Sydney-Moresby

TOA Plan Twice-Weekly Service

ANOTHER Solent flying-boat for Trans Oceanic Airways arrived in Sydney from Britain on July 15; and it was almost immediately put into the Sydney-Moresby service.

The Solent which was damaged in the Brisbane River several weeks ago has been repaired and, using both flying-boats, TOA, probably on September 5, will commence a Wednesday service to Moresby.

This will mean that, on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, the Solents will fly to Moresby, via Brisbane, and will return the same way on Mondays and Thursdays.

TOA plans to extend its present Sydney-Hobart service soon to four days each week; and, later on, with the arrival of a third Solent, the Sydney-Hobart service will be daily.

TOA’s Hythe flying-boat is used on the Sydney-Lord Howe Is. service. The lagoon, there, is just a little too shallow to make the use of the bigger Solents practicable.

It was announced early in August that TOA were making arrange ments to extend their service from Port Moresby to Rabaul, per medium of Mandated Airlines air craft. In the past, Mandated Air lines have not had a regular con nection to Rabaul. That line, how ever, has introduced two English De Haviland Dove aircraft, and it is proposed to use these to connect with TOA Solent at Moresby and thence fly on a regular schedule to Rabaul.

An Auster plane owned by the Catholic Mission at Wewak, New Guinea, crash-landed on the Map rik aerodrome late in June when the pilot overshot the strip. Father Kelly, who was flying the plane, escaped with minor injuries, but the machine was badly damaged.

Two enterprising young men, using this plane (which is called Kiverlea Market Gardens) are supplying Madang, New Guinea, with excellent vegetables grown in the Central Highlands. —Photo by Don Reed.