Mendham Luck !

Aviator’s Adventures in New Guinea

Wait, Jan. 21.

A N adventure which recently befell Mr.

G. Mendham, who runs a small aerial transport service here, has set the old hands talking about “newcomer’s luck."

Mr. Mendham was over in Port Moresby, and was held up there by bad weather.

One afternoon, impatient at the delay, he did something that all airmen regard as unwise—he set off over the New Guinea mountains for Wau. Aviators rarely undertake that trip except in the morn ings. Nearly always, before noon, those high mountains become hidden in cloud: and only madmen would try to fly blind among those ghastly peaks.

Mendham did not arrive at Wau; and next day, other airmen began to fly around, looking for him. After a couple of days, anxiety for his safety became acute. Then he dropped out of a cloud on to the Wau drome, and quite non chalantly told of an extraordinary ex perience.

After leaving Papua, and getting above the mountains, he found himself in blind ing cloud. He kept on, at a great height, hoping for a break: but, after much flying around, he at last realised that he was lost, and his petrol practically all gone.

He had to land; and beneath him was only jungle-clad mountain, which he could not see.

Mr. Mendham eased his machine gently down. While peering through the fog, he reached for a thick cushion, and placed it across his chest, to ease the crash, when it came.

Down—down —slowly the ’plane lost height. At any moment now a stark mountainside, or the tops of trees, would loom ahead.

Then an amazing thing happened.

Mendham saw the ground; and, right ahead, a cleared, level space. He landed, simply and easily. By a million-to-one chance, he had come down in the Waria Valley, right on top of an old. disused

landing-ground.

So far, so good. He was safe: but he was far off the usual track, and without fuel. There was a native village nearby; and the natives fed him. Mendham noticed that some of them, very modern, had kerosene lamps. With much labour] he collected a few quarts of kerosene: and he got this into his tank, where there remained a very small quantity of benzine.

The little engine, with coaxing, actually ran on the mixture. Mr. Mendham, some how got into the air: and was able to fly a short distance to another, and bigger landing-ground, also disused. Here there was a great pile of discarded petrol-cans.

The Mendham luck held. The aviator searched through the pile of cans: and actually found two which still contained petrol.

The rest was easy. Mr. Mendham climbed out of the Waria Valley and flew over the ranges to Wau. His main em barrassment, since, has been to avoid giving offence to numerous long-visioned friends who want to join him in “a ticket in Tatts.”

Mr. L. J. Perichon, manager at Loren gau, New Guinea, for Messrs. Burns, Philp and Co. Ltd., arrived in Sydney on fur lough by the Macdhui on January 24. Ho was accompanied by Mrs. Perichon.

Mr. C. W. Rundnagel, a veteran planter of Kokopo, New Britain, arrived in Syd ney by the Macdhui on January 24. He intends to visit America with his wife and daughters. (