F.—l

There was a noticeable decrease in the number of vessels sailing from New Zealand for Great Britain via Cape Horn, there being a tendency, due, no doubt, to the fall in value of the American dollar, to revert to the route via Panama. Sailings via Cape Horn provide a good service for the despatch of mails to the Eastern States of South America. Due to the reduced sailings, it was necessary on occasions to revert to the practice of forwarding all mails for South America via Vancouver or via San Francisco. AIR MAILS. An outstanding event during the year was the carriage of mails by air between New Zealand and Australia. On the 17th February, 1934, Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm, flying the monoplane " Faith in Australia " from Muriwai Beach (Auckland) to Sydney, carried the first trans-Tasman air mail. The flight commenced early in the morning and finished in the late afternoon. To commemorate the occasion a special air-mail stamp was issued —see page 15 of this report. This special air-mail flight was followed in the succeeding month by one from Ninety-mile Beach (Kaitaia) to Sydney, performed by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in the monoplane " Southern Cross," and by a return trip AustraliaNew Zealand - Australia performed in April by Flight-Lieutenant Ulm in the "Faith in Australia," in course of which the first air mail Australia - New Zealand was carried from Sydney to New Plymouth. Details of the flights and of the mail-matter carried are as follow : —

In the case of the mails from New Zealand, an air-mail fee at the rate of 6d. per half-ounce per article was charged in addition to ordinary postage. Thus the minimum charge on a letter was 7d. In the case of the mail from Australia the same minimum applied, made up of an air-mail fee of sd. per half-ounce and postage of 2d. per ounce. In respect of the first and second flights, payment to the flight promoters was made at the rate of sd. per each half-ounce per article. In the case of the flight of the 14th April, Flight-Lieutenant Ulm's offer to convey the mail at the rate of 4d. per half-ounce per article was accepted. The balance of the air-mail fees was retained by the Department to meet the cost of the special arrangements required to be made, usually at short notice, on the occasion of each flight. In co-operation with the Defence Department and the Hawke's Bay Aero Club, special arrangements were made for the distribution by air within New Zealand of the air mail from Sydney which arrived at New Plymouth on the 12th April, thus expediting considerably the delivery of the greater portion of the mail, and demonstrating the value of an inland air service combined with a trans-Tasman service. When the " Faith in Australia " landed at the Bell Block Aerodrome, New Plymouth, at 11.53 a.m., other machines were in readiness to depart with sections of the mail for Auckland, Hastings, and Wellington ; and, in less than twenty minutes, all three machines were laden and had left for their destinations. The machine for Auckland, which left at 12.10 p.m. and arrived at the Mangere Aerodrome at 1.23 p.m., carried mails for Auckland and districts served from Auckland, as well as mailmatter to be returned to Australia. The machine for Hastings, which also left at 12.10 p.m. and arrived at its destination at 2.15 p.m., conveyed mails for Hastings and Napier as well as for other parts of Hawke's Bay and for the Gisborne district. The machine for Wellington, which left at 12.12 p.m., conveyed mails for Wellington and the South Island. After landing the Wellington mails at the Rongotai Aerodrome at 2.20 p.m. the 'plane left at 2.40 p.m. for Christchurch, arriving at Sockburn at 4.56 p.m. The mails carried by these New Zealand machines arrived at post-offices as follows : Auckland, 1.55 p.m. ; Wellington, 2.45 p.m. ; Napier, 3 p.m.. ; Christchurch, 5.10 p.m. A Hawke's Bay Aero Club machine carried the mail from New Plymouth to Hastings, and Defence Department machines carried out the northern and southern flights. The balance of the mail-matter carried by the " Faith in Australia " arrived at the Chief Post-office, New Plymouth, at 12.35 p.m. In view of the progress which has been made in the development of aviation, it seems almost unnecessary to record that the special trans-Tasman air-mail flights were carried out without mishap of any kind. Not at any stage was there cause to fear for the safety of the airmen or mails ; and there can be no doubt that these flights, considered with the non-air-mail flights that have been made, are an indication that a regular and safe air-mail connection between Australia and New Zealand can be looked forward to. In noting the support that was accorded the air-mail despatches, making them a financial success, it must not be overlooked that the patronage came principally from philatelists. In view of the keen interest and support of philatelists in the flights, special steps were taken in New Zealand to ensure that all correspondence was date-stamped, by hand, as perfectly as possible. Similarly, on the arrival of the air mail from Australia the correspondence was date-stamped on the back, also by hand.

14

Number of Number of Letters carried. Letters for Ti„ t „ TTliffht Machine Net Eeturri to FlyingDate. Plight. Machine. Weight. Country of time. Ordinni-v »egiS" Total Origin of urmnary. tered iotai. Flight. 1934. lb. Hr. min. 17th February Auckland-Sydney " Faith in Australia" 37,578 1,677 39,255 550 12,860 14 10 29th March '.. Kaitaia-Sydney.. " Southern Cross. 20,979 887 21,866 317J 8,583 13 25 llth-12th April Sydney - New Ply- " Faith in Australia " 37,869 2,102 39,971 515 13,033 16 46 mouth 14th April .. Kaitaia-Sydney.. " Faith in Australia" 20,935 1,254 22,189* 289 3,372 11 58 * 11,890 being returned to Australia.