TOUR OF DOMINION.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20168, 21 February 1931, Page 8

TOUR OF DOMINION.

AUSTRALIAN AJBMEN.

Two distinguished Australian air* men, Captain J&. J. Jones and Flying[)fficer if. C; Owen, arrived at Wigfatt yesterday, in the coarse of a > loctufi tour of New Zealand, and left late tor Dunedin, where they will attet Lhe air pageant. During their tour,the airmen art flying the Shell Oil Company's all metal Moth aeroplane, Golden Shell, and.it is'in the interests of tho company that they are making their visit (Captain Owen became well known daring* the Great War as one of the most'daring members of the Austro* JiAn Flying Corps. He was a member of No. 3 Squadron, which was engaged in reconnaissance work, and was equipped with R.E.B's. ■ » Fights witli superior • numbers of the faster Albatross or Fokker scouts were Common, and'it is in'these that Captain' Jones is cited, -in *' the official history 'of the corps, which mentions, among his other performances! that he was engaged m sis flights'within three weeks. In-the middle of October, 1918, he was placed in 1 command of "O" Flight, which accompanied the mobile columns which kept touch' with the rapidly retreating Gerrmans" in the days leading up to the 'Armistice. From the inception of. civil aviation in Australia he nas been associated with i.t. right up until eighteen months ago, when he retired ;from 'the post of Deputy-Director ' of Civil' Aviation to become the Shell Company's chief aviation officer in Austria. •' Bo was awarded the Oswald Memorial Medal—the highest award' in Australian aviation—in 1926. .This'prize k a gold medal awarded annually for the most meritorious perfoimance by an Australian-born air--1 man. It is awarded out of a fund established by a bequest of Mr "Watt, who was the commanding officer of the Australian Flying Corps. Flying-Officer Owen is also a wellknown Australian airman. . Taking up aviation in 1925, he flew around Australia in 1927 as relief pilot and mechanic to Group-Captain R. Williams,, head, of the Royal Australian Air Force. In this night approximately :18,000. miles were covered; A year later he flew with Wing-Commander Wackett in his Australian-built Wigeon Amphibian ini his.trip around Australia, wnen i also' he went to meet the Royal Air Force flying-boats at Broom and >. accompanied them to Melbourne.' In Company with paptain Moir he set'out on a night, to England in the same year, but the effort ended with a crash at Atheiis.' They then made the return journey in a Vickei-s Vellore freightcarrier, , crashing at Cape Don, Australia. , After that he resigned from the Air Force' and joined the Shell organisation to fly the Golden Shell.