INVINCIBLE VOYAGERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 456, 11 September 1928, Page 6

INVINCIBLE VOYAGERS

Roar of Cheering Drowns Noise of Monoplane’s Propellers

PERFECT LANDING AT WI GRAM

(Special to THE SUN) CHRISTCHURCH, To-day. A TUMULT of cheering that drowned even the roar of the plane’s propellors rose from thousands of throats to greet the Southern Cross as the mighty monoplane circled over the heads of the watchers, and came to rest at Wigram airdrome this morning. The machine made a perfect landing.

By 9 a.m. a solid mass of people lined the fence which, separated the racecourse from the lauding ground, and a continuous stream kept coming in from the entrances. The excitement was intense, and when the five home planes went up the crowd, which was estimated at 35,000, raised a cheer. The packed assembly watched the north-eastern horizon. Then at 9.17 the cry arose, “There they are,” and dimly outlined against a white bank of cloud and catching the sunlight on their wings, could be seen the planes approaching in formation. One showed out bigger than the rest. Nearer they, came, the Southern Cross leading. Standing out in bold relief against

ing planes made an impressive sight, which was not lost on the huge crowd, which was now beginning to murmur with suppressed excitement. The hum of the triple motors of the huge monoplane could be heard louder every minute. A cheer was the signal for a thunderous roar from 35,000 throats. v As the plane banked over the ’drome cheer upon cheer thundered upward, drowning even the roar of the engines. The crowd was almost hysterical when Squadron-Leader Kingsfor Smith waved a gloved hand from the cockpit. Four times the Southern Cross circled the ’drome and grounds to the accompaniment of cheers and cries of “Good Old Smithy,” “Welcome to Christchurch,” then “She’s coming down,” “He’s landing.” There was scarcely a sound as the Southern C*oss glided down and touched ground at 9.23 after 14 hours’ flying. The crowds in the enclosure, following the lead of the photographers and pressmen, raced after the monoplane as it turned and taxied to the hangar in full view of the excited thousands. CROWD SURGES ROUND PLANE

In spite of strenuous efforts of the police and Territorials to keep the people back, a large section of the great crowd burst through the barriers, and in three seconds the landing place was swarmed over by a scurrying mass of people. The police and Territorials, abandoning the barrier, rushed to the Southern Cross, and in a very quick time had a reasonable space cleared. Running beside the machine, a score of men endeavoured to clasp the hands of the navigator, Mr. H. A. Lichfield, and the wireless operator, Mr. T. A. MeWilliam, whose smiling faces appeared. At 9.24 the Southern Cross came to rest Mr. Litchfield was the first to land, followed by Mr. MeWilliam. The former’s first request was for a cigarette, which was promptly supplied by a pressman. Both men were deaf, owing to the constant roar of the engines, but pleased and happy. Air. Litchfield’s eyes were heavy and red from lack of sleep. Then Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith jumped out of the cockpit, his appearance being the signal for a renewed burst of cheering. Flight-Lieutenant Ulm then appeared, and with the four intrepid airmen standing together, the crowd surged forward, yelling itself hoarse, “Put him up!” “Let’s see him!” “Smithy, you darling .” The last a girl’s voice, as heard above the crowd. Smiling his acknowledgments, Kingsford Smith and his partners smoked hard as Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, on behalf of the Government, and Mr. D. G. Sullivan, representing the Labour Party, welcomed them to New Zealand. T.

the azure blue of the sky the escortFollowing the speeches of welcome, the crowd yelled “Let’s see the New Zealander. We want Mac. We want Smithy.” Then Kingsford Smith with Mr. P. R. Climie began to walk toward the hangar. The crowd surged round and the combined efforts of the police and Territorials failed tohold in check the swerving, jostling pack of humanity: Then Kingsford Smith was lost to sight. “Where is Smith?” yelled the crowd. By judicious manoeuvring Mr. Climie had spirited the flyers into motor-cars and, within half an hour Kingsford Smith and his comrades were at the United Service Hotel.

Thousands still lingered examining the Southern Cross or waiting for the airmen to appear, but finally they began to disperse. Once the excitement had died down and everyone had inspected the Southern Cross the crowds began to pour back into town. Every tram was brought into commission, and over 1,000 motor-cars began to work out to the streets.

Then began the long dusty trek liomwards. The traffic police had wonderful control and everything went without a hitch. For over two hours cars and people filed out of the airdrome grounds, leaving a few curious people still examining the Southern Cross. ’ One o’clock saw everything back to normal. CROWDS TREK OUT EARLY MORNING SCENE WAITING AT AIRDROME (Special to THE SUN), SOCKBURN, To-day. Breaking gloriously fine with light winds, the weather was ideal for landing. The sun rose on a busy scene at Wigram, where the air force men were tuning up, and where photographers and pressmen foregathered. From 7 o’clock onwards there began a trek from the town and suburbs to the airdrome. Rarely has there been such a procession of motors along the Riccarton Road. Private cars, taxis, buses and trams followed each other along a road lined with people too anxious to wait for trams, while trainloads came from the country districts at regular intervals. Surprising numbers of car-parking opportunists were early on the scene. Traffic control arrangements were excellent, and the crowds were handled well. Vehicular traffic took one road and pedestrians another, with the result that there was not a hitch in the arrangements. By 8.30 hundreds of cars had passed into the grounds, and about 1.000 people were stationed at vantage points along the wire-netting fence abutting the landing ground. Patiently they waited, their numbers increasing rapidly. In the meantime five Bristol Fighters taxied out of the airdromes and lined up preparatory to taking off to meet the Southern Cross. One plane carried the cinematographer, who was to take a motion picture record of the final stages of the flight. The officials in the party to meet the airmen were Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, representing the Government; Mr. D. G. Sullivan, representing the Labour Party; the Rev. J. K. Archer, Mayor Christchurch, and Mrs. Archer; Mr.

Neville, town clerk; Mr. D. Ardell, representing the Department of Internal Affairs; Mr. J. E. Strachan, president of the Canterbury Progress League and chairman of the Flight Committee; Bishop West-Watson, Major T. Wilkes, Captain Findlav, and Mr. P. R. Climie.

VIVID LIGHTNING CAUSES BREAKDOWN IN WIRELESS “A GREAT PILOT” Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, To-day. A two hours’ storm, in which there was vivid lightning, caused the wireless apparatus on the Southern Cross to break down for over an hour last night, according to Mr. T. H. MeWilliam, the radio operator on the Southern Cross. He says that in the storm area the plane flew at a height of over 7,000 feet. “It was very cold in the cabin and my feet were’like ice,” added Mr. MeWilliam. “We thought it was cold enough on the first hop, but it was nothing compared with this. However, we’re getting used to rough stuff. “We’ll probably be in New Zealand for at least a fortnight, so as to get the next full moon for our return. “Squadron - Leader Kingsford Smith is a great pilot, and we did the trip from Sydney to Wellington in just over 12 hours at an

average speed of about 100 miles an hour. “We started off with a fair westerly wind, but later struck it very bumpy.”