AIRMEN IN STORM OVER COOK STRAIT

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 650, 30 April 1929, Page 1

AIRMEN IN STORM OVER COOK STRAIT

FORCED DOWN AT SHIP COVE

Night Spent in Rain-Drenched Bush

LANDING MADE NEAR WATER’S EDGE

r COUNTERING a heavy gale and rain-storms the Marlborough Aero Club’s Moth plane, the Wakefield, flying from Eeildmg to Blenheim, was forced to land at Ship Cove in the Marlborough Sounds. The pilot, Captain Noel Chandler, instructor for the club, and his passenger, Mr. C. A. Macdonald, secretary of the club, are fit and well, and the machine is reported to be only slightly damaged.

«HE news, published in The Sun ' yesterday afternoon that the airien were overdue, caused some jaiety. Captain Findlay, who left a ittie earlier than Captain Chandler, jrired at Blenheim about mid-day Bd reported heavy weather and bad •biblllty. Captain Burrell ran Into a ■slustorm at Palmerston North ant jturned to Feilding. That Captain Windier had encountered the storm art come to grief over Cook Strait ns therefore a grave possibility, jkiful airmanship, however, carried ain and his passenger to safety in Id haven of Ship Cove. Meantime search by air and sea na being organised on a wide scale, Ud there were many willing voluneirs ready to set out on the venjreaome task of scouring the Sounds id Cook Strait by air. The secretary of the Post and Telepaph Department supplies the fol-

wing details concerning the reppearance ot Captain Chandler and Ir. Macdonald: “The airplane, which was forced own owing to engine trouble, was lightly damaged on landing at Ship bve. The men walked to Fissen•n's, at Cannibal Cove, and, at 13 m„ rang the postmaster at Endearnr Inlet, who immediately advised the ostmaster at Picton. Both men had trying time, but are well.” TAKEN TO HOMESTEAD BOTH MEN SAFE iachine in shallow water (Special to THE SVN ) CHRISTCHURCH, To-day. The missing Moth airplane was discovered at Ship Cove this "torning by Capt. J. C. Mercer, of the N.Z.A.F., instructor of the Centerbury Aero Club. FORCED landing had been made because of slight engine trouble 1 the bad weather yesterday afterioon. n«* ta^s are meagre owing to the Jaculty of communication with the ore. Both men are safe and have been "*n to a homestead in an adjacent s P ent a trying night ashore •5® rain-drenched bush. Shi c r - Mercer was flying over lon B M OVe be saw Chandler and Macrhevs * )eug taken off by a launch, hor i OUI was a few 3' ards from the in shallow water, standing on » nose. ~? e Plane is damaged, but to what ot is not yet known. SEVERE STORM °NE MACHINE RETURNS search ordered Press Association WELLINGTON, To-day. inti 8 ** arlbor ough Moth left Paro®*terrtaf ar Fei 'ding, at 11.35 o'clock r °«! r>! y morning, piloted by Captain ad aa <iler, the club’s instructor, f ih e j A - Macdonald, secretary * r Wan#» Ut> ' as a D ass enger. Three ° Ur earr W^ a *d uarter ot an a severe storm in, in* thr!, ait l. an<l had difficulty in getsft a^° u f h - Captain Burrell, who I 18 into o, er of an hour afterwards,) me storm seven miles south]

of Palmerston North, and was forced to return. The captain of the ferry steamer Tamahine, which left Wellington at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, was asked to keep a look-out, but he reported that it was impossible to see more than a-quarter of a mile in the Straits. The Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, stated at 11.45 last evening that he had been asked by Mr. Dix, president of the Marlborough Aero Club, to arrange for a search to be made for the airmen, who, it was believed might have been forced to make a descent in Cook Strait. The Prime Minister said he had accordingly provided for two steamers to leave Wellington this morning. One was to search up the coast as l’ar as North Beach, and the other was to search in the direction of Queen Charlotte Sound and Cloudy Bay on the South Island shore of the Strait.

SAW STORM AHEAD WHY BURRELL RETURNED CHANDLER’S BENZINE SUPPLY Press Association FEILDING, To-day. Captain PI. B. Burrell, of tlie N.Z.A.F., who left 15 minutes after Captain Noel Chandler yesterday, in an Air Force Bristol fighter, says that weather conditions were good at the time of starting, but he saw a storm approaching from the west. He hoped to get round it, but it struck him soon after he had passed Palmerston North and he felt justified in returning. Captain Chandler was flying Sir C. C. Wakefield’s gift Moth and was doing a little over 70 miles an hour at that time. He carried three and a-half hours’ supply of benzine. He should have reached Blenheim at 1 o’clock given favourable conditions. The weather outlook this morning at Feilding was very bad. The sky was overcast and squally, and the rain bitterly cold. SEARCHERS READY EARLY FOUR PLANES IN AIR THREE AUCKLAND MACHINES Press Association HASTINGS, To-day. The news that Captain Noel Chandler was missing cast a gloom over the town of Hastings and stirred the pilots of the four machines that had remained there after Saturday’s pageant to immediate action. Preliminary test flights were soon made and Captain T. \V. White, in the Hawke’s Bay Aero Club’s moth, Pilot J. Smith, in the Auckland Aerial Survey’s machine, and Major Keith Caldwell and Captain Blomfield, in the other two Auckland machines, decided to hop off immediately. They intended to confer with Captain H. B. Burrell. N.Z.A.F., at Feilding, and then to search up and down the coast and over as much area as possible in the hope of finding Captain Chandler. Captain Burrell had been placed in charge of the Northern searchers and Captain J. F. Findlay in charge of the search from Blenheim. In spite of the adverse weather report received the aviators determined to proceed at once to the search.

