INTO MOUNTAIN WILDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 611, 13 March 1929, Page 1

INTO MOUNTAIN WILDS

Spiritualists’ Strange Pilgrimage SEARCH FOR LOST AIRMEN TOLD by spirits from the Beyond that the airmen. Hood and Moncrieff. had crashed in the Puketoi Rang,:;. Mr. and Mrs. J. Lawson, of Eden Terrace, Auckland, took a crystalgazing seeress with them and plunged into the bush country to find the plane and the bodies. The amazing story of their 71-day trek into the wilderness is now told for the first time. How they gave up their business; how they suffered untold hardships through cold and hunger; and how they returned penniless from their strange pilgrimage into the mountain wilds, makes a fantastic story. They still maintain the airplane is lying in the heart of the Puketois.

Told by the denizens of the “spirit world’’ that Hood and Moncrieff:, the two New Zealand airmen who attempted the trans-Tasman flight on January 10. 1927. has actually landed in the Puketoi Ranges on the Hast Coast of the North Island. Air. and Mrs. Lawson, who were then living in Adelaide Road. Wellington, sold their business, took a mystic with them, and set out to tind the airplane and the skeletons, commencing one of the strangest pilgrimages ever attempted in New Zealand. In the little living room at the back of Mr. Lawson’s second-hand shop in Eden Terrace, The Sun man was shown the little black notebook in which a diary of the trip had been kept. Signatures of prominent people in Wellington and at the various settlements called at on the trip, testified to the fact of their journey, while letters were produced from people who had encountered the Lawsons at some period of their strange pilgrimage. Mrs. Lawson stated that she had always had “psychic gifts” and the ability to lapse into semi-trances, when many of those who had “passed

over” into the spirit world used her i vocal organs to give messages to those 1 in the physical world at seances. 1 Mr. Lawson liad a hairdressing busi- i ness in Courtenay Place, Wellington, j at the time of the trans-Tasman flight. SCEPTIC NO LONGER “.Before my marriage I was anything ! but a Spiritualist,” he said. “I was a j hard-boiled sceptic and took a lot of j convincing. But after sitting in a circle I for two nights I was completely cured j of rheumatic trouble of 27 years’ ; standing. That convinced me deli- j nitely.” From that time the Lawsons held j bi-weekly sittings in their home. “Long before Hood .nd Moncrieff; hopped off, we were tc.d to take plenty ; of exercise, as we would soon do a ; great deal of walking,” said Mr. Lawson. “We were instructed to run round tlm Basin Reserve to keep our- i selves fit.” When the aviators “hopped off” from Richmond airdrome the Lawsons allege the spirits told them on the following day that the aviators had landed in New Zealand, though the days passed without any trace of them being found. Mrs. Lawson said she was shown a “vision” of the place where the airmen had fallen. On February 8 the Lawsons say they were visited by a woman crystal reader, who had had a similar vision and had been miraculously guided to their home. This woman’s name was Mrs. Elizabeth Watson. “Co to Adelaide Road! Co to Adelaide Road!” “spirit” voices had been urging her, she told the Lawsons. Mrs. Watson and the Lawsons succeeded in getting three young men to go out searching for the airplane near Pongaroa, where “spirits” told them the plane lay. The men were unsuccessful and the Lawsons and Mis. Watson set out themselves. MIRACULOUSLY HELPED “We were miraculously helped,” said . Lawson. “The Tararua Tramping Club gave us tents and tramping out- . fits, and a car was placed at our disposal by a well-known motor firm to take us' as far as possible. In addi- ' tion. several people gave us money. Plunging into the wild bush country after leaving the car, the party struggled through dense bush for over a fortnight, wild weather I compelling them to place logs | against their tents at night to j prevent them from being blown away. 1 “We held a trance circle in our camp, and we were told to go home as j ' a fierce storm would sweep the j ! country.” said Airs. Lawson. Later j l this proved accurate. A storm rageu : I over the East Coast and did a lot of . I damage to shipping.” . ! They then returned to Wellington. arriving on March 2. after being away | | 17 days and covering about 146 miles j I of rough country on foot, j “At circles held in A\ ellington w nev ; returned,” said Airs. Lawson. we I were told by the spirits to take no i notice of people ca’ling us fools for i spending out money on such a pro,J 1 SOLD HIS BUSINESS ! On March 12. Mr. Lawson sold his business to raise money to go out again. The stock, or as much of it as possible, was auctioned, nnd Lawsons , gave up their house. “farmed out” : their three children- and left on their : sec nd pilgrimage on April 19. paying a small deposit on a car to take them | part of the way on their journey, j The two Lawsons and Airs. Watson composed the party. "In the bush country we had to lash ! our tent down night after night to i keep it from being blown away,” said | Air. Lawson. “In the fine weather we

were bitten by mosquitoes as big as* tramcars.’ We searched for a gully with burnt logs and punga ferns as shown to Mrs. Lawson in her vision. \ On one occasion they r;n out of bread, and many times their bread had “whiskers” on it—green mould an inch long. Camped on the top of a range they ran out of provisions altogether, and their misery was heightened by a raging storm, which prevented them from lighting fires. Lawson walked over 15 miles to get food for the women. Next day they shifted down to a hut and waited till the storm passed over, Lawson making more trips for provisions, wading through swollen torrents from a nearby station and on one trip dislocating his knee. “It was cured by Gem Sing, a Chinese spirit doctor, who treated me from the astral plane,” he said. REPAIRS TO SHOES The women’s shoes fell off them and Lawson whiled away the enforced rest in the hut by acting as shoemaker. “I picked up an old pair of boots with rusty hobnails,” said Lawson. “C picked the nails out with a pocketknife and mended the shoes, sewing patches on with a darning needle.” After the weather cleared they climbed the Puketoi Ranges. “On the way we held seances anti i people flocked to them to sec the mad spiritualists,’” said Airs. Lawson. “They all seemed to think trance mediumship was a vaudeville show. They thanked us for the display.” Climbing the Puketoi Range, they were joined by a man who asked ii! he could accompany them. They agreed, and he rendered them valuable assistance slashing a way fpr them through the dense undergrowth.

“The -streams were swollen, rain, was frequent and high winds and extreme cold made conditions bad.” said Lawson. “This was in May, and wo had sleet at times. We stayed at our* new friend’s house for a time and. gave table-rapping displays for the benefit of the rustics.” MISFORTUNES COME “Our new friend’s hands were cut and bleeding from cutting s. way for us through the scrub. Then we had misfortunes. Airs. Lawson slipped and hurt her leg and Airs. Watson hurt her knee on a stone. We decided to return. The place was too hard toi penetrate to find the plane ” “We saw the place where the machine lies,” continued Lawson. “It is in the worst part of the Puketci Ranges in the 10,000 acres of Government land, mostly covered by bush. Only these who have been in kn’ow what it is like.” They decided to abandon the search' and walked back to their car, which was in good condition, although it had

lain for seven weeks in the bad wea* ther. They had been away 64 days and tramped about 300 miles. “The women's shoes had no soles them, we were all tattered and tori , and the men had a wonderful crop of whiskers,” said Mr. Lawson. “We had no money and no petrol, but we were divinely provided for and guided. Wherever we pitched our tents on the journey, mushrooms sprang up for us, as proof of the care of 'our watchers.” To raise money the Lawsons hawked the remainder of their business stock from door to door, and allege they were led by Providence to come Auckland, where they were provided with a business. “The plane is in the Puketoi Ranges.” concluded Lawson. “Now is the time to find it. and I want someone to go out. We have done cur share. Who will go now?”