BY AIR TO AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 March 1920, Page 9

BY AIR TO AUSTRALIA.

WHEN IS ATTEMPT TO BE MADE? Sydney, lat March. The arrival in Sydney to-day of Sir Arthur Brown, who was Alcoek'a companion on the great non-stop flight across the Atlantic last year, has stirred up interest iif the possibility of big trans-ocean flights, and directed attention to the new worlds which await a conqueror. "Whenas the flight, from Australia, to New Zealand to be tackled 1" asked a noted flier, at a little gathering of aiation men in Sydney this afternoon. "It's up to New Zeaiand, but the New Zealanders don't seam to have made a move yet, I wonder fiy. The Australians have been doing ihirgs on the London-Australian route, and there's an Aussie (Cotton) having a go at the Lon-Son-Cape flight. But there were some rattling gooet New Zealand fliers in Franco during the war, and the first flight across the Tasman Sea ought to go to a New Zealandor. I should have though the New Zealand Government would have tried to encourage the attempt before this. "It's 1200 miles from shore to shore," he went nn, "but the problem of flying across there is not as difficult as it looks. [ believe it could bo greatly simplified by taldng the roundabout route—from a suitable point in Northern New South Wales due east to Lord Howe Island, then north-ast to Norfolk Island, and thence south-east to North Auckland—l don't think that would give anywhere a longer flight than ">OO miles. It could be done comfortably in this way in three hops—tuid I think if the aviators were keen about it they could do it, in two— Australia, to Lord Howe, flnd Lord Howe to Auckland. "New Zealand is already, in my opinion, within a day and a half, comfortably, of Australia. A big plane, starting early, could reach Lord Howe by noon, and Norfolk Island by dusk, and could reach Auckland early the folowing afternoon. Why doesn't the New Zealand Oovernment make a start with it? Ft would be a big thing for both countries, and there is no doubt the Australian Government would gladly co-op-erate by placing warships along the route of the first flight, to guard against accidents." This is the substance ot the airmen's conversation. Tt was informal and quite unofficial—but it ought to be interesting to New Zealanders.