HISTORIC FLIGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 August 1939, Page 5

HISTORIC FLIGHT

THE AOTEAROA READY TO DEPART

FINAL PREPARATIONS AT SOUTHAMPTON. CAPTAIN BURGESS IN COMMAND By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received This Day, 10.15 a.m.) LONDON. August 15. The ground staff of the Imperial Airways depot at Southampton worked for 2-1 hours without a break preI>a ring the Aotearoa lor her take-off. at dawn tomorrow, on an historic delivery flight to Auckland.

The final trial flight today proved that everything was shipshape and mechanics were employed well into lhe night on a last-minute check. Normal Empire air routes will be followed. The Aotearoa’s crew will' oe as follows: —Captain John Burgess, of Dunedin, who made the round flight in the Centaurus; first officer. Mr W. J. Craig, of Wanganui, who hud a meteoric rise after joining Imperial Airways in 1937. having gone to Englund on short service commission to lhe Royal Air Force; radio officer, Mr G. W. Gussans, of Belfast; flight steward, Mr R. A. Phillips, of Melbourne. The Aotearoa also is carrying as engineers Messrs R. S. Peek and E. R. MacNamaru. both of New Zealand, Messrs S. J. Bradshaw, of London, B. Knee, of Middlesex, and a technician, Mr J. Brown, of London. All will remain in Now Zealand. Captain Burgess as chief trans-Tasman pilot. The Aotearoa is on the slips tonight and nearby is the famous trans-At-lantic seaplane Mercury; also the sister ships Caribou and Centaurus, which arrived this morning from Basra, deputising in the mail service for the damaged flying-boat Australia.