Central Australia and Northern Territory trip

Cheers for that. I knew there must be a story about it – it looked to be a bit too carefully ‘placed’ to have arrived there under its own power.

Maybe this photo will help re the wreck between Katherine and Katherine Gorge. It is a Cessna 310 (VH-ANV) of Air North that was damaged in a refuelling accident at Darwin in October 1980 and put on ‘display’ here.

After a hiatus for others things, continuing the story:

The other must see at Alice is the Royal Flying Doctor Base, This is a short way from the old airfield, and is now operated as a visitors centre with organized tours. Radio room museum and cafe. No longer an operational centre, that’s now at Port Agusta.

After an overnight trip on the Ghan (in a sleeper but not lot of sleep) we arrived at the town of Katherine. The old airfield there is now operated as the Katherine museum, with appropriate signage

The original strip is still quite evident, last used for aircraft in 1975

This is the airfield where Dr Clyde Fenton operated his own Flying Doctor service in the mid to late 1930s and his original hangar is still standing

Inside the hangar is the first of his DH60 Gipsy Moths, VH-UNI. Bought by Fenton in early 1934, he crashed it at Victoria River Downs Station in May 1934. The remains were later retreived, taken to Darwin, and rebuilt in 1937. The aircraft then passed through private owners until being grounded with engine damage in 1987. It was taken to the museum in 1989 and has been on display since.

The accommodation for the passenger is quite spartan!

Fenton was quite a stroppy character. His beef with the RFDS was that they chartered their aircraft from QANTAS, and would therefore only operate from licensed airfield. Fenton would fly into any convenient paddock, and also pioneered the idea of flying his missions at night so that the rivers and tin roofs of the homesteads would then show up clearly in the moonlight. Brave man. I bought his book, it’s well worth a read.

In contrast, about five miles further out of Katherine, I spotted this relic at the side of the road, providence unknown:

Alongside the Kookaburra Memorial, at what was the Alice Springs town aerodrome, is the Central Australian Aviation Museum. This is housed in two hangars, the original Connellan Airways structure and a newer one.

Inside the Connellan hangar are two aircraft, Beech D.18S VH-CLI and CAC Wackett Trainer VH-BEC:

The Beech actually has a NZ history, arriving in New Zealand in 1957 to serve with the short-lived Trans-Island Airways Ltd., Oamaru as ZK-BQE. Spar damage from an incident suffered during the delivery flight from the USA grounded the aircraft for some time, and after repairs were completed it went to Australia in January 1960.

The Wackett was lost after a compass error during a cross-country flight in 1962. The aircraft was recovered in 1977 and restored for museum display.
This hangar also contains a number of engines and other aviation memorabilia.

The second hangar is dominated by a DC-3 painted up in Connair colours as VH-EWE. The original EWE served with Connellan from 1973 to 1977 and after a period with a McDonald’s Restaurant is still extant in South Australia. The Douglas on display here is actually ex VH-EAL,VH-EBH,VH-EBW,VH-BAA and VH-BBA.

Alongside the Douglas sits DH Dove VH-DHH. This aircraft spent it’s entire life with the Northern Territory Aero Medical Service.

Connellan started his airline with a fleet of two Percival Gulls, VH-ACM and VH-UVA. UVA was lost in a crash and ACM is still active elsewhere in Australia. Proctor IIA G-AHAZ / VH-AVG has been repainted as VH-ACM to represent this period of local history:

Up and behind the Dakota, hanging from the rafters are to smaller aircraft – a SchneiderES-52 Kookaburra glider VH-ANM and a Kelly Sport microlight:

To one side of the hangar, Auster J-1/B Aiglet VH-ASQ sits on some high beams. This was last airworthy in the early 1980s, and was flown locally at around that time.

Outside the complex, on a post, is DHA3 Drover VH-FDC, looking a little weatherworn:

Strangely, throughout the whole visit, there was absolutely no mention of the 1977 incident where a disgruntled ex-employee of Connair flew a Beech Baron into the buildings and killed or seriously injured a number of people. See:
http://www.bushmag.com.au/History/The%20Silent%20Grief%20of%20Alice%20Springs.htm

more to come

Moving on to Alice Springs, the old town airfield hangars are now the site of the Central Australia Aviation Museum. (The sealed runway is now a road, Memorial Avenue).
As you enter the museum site, a small building on the right is the Kookaburra Memorial.