Captain White's and Pilot Smith’s machines hovered in the air until joined by the two mehines piloted by Captain Blomfield and Major Caldwell, and all set oil in a strong head wind for Feilding soon after 10 o’clock. Accompanying them as pilots were Mr. L,. W. Swan, secretary of the Auckland Aero Club, in Captain Blomfield’s machine; Mr. Copley, the Auckland Aero Club's ground engineer, in Major Caldwell’s airplane; Mr. J. Stead, of Hastings, in Mr. Smith’s plane, and Mr. Bowles, ground engineer of the Hawke’s Bay Aero Club, In Captain White’s machine. After they left a telegram was received from Major Cowper, of Auckland, warning them not to leave for the North as weather conditions were unfavourable. It was planned that the Auckland machines were to return to Hastings after completing the search. All machines carried ample provisions. The four airplanes had just arrived at Parorangi at 11.30 a.m., when a message was received of the finding of the missing airmen. This was received with loud cheers. CAPT. CHANDLER’S PLANE GIFT FROM SIR CHARLES WAKEFIELD TO ENCOURAGE AVIATION The plane which Captain Chandler was flying at the time of the forced landing was given to the New Zealand Government by Sir Charles Wakefield. The machine, a D.H. Moth, was presented by the Defence Department to the Marlborough Aero Club at, the first air pageant held in the Dominion, at Blenheim on March 9. It was in June last that Sir Charles made the generous offer of a light plane to aid in the development of civil aviation within the Dominion. He has for many years shown the keenest

interest in the development of flying, and as far back as 1910 he addressed a large gathering urging and appealing for public support and enthusiasm on the urgent Imperial aspects of aviation. Sir Charles co-operated with Sir Alan Cobham in his great flight from England to Australia and back and in Cobham’s flight of survey round Africa, while he is also the popular president of the Lancashire Aero Club, to which he has presented a light plane. SHIP COVE WHERE BRITISH FLAG FIRST FLEW COOK’S ANCHORAGE Set just within the western arm of Queen Charlotte Sound, and opposite Motuara Island, Ship Cove is about 20 miles north-east of Picton and between 35 and 40 miles north-east of Blenheim. It is the most historic bay in New Zealand. Here Captain Cook first raised the British flag on New Zealand shores on February 1, 1770. As the Endeavour carefully negotiated the channel between Motuara Island and the mainland canoe-loads of curious natives inspected the stranger, and as anchor was dropped just behind the island the Maoris gave Cook a hot welcome with shower:: of stones. Cook, safe behind his artillery, could afford to ignore the attack. He invited the Maoris to become friends, and at last one of the more venturesome, defying the advice of his companions, climbed up a rope offered to him. He returned laden with presents and friendly relations were opened between white and brown men. The 1,700 acres of reserve, covered with native hush, is to-day much as it was when Cook and his men saw it the early dawn 159 years ago. The present Cook Memorial, with its inscribed base and surmounting anchor, stands on the position of the hoisting of the flag. Twice after this Cook made Ship Cove his base in the Endeavour. The Adventure, which was his attending ship on the second voyage to the Pacific, missed the Resolution, commanded by Cook, at Ship Cove, where a rendezvous had been arranged. One of the boat crews of the Adventure, obsessed with the idea that the natives would not stand up to gunfire, which they regarded as magic, got into a fight in Grass Cove. The reasoning proved false and the Maoris massacred

and ate the boat’s crew. To-day Ship Cove is a pleasure resort, with a reserve of 1,700 acres, beautiful beaches for bathing, and splendid camping grounds. TUGS RECALLED WELLINGTON, To-day. The Harbour Board tug Toia, which set out at 10 o’clock to search in the direction of Queen Charlotte Sound for the airmen, has been recalled. No vessel was sent North. It had been intended to dispatch the tug Terawhiti in that direction, but the U.S.S. Company's Totara goes to New Plymouth to-day and this part of the search was being left to her. PRIME MINISTER’S THANKS WORK BY MANY SEARCHERS MESSAGE TO AIRMEN Press Association WELLINGTON, To-day. The Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward, has sent a message to Captain Noel Chandler and Mr. C. A. MacDonald as follows: “I need hardly tell you that my colleagues and I have received the news of your safety with very much pleasure and relief, and I am sure these feelings are shared by the people of New Zealand.” Sir Joseph Ward has also sent a message to the master of the ferry steamer Maori, thanking him for his response to the request to keep a lookout last night. In a message to Mr. H. R. Dix, president of the Marlborough Aero Club, Sir Joseph Ward mentions that the Government was only too pleased to do everything possible to co-operate with him in arranging for a thorough search to be undertaken at the earliest moment. The Prime Minister has also sent his thanks to the chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board and to the Union Steamship Company for the prompt manner in which they responded to the request to dispatch a steamer to search for the missing flyers.