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Aviation History
1924
1924 - 0355.PDF
JUNE 5, 1924 COMMERCIAL AVIATION IN AUSTRALIA THE aerial mail and passenger service which has been operat ing in Western Australia for over two years was recently extended to link up with the city of Perth, involving an additional mileage of approximately 500 miles per week, making a weekly total flown by the machines of the Western Australian Airways, Ltd., approximately 2,900 miles. During the recent summer months, no interruptions to the service were necessary on account of " willi willies " (serious storms ambulance to convey urgent cases to hospital, and passengers booked by air have on many occasions given up their seats to people who have had the misfortune to require urgent medical or surgical treatment which is not always available at the townships on the North-West coast. Arrangements are now being made by the Commonwealth Government to extend this air line further North into the Kimberley district, linking up beyond the present terminus '':^0$$R& COMMERCIAL AVIATION IN AUSTRALIA: The Western Australian Airways, Ltd., Dep6t at Perth, and some of the machines—Bristol Tourers and Avro. or typhoons, usually looked for at this time of the year, and which result in holding up shipping and involve serious destruction to life and property). Although severe gales were met with on occasions, practically the whole of the flying was carried out to schedule time and every trip was com pleted according to contract. The mileage now totalled by the Company's machines is over 285,000, and the original six Bristol Tourer machines are all still in daily service, as also are the Puma-engines with which the Company has its fleet equipped. With the extension of the service from Geraldton to Perth, a re-arrangement of time-table was made, and the first stage of the outward trip links up Perth with Carnarvon, over 500 miles distant, in the first day, and also on the return trip at Derby, to Halls Creek and VVyndham, which will involve approximately 1,000 additional miles' flying per week. This service has been credited with being the longest regular passenger service in the world and the longest mail service in the British Empire. It mav be of interest to note, while on the subject of air services in Australia, that the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, Ltd., which company operates the air lines in Queensland (Charleville-Cloncurry), and the Larkin Co., which serves South Australia, have both placed orders with the De Havilland Co. for D.H.50 machines for operating the various air lines operated bv thees two com panies. On Monday, June 2, the long-planned Adelaide-Sydney COMMERCIAL AVIATION IN AUSTRALIA; One of the Western Australian Airways, Ltd., Bristol Tourers (Siddeley " Puma "), just arrived at Perth with mails from the North-West. These Bristol machines have now totalled over 285,000 miles, and are still in daily service. machines leaving Carnarvon in the morning arrive in Perth in the afternoon. This has resulted in stimulating passenger traffic between Carnarvon and Perth, and to cope with this the Company has placed an order with the De Havilland Aircraft Company for two Puma-engined machines of the D.H. 50 type, carrying pilot and four passengers. The quantity of freight carried each week has increased to such an extent that a restriction has had to be placed upon it, and newspapers also have had to be reduced in quantities. It is looked upon as something of an event, every Thursday afternoon in Carnarvon, when residents receive that morning's paper from Perth. One of the very important developments in connection with the air service has been the carriage of sick and injured people to hospital, and on several occasions the aeroplane on arrival at Perth has been met by a city 355 air mail service was inaugurated. It had been hoped that this service would have been in full operation long before now, but owing to some hitch as to the delivery of new machines—the Australian Aerial Mail Services, Ltd. (the " Larkin " Co.), which was to operate the services in this part of Australia, intended employing Martinsyde Commercial monoplanes—it has not been possible to make a start before now. Last Monday, however. Mr. F. L. Roberts, late of the Australian Flying Corps, left Woodville aerodrome, near Adelaide, at noon, on a Sopwith " Wallaby " with mails for Sydney. The route to be taken was via Mildura—just over 200 miles from Adelaide—where the first stop was made. Owing to rainy weather and low visibility the pilot was unable to reach Sydney according to schedule, and was forced to stay overnight at Goulburn, 100 miles from Sydney. The total distance of this service is 790 miles.
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