane. Moir landed in some tussocks while the speaker collided with a stump and had a rib broken, besides receiving a number of Abrasions and losing much hair. Finally,'they were taken by steamer to Brisbane, and then settled down to civil life.

At the conclusion of his address Flight-Lieutenant Owen was accorded a hearty vote of thanks by acclamation.