MODERN RESOURCES

Hokitika Guardian, 23 September 1933, Page 6

MODERN RESOURCES

MOTOR AND AIR JOURNEY DESPERATE EFFORT IN VAIN SYDNEY, September 9. Air dynamics, motor traction, and skilled surgery were the modern wonders which were linked recently in a desperate endeavour' to save the life of a young mail wliffse spine’had been fractured in a motor-lorry accident. Charles Russell Napper, aged 21, a member, of a Clarence River family, wak one of 21 persons injured when a' motor-lorry, carrying a picnic party, aiferVed. and overturned at Yamba., oil the North Coast. He was taken by ambulance to •Madman District Hospital, and his parents were informed tliat lie . would have a much greater chance of recovery if they could get him to Sydney by aeroplane. Heavy l rains a few days previously had flooded the aerodrome, and' there -was no other aerodrome large enough for tlie landing of the aeroplane, which lift'd' been chartered by- long-distance telephone from Sydney. A smaller machine would have been useless, for Napper had to be carried in a lying position, possible only in a large aeroplane. -New plans had to be formulated when .it was found that the South Grafton 'aerodrome —the' nearest -.to the Maplean Hospital—’was flooded. The pilot Was instructed by wireless to land at Corf’s* Harbour, the nearest aerodrome large enough.

SIXTY MILES OF ROUGH ROAD

-Corf’s Harbour is 60 miles from Macle&h'ahd it was necessary to take Napper' that distance by motor ambulance. Doctors at Maclean gave Napper treat.nte'nt to keep him sleepy throughout ithe nerve-wracking journey, which [proved the worst- part of the fight to save his life. Rain had. played havoc with* the roads, and the average speed of 1 the motor ambulance was only five miles an hour. Even at that rate, and despite the effect- of the sleep-inducing drugs, Napper. suffered great' pain through the long nightmare' journey. ' The ambulance found the aeroplane waiting for them at Corf's Harbour. The injured man was lifted from the ambulance to the machine on a sheet, 'held perfectly flat and rigid by four men, and it wa s so held for the 300 jniles flight to Sydney. Napper was drowsy and almost unconscious for most of the flight and was in far less pain : than during the ambulance trip. The 300 miles' were flown in three hours- Then came the pilot’s most difficult task—that of landing the big aeroplane without jarring. It was thep almost dark. He circled the aerodrome at’ Mascot', Sydney, several times, firing wi Verey light to warn ground officials to clear the runway of small machines before lie came down.

PILOT’S SKILFUL LANDING

The landing was one of Pilot Young’s finest feats, with scarcely a bump, and ips-th'e big ma cl line taxied to a bait, an ambulance, previously arranged for, sped up alongside it. The patient was lifted into the ambulance and rushed to Prince Alfred Hospital, where he was immediately given the most skilled Attention: in Sydneyi But tlie great figrft‘ Tor the young man’s life failed. He rallied '.temporarily after his arrival in hqspitaL but the end came within ■24 : hours of his admission. Although' that' combination of modern resources failed; it' proved’-emphatically what a boom it caii' be in a country like Australia, where' distances are great.,