Weekly Air Service

New Hebrides Gets Weekly Air Service

From Our Own Correspondent

Vila, May 20.

IT is expected that the Qantas Empire Airways flying-boat service to the New Hebrides will shortly be on a weekly basis.

This extra service will be appreciated by Hebrides residents who, without air transport would be in a very isolated position.

Trans Oceanic Airways, using a Short Sunderland flying boat pioneered the route only as recently as 1947. Their service extended north from Santo to Honiara. Prior to their entry into the transport field, communication between Australia and the New Hebrides was restricted to surface craft of which the veteran Morinda formed the backbone.

TOA ran a monthly schedule, but was dogged by bad luck. There were delays but no one could deny that the service fulfilled an urgent need. A “feeder” service run by Trapas was plying at the same time between Noumea, Vila and Santo. This service was later replaced by Air France, which ran a successful service until unsettled conditions in Saigon cut it off.

TOA withdrew from the Sydney-New Hebrides-BSI run in early 1950.

In July 1948 Qantas Empire Airways announced a fortnightly service from Sydney to the New Hebrides. An initial survey flight was made and landing buoys were laid at Vila and Santo. The survey Catalina departed. Weeks passed and the promised service did not eventuate —presumably due to some hitch over landing rights. It was October be fore the first Qantas Catalina touched down on the Canal at Santo but the company soon won the complete confi dence of the New Hebrides people. The Catalina unfailingly arrived to the ex

pected minute.

Although QEA has been running the service to the Hebrides regularly every second week for the past 18 months, it is still officially an “unscheduled” service.

It is understood that the company has to go through the formality of applying to the Condominium Government for a special permit to land every time they make a flight. This variety of red-tape appears ridiculous to the layman no mat ter what “reasons of State” lie behind it.

This air link with Australia is a great benefit to NH residents and the govern ment. Apart from the fact that it means speedy communication, since the 14seater Catalina was replaced with a 30passenger Sandringham, we have been able to get urgent freight by this means —and fresh vegetables, fruit and eggs.

New Caledonia has decided to spend another 50,000 francs, to continue the fight against noxious weeds, among them the lantana and the guava which now cover large areas of the country. sit * * The New Caledonia company known as Societe de Propagande Francaise en Oceanic, with a capital of 1,400,000 francs, has sold the Noumea daily paper La France Australe, of strongly Catholic ten dencies, to the Societe Caledomenne d’Editions.