Nothing to do with the feathered variety, the Kookaburra was a 1927 Westland Widgeon III c/n WA.1775 which was sold new into Australia and allotted the registration G-AUKA for owner Keth Anderson.
Anderson was a friend of Charles Kingsford-Smith, and when Smithy failed to arrive at Derby on a flight from Sydney on the 30th March 1929, Anderson and co-pilot Hitchcock went looking for the lost aircraft in the Widgeon which, at that time, had not been issued with a CofA.
Engine trouble forced the Widgeon to land undamaged in the desert 128km SE of Wave Hill Station about 18S 132E on 10 April 1929. The crew were able to repair the engine fault, but scrub and soft sand defeated their efforts to take off again.
Search efforts found Smithy on the 12th April (the Southern Cross was able to take off again once the landing area dried out) and the Kookaburra on the 21st April, but by then both Anderson and Hitchcock had died at the site.
Later ground parties removed the bodies but the Widgeon remained in the desert. Scrub fires destroyed the wood and fabric from the airframe, and after considerable effort the wreck was rediscovered by John Haslett and Dick Smith who arranged for the retrieval of the wreckage to be displayed ‘as found’ in this small and poignant display.

As found in the desert 1929:

Northern Territory Library.

Model of the Kookaburra on display at the museum:

More to come.

Thanks for the report – at least you weren’t trying to transit LAX, even worse…

The next issue of Australia’s Flightpath magazine will have a photo of a Waco by Ayers Rock in the early 30s, as supplied by a reader.

Well we have returned from a most interesting – and on two occasions frustrating – trip.

The flight AKL-SYD with Qantas went well, we were ticketed at Auckland through to Ayers Rock airport. Picked up our bags to clear customs at Sydney, got through that OK and then the fun started. The Qantas domestic transfer at Sydney airport is a complete disaster. We had two hours to make the transfer, and we needed every minute of that and more. Huge queues, few staff, and arrogant and inefficient screening procedures. Since we were already ‘checked in’ for the domestic flight, why do we need to check in again? That’s just the way it is, fella.
Racing through the domestic terminal with the final boarding call assaulting our ears, I did glimpse the Avro 504 replica through a glass wall but I had no chance of getting a better look at it. Thanks for nothing Qantas. Better luck next time.

Ayers Rock Connellan is 737-capable, and commemorates Australian pioneer aviator Eddie Connellan who pioneered airline services in the Alice Springs area. Although Connellan Airways operated flights into Ayers Rock/Uluru it would seem unlikely that he ever used the current airfield as this dates only from 1982 and Connellan sold out to East-West Airlines in 1980.
Outside the terminal there is a memorial to him comprising a Heron propeller and a commemorative plaque:

The original airfield used by Connellan was right at the base of Uluru, and was apparently known as the ‘four winds’ as it was quite normal for all the windsocks to be indicating in different directions (no doubt due to eddys caused by the rock itself). Connellan Airways became known as Connair in 1970, and this painting of the scene at the original airfield would have been created at around this time:

I have marked the location (from information supplied by the locals) on this photo taken during a circuit over the site in a 172:

The houses at the lower right were the original town, but now comprise the indigenous people’s settlement. The current resort is out of picture to the right.

More to follow as I get the photos sorted.

…
– Central Australia Aviation museum located in the old Connellan Hangar, which includes wreck of Keith Anderson’s Westland Widgeon G-AUKA ‘Kookaburra’

Is this the wreckage that HAD been displayed at Panorama Guth (before the 05 fire) in Alice Springs? I’ve got a shot of this particular wreckage somewhere in my ‘stash’ of travel pics.

Thanks to all you guys (including JDK) for help in steering me in the right directions. Don’t you hate it when you get back home and someone says “You went all the way there and you missed seeing ….. !”

Have a great time. I’m sure OzFuryFan can arrange for some interesting Darwin extras… 😉

Well that has certianly given me something to go on with.

Mark, I will certainly chase up those relics at Sydney Airport, I understand that we come in on International and depart Domestic.

OZFURYFAN can you give me more info on the Corsair please? I know nothing about that and would like to follow it up. We have one un-booked day at Darwin on Tuesday 14th July and I have contacted the Darwin Aviation Museum about visiting that day. Is it there or elsewhere?

The Fenton thing at Katherine gets more and more fascinating. The Moth in residence is VH-UNI but as has already been pointed out, there were others.
Fenton was apparently quite a character, will a low threshold for officialdom as per this snippet from the pprune forum:

“Katherine was home base for Dr Clyde Fenton, ca 1934-1939. He was a one man band medico/pilot in his succession of DH Moths, for Clyde had a great propensity for walking away from crashes, immediately resuming the fund raising for his next one. Clyde’s “Flying Doctor” is one of the funniest books of it’s kind ever published. One time on a stinking hot day he took off from DN for KT. In the front was the KT hospital matron. After an hour or so bouncing around Clyde was concerned to see her head and shoulders moving round vigorously. No voice tube and no radio needless to say.

Clyde hands her a note “You alright?”

Back comes matron’s note. “Yes. I am now thank you. Now that I’ve got my blessed corsets off.”

