NAME OF MENZIES ALREADY FAMOUS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19272, 8 January 1931, Page 1

NAME OF MENZIES ALREADY FAMOUS.

MADE 20,000 MILE AIR TRIP OVER AUSTRALIA. BROADSIDING EXPLOITS UNDER ASSUMED NAME. (Special tto the “ Star.”) DUNEDIN, January 8. Shooting kangaroos from the air with success, a 20,000 mile flight covering the greater part of Australia, taking passengers for flights, climbing 12,000 feet to clear a dust storm and a crash on a golf links at Sydney—these are some of the adventures of Mr Guy Menzies. A Dunedin woman who knows Mr Menzies and his family well speaks of him in the highest terms. “ Though daring, he is a fine young fellow,” she said, “ tall and well-proportioned. He is a well-balanced and thoughtful young man. Having always taken an interest in motoring, including broadsiding, he turned his attention to aviation, his father presenting him with a Moth ’plane in which he made some excellent flights.” Twenty-two is the age of Mr Menzies, as given by the Dunedin woman. Guy is the son of a well-known Macquarrie Street specialist and the grandson of a former Postmaster-General of Australia named Mr Lambton. An uncle held high rank in the navy. Discouraged by his people from taking part in broadsiding, Mr Menzies rode his motor-cycle under the assumed name of Don Kaye, whose exploits on the cinder track gave Australian newspapers something to write about. It. was not till his identity was discovered that Guy gave up broadsiding. A 20,000 Mile Trip. “ Airmen’s thrilling experiences in long flights outback,” is how the Sydney “ Sun ” headed its account of the 20,000 mile trip by aeroplane made in 1929 by Mr Menzies and Mr W. 11. Molloy. The paper stated: “A few thousand miles is nothing to these Australian airmen. Pilot Menzies and Mr Molloy returned to Sydney after a business flight of 20,000 miles, covering nearly all New South Wales and the greater part of South Australia and Queensland with hardly a thought that they had done anything out of the ordinary. But 20,000 miles is close on three times the distance covered by Kingsford Smith in his last round-Aus-flight. On one stage outback between thirty and forty camels were seen strung out in single line on their way across country that had not a blade of grass or tree for hundreds of miles. Near the Queensland border the airmen spent some time taking passengers for flights and shooting kangaroos from the air with great success. Danger in Dust Storm. “ They had a very nasty experience in South Australia wheh caught in a dust storm over rough country about fifty miles from their destination. Pilot Menzies had to climb 12,000 feet before he was clear of the dust, which he described as a hundred times worse than clouds. They flew on at this height until Pilot Menzies was sure he had reached the landing ground. He circled for some time, hoping the dust would clear and give him a view of the ground; but after waiting two hours his petrol supply got low and he decided to come down through the dust, which was so thick that nothing was visible until he was less than 500 feet from the ground. Pilot Menzies missed his mark by only two miles. “On an urgent taxi flight from Bourke to Wilcannia, the aeroplane attained 190 miles an hour, and flew over country never crossed before. The whole flight, which took almost six months, was completed without straining a bolt.” Not His First Mishap. The crash on the West Coast is not the only mishap Pilot Menzies has had in his flying career, for the New Zealand papers of December 27, 1929, had the following cablegram from Sydney: “ Taking oft" in a choppy wind from the Urunga golf links, a Gipsy Moth ’plane crashed, and was burned. Its owner-pilot (Mr Menzies) and a passenger (Mr Walters) had a narrow escape. Mr Menzies got free, but Mr Walters was rescued with difficulty, as splashing petrol from the tank took fire, and burned fiercely. Both men suffered slight burns.”

flyer passed over GOOD LANDING PLACE. According to Flight-Lieutenant 11. M. Buckley, Menzies passed over one of the best landing grounds on the West Coast when he came in from the sea over Okarito. The lagoon along the sea at the point where Menzies hit the coast is separated from thq ocean by a broad strip of mud fiats, which, according to Flight-Lieutenant Buckley, offers as good a surface as any »crodrcmo. The flyer probably would not see the beach, or, if he did, probably decided that it was not worth risking a soft surface. I light-Lieutenant Buckley has flown in the district round Ilari Hari, but did not land there. “I could have landed there.” he said this morning, but the chances of getting out again were small.” CITY’S CONGRATULATION. rr Tl ” s ™°™ in S the Deputy-Mayor (Dr 11. 1- J. I hacker) telegraphed to Mr Menzies offering him the city's congratulations on his epic flight anti safe landing, and extending to him a cordial invitation to stay in Christchurch. AIR FORCE MACHINES WILL NOT GO TO COAST. , ~.^ ir r , Force machines will go to T1 6 ' ootn° ast to " -elc °me Mr Menzies presents a problem, and t he rffci t l’r at * he nearest landing ground *? Ha :' lari 1S 2 6 miles awav makes useless over ° lf a machine rather