OSCAR GARDEN.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20105, 8 December 1930, Page 13

OSCAR GARDEN.

welcome at timaru. JS ES'THUSIASTIC reception (SPICIAI. TO THE MESS.) TIMARU, December 7. a glorious weather, Mr Oscar Garde mifed in Timaru yesterday afternoo (roaDmiedin, and was given an en iasiastio welcome The receptio liich was giv«n him showed that th insert fully appreciated his achieve jat in the little Moth aeroplane, Ki Ora, ill lis flight from England. Promptly at 2.30 p.m., the Kia Or jrived from Dnnedin, and landed a as Aero Club's landing ground a Vashdyte, where there was a larg trowd awaiting Mm. Escorted by tw Moth aeroplanes, Mr Garden, who wa iteompanied by Captain Haig, pilot fo (lie Vacuum Oil Company, was met b; a Kew Zealand Air Force De Havi iud 50. Mr Garden was mot by th Iv-"- Tlmara (Mr "W. Angland), M son, president of the Soutl • brandf of the Canterbur; , and by- Mr, C. E. Kerr, ro ; tile Levels County Council !MB Department was Tepre i Captain G. B. Park, M.C. Major'H. McDonald, N.Z.P.S. officers and !3 n.e.o.'s of tin ne Gun Company. rien ma motored from "Wash I:inline Bay, and was accent the official car by the Mayoi asan. At the intersection oi ■Eviirstreets the party was e Timaru Municipal Band procession of cars t; Mtfe Reception. .'io<the Bay was lined crowd awaited th< at the Bay. Th< ffith him Mr Garden, Cap Cr S. D. Mason, and Cr. F r said that it was an hon riyilege, on behalf of the ugh Council and the citilome a distinguished aviahia home town. He conk Garden on his great ided that his splendid re- . only a credit to himself ra, but to New Zealand. It lat such a large gathering bje to -welcome Mr Garden icme town, and to express of what he had done, ty cheers were then given, f the Mayor. to reply, Mr Garden was prolonged applause. "I » how pleased I am to be he said. "I am in- ® receive such a welcome, ike you to»know that when i the difficult parts of my id always before me the 'Sunny Timaru' foremost He added that his present tie nature of a holiday was enjoying every minute anse.) singing of "For He's a flow," further cheers were extended a welcome ihg, who said that although ™ Oscar" only a few J the same opinion of him 'iial„ own him for years. "He ' t » trff 0 ' a^e< * the speaker, "and hi-if j,^ oo that is immensely New Zealand "»T®aru.» (Applause.) j, . Vialt to Tcmuka. l® t , he official party kHif T, ® r * a * ne d at afternoon tea *k4td a^er 'which he proW^ere a civic recep&j. Gnanloa) *° m a y° r Dinner. A «#a n \T. ailch of the Canterranh later entertained Mi; i me ntary dinner in ? " Tfle Mayor presides. 80 an,i representative gathtoast of "Our honoured with enI'PPretittei? +? 0r sa "* that he greatw! P rivUe 2e of being Mr Garden on his Mr Garden's at olS^ n^'o . not better th an, J? d Snutll and Hinkler, G « ? , m ore knowledge and Furth er, they hVial they had had greatT . he J?* tfdna t ad gamed would be. V l4{ loiw 011 ' as Ifr before air services throughout the coundidTh! n had achieved i Coun try towni anrt would serve ffle ai J encouragement , en throughout the Ti v maru Harbour l>*ialf a^so added a Ife the Harbour i>-n!7 ea ' 8 l aid that he t 8 onour which e ha d been sur-

ception at Timaru, and hoped that the enthusiasm of the citizens was an augury of their air-mindedness. He had a great belief in the future of aviation in New Zealand, and he took it as a really good sign that his flight had aroused such interest. Continuing, he said that he was more or less a child as far as aviation was concerned. In undertaking such a flight a man must have a good machine in which he had absolute faith, a knowledge of navigation, and ordinary care in preparation. No doubt there were several present who could have done the job just as well, if not better than he had done it. Before he commenced the flight lie had taken a ten days' course in maintenance and navigation, and he had read a few books about the latter subject. He had had experience of cross-country flying in England, and in none of his flights had he lost his way. He had relied on a standard compass and on maps, and a little bit on his head. In relating some of his experiences, Mr Garden said that the worst part of the trip was from Wyndham to Alice Springs, in "Western Australia, where the air had been terribly bumpy. In fact he was literally hanging on to his macliii ; to keep it balanced. At one stage he had landed about twelve miles from Aleppo, and the difficult nature of the country was shown by the fact that it had taken six hours to bring a lorry with petrol that distance. At this point repeated signs to the Arabs that he desired to drink

only resulted in the production of boiled eggs and more boiled eggs. He had been asked why he had landed at "Wyndham and not at Darwin. The reason was that he had saved over 100 miles over the sea, and, further, there was a series of coral reefs off the coast on which it would have been possible to land in an emergency. He had landed within five miles of "Wyndham after crossing the ocean, which was usually regarded as the most dangerous stretch of the journey. MISHAP AT DUNEDIN. FAULTY CONNECTING-ROD. (TB.ES3 ASSOCIATION" TELEGBiM.) DUNEDIN, December 6. It should never have occurred, stated Mr Oscar Garden, on his return from Invercargill, discussing the breakdown of the Kia Ora's engine when taking off from the Taieri Aerodrome on Thursday. He said that the engine was supposed to be completely overhauled at Sydney, and the metal fatigue of the connecting rod should have been noticed. The Aero Club has secured the loan of an engine for the Kia Ora through Wing-Commander S. Grant Dalton, and the engine was delivered.

yesterday, and is now installed for the flight this afternoon to Timaru. Last night the Orkney and Shetland Islands Society presented Mr Garden "with a mounted gold nugget. It was mentioned that 'Mr Garden's grandfather was tho Orkneys' greatest benefactor, having presenter! ;i fullyequipped hospital for Kirkwall.