Hard book to come by. The Central Australian Air Museum in ASP had a few copies recently. Contact Perry Morey. (He, incidentally, is an authority on the life of the late Clyde. Has an unpublished bio.)

Clyde waged a ceaseless war of telegrams and cables to and from the Civil Aviation Branch in Melbourne. When they sent him one saying that his aeroplane was grounded forthwith and his licence suspended, he replied

THEY ARE ROUND AND THEY BOUNCE.

FENTON.”

As is usually the case, the Museum and associated literature assumes that VH-UNI was his one-and-only aircraft. I have tracked down some photographs on the net:

He must have patched up his disputes with the authorities as the Fox was apparently supplied for his use by the State Government. That’s him standing beside it.

We shall see what we find.

Thanks to all you guys (including JDK) for help in steering me in the right directions. Don’t you hate it when you get back home and someone says “You went all the way there and you missed seeing ….. !”

Here are some poor quality mobile phone pics of the Avro 504K and Qantas Heritage Collection in the Domestic terminal at Sydney

Regards

Mark Pilkington

Ah, well. No – you can’t get to anything much in an hour… There used to be a Qantas Avro 504 replica in Sydney airport, IIRC. Not sure if it still is or where in the airport now.

Sydney airport is split into a domestic and an international terminal, I assume that although you will enter from NZ via the international terminal (or does the lack of visa’s allow the flight to enter as domestic??) you will certainly be departing from the Domestic Terminal.

The Qantas Avro 504 Replica is on display in the main Qantas Domestic baggage/check in area of the Domestic Terminal, ie on the public side of the security scanners, it is well worth seeing with close (but behind the rope) viewing, walk around and photo access, this replica apparantly has an original Sunbeam and cowling fitted according to the display board.

Inside the Qantas domestic terminal (ie on the air-side of the security scanners) is the Qantas Heritage Collection, with models, photos and artifacts including two rare WW1 engines including an RAF Engine and a Beardmore, as well as a Merlin from a Lancastrian, along with many other interesting objects on display.

I easily consumed an hour looking at both the Avro 504K and the Heritage Collection.

If I can get my bluetooth link from my mobile to pc to work I will try to post some blurry pics.

In regards to Clyde Fentons DH-60, I understand the Katherine Outback Heritage Museum holds the original VH-UNI

DH60 VH-UNI purchased by Dr Clyde Fenton for 500 pounds then operated as flying doctor from Katherine. (He operated four DH60s in all, VH-UNI, VH-UJN, VH-U01, VH-UQV and a DH83 VH-UZS) In this aircraft on 20 May 1934 he was making a night flight from Ord River, WA to Wave Hill with Dr W G Woolnough but was unable to locate the beacon and made a precautionary landing with the throttle linkage broken. He took off without Woolnough next morning. He discovered he was 10 miles from Victoria River Downs but crashed and walked to the station. Woolnough was collected by a ground party

Stuart McKay’s excellent DH60 Moth reference lists s/n 1431 DH60M 1929 VH-UNI as a survivor with the Royal Flying Doctor Museum – Katherine.

Interestingly VH-UQV, also a DH60M also survives under restoration in Victoria.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

If you gents make it to Darwin don’t forget the Corsair under resto here,it has a NZ connection and is lookin’ pretty good so far (other peoples comments,not mine:diablo:)Pete

Thanks Mark, I wasn’t aware of the current Camden situation.

The airport – and the town? – are still called Ayers Rock apparently. The edifice itself is Uluru. Thats why I used the wording I did in my original post.

Fair enough. The reason for using ‘Uluru’ is to move away from the use of Ayers Rock – and use the local name. (Ayers Rock is the name for the now-removed to outside the park accommodation centre – not a town, and the airfield is Connellan Airport. The visitor centre will have that name for the entrenched obsolete knowledge of the tourists.) It will will change back to the original name, it just helps if people show some respect. Personally, I feel it’s a matter of manners by guests (among whom I count myself) and pushing back a driveby naming by an Anglo-Saxon for a person who never even went there.

If anyone’s interested in the place, a bit of research on the history and behaviour expected (and, sadly, actual) of visitors is also a good idea.

One could start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru

http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/index.html

Respecting the wishes of your hosts as a visitor always seems like a good idea to me. (Except for eating the ‘local-delicacy-only-served-to-tourists’. 😀 )

Coming into Oz from AKL through SYD, but we only have about 1 hour there before the connection flight leaves according to she-who-must-be-obeyed’s comprehensive flight plan. Even I couldn’t see much in that time. Anyway, we checked out the vintage scene at Sydney and Melbourne a few years ago.

Ah, well. No – you can’t get to anything much in an hour… There used to be a Qantas Avro 504 replica in Sydney airport, IIRC. Not sure if it still is or where in the airport now.

Next time, take a bit more control of the planning, and we might show you a good time in Melbourne. After all, our P-40F is still an ‘F’ and flies. 😉

Any clues on the ID of Fenton’s DH60?

Now that IS a mystery. No serial coming up on a quick interwebby search. This PDF is interesting, and shows it’s an original, associated aircraft:
www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/…/194_katherinemuseum_SUB.pdf

I’ll see if any more info comes up, and post here if we do find something.

Anyway, let us know how you get on!

Cheers,

PS, I’m sure you meant to say ‘thank you’ somewhere? 😉

Soulds like the best of it, at a glance. Can’t think of any other vintage aviation items there. (BTW, it’s generally regarded as polite to call it Uluru these days, rather than Ayers Rock.)

The airport – and the town? – are still called Ayers Rock apparently. The edifice itself is Uluru. Thats why I used the wording I did in my original post.

As I don’t think you can fly international to Alice, whichever city you’ll be flying through to get there will have aviation museums – Melbourne or Sydney, I’d presume, if you are coming from En Zed. If you have time there they could be visited as well. If you are coming in from the north, too bad!

HTH

Coming into Oz from AKL through SYD, but we only have about 1 hour there before the connection flight leaves according to she-who-must-be-obeyed’s comprehensive flight plan. Even I couldn’t see much in that time. Anyway, we checked out the vintage scene at Sydney and Melbourne a few years ago.

Any clues on the ID of Fenton’s DH60?

Camden is still closed,

HARS and Fleet Air Arm are both worth seeing, but quite a drive south of Sydney, if you time your visit to sydney on a weekend you may be able to get access to see the Camden collection by prior appointment subject to dates, or co-inciding with the volunteer days:

Personally I would pick Camden over everything else in Sydney if you can arrange access:

STAY IN TOUCH
While the Museum is temporarily closed for maintenance of the building and collection, we would like to keep you up to date on our progress. If you would like to join our emailing list and receive updated information, please complete the following form and/or submit your contact details via our Contact Us page.
CURRENTLY CLOSED
The museum is currently closed to the public, however private viewing by appointment (subject to available dates) can be arranged by contacting Nicole on 0447 778 020 .

The Camden Museum of Aviation is located at 11 Stewart St, Harrington Park (formerly Narellan). We are 8 kilometres from the Hume Highway – expressway turnoff, and only a few hundred metres from the intersection of Narellan Rd and Camden Valley Way (near McDonalds restaurant Narellan). We are down the road from the Candy & Sweets store opposite McDonalds).

VOLUNTEERS INFORMATION

Volunteer Day
Sunday 21st June 2009
10.00am to 4.00pm

For regular volunteers we will start the day at 10.00 am with a Briefing for the day’s activities and to sort out our work groups. Could any new Volunteers please turn up at 9.30 am to go through an OHS Induction!

BBQ lunch & drinks provided

If you can spare a few hours your help will be appreciated. We have lots of cleaning to do, relocation of engines in the hanger, and moving of spare parts into permanent storage.

Gloves, protective clothing and footwear are required!

For further information please contact Nicole on O447 778 020

Regards

Mark Pilkington

Beaver trip from Rose Bay is highly recomended – especially the take off and landing amongst the popular sailing club/school!! – great way to see Sydney!

As JDK said get yourself to Melbourne!!:)

HARS is now open seven days a week – (9.30 to 3.30 I think.)

What to do in Sydney?

Get to Melbourne as quick as poss? 😀

I also intend to cross the Tasman in the next couple of months, entering via Sydney. I will be going out to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross, this time hoping to spend a little time in the reading room. The Powerstation museum has a couple of items of interest to me as well.
Anything or anywhere else you can suggest?

Good start – they’re the best two, IMHO. If you are off to Nowra by car, you’ll be passing HARS at Illawarra, worth a look if they’re open. Camden is still closed, and I believe the Bankstown collection is on the move. The Maritime Museum, well worth a visit in central Sydney has a RAN chopper on show, (Wettex) and is a good museum to see anyway. Rose Bay, the old Qantas Empire boat terminal, is easy to get to by ferry, but apart from a couple of plaques there’s nothing historic to see there – however you can go fly in a floatplane Beaver.

The Powerhouse museum has several historic aircraft – Dick Smith’s round the world Bell Jetranger, historic PBY, Avro Rota (with a fascinating history) Bleriot and other cool stuff. The museum is, IMHO, very poorly laid out – you wouldn’t think it would take 1/2 hour to find a Catalina, but it did! Take advice as to how to find what you are after…

Interwebby searches for those organisations will help for details.

HTH.

What to do in Sydney?

James
I also intend to cross the Tasman in the next couple of months, entering via Sydney. I will be going out to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at HMAS Albatross, this time hoping to spend a little time in the reading room. The Powerstation museum has a couple of items of interest to me as well.
Anything or anywhere else you can suggest?