e-Told Story of First

Citizen Prominent In e-Told Story of First Round-the-World Flight

NE of Fiji’s leading citizens was prominent in Sydney’s Daily Mirror, on March 25, when, in generously-illustrated “feature” icle, a special writer re-told the y of ho'w American Wiley Post ot) and Australian Harold Gatty vigator) in 1931, became the first i to fly right around the earth, [arold Gatty, 25 years older, but less adventurous, is now the active d of Fiji Airways Ltd., which vides the archipelago with its ;rnal air services.

ILEY POST, radio operator, circus parachutist, and oilfield mechanic, lost the sight of his eye in 1926 in an accident. With 1,800 dollars compensation, he ght a “ramshackle crate” and, lough he now had only one eye, became an expert airman, i 1930, Post acquired a Lockheed a plane which he called Winnie ?; planned the circumnavigation the globe; and accepted the

eager offer of his young friend Gatty (then running an air navigation school in Los Angeles) to go with him.

They took off eastwards from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, to the cheers of 100,000 people. They came out of the west and alighted at Cleveland, New York, exactly 8 days, 15 hours and 51 minutes later. “All America hailed the feat with de lirious acclaim.” They had earned a permanent place in aviation’s hall of fame.

Gatty went on to a distinguished career in civil and wartime aviation; but Post lost his life four years later. He flew r solo around the world; made the then altitude record of 49,000 feet in 1934; and attacked the trans-continental record; and

then went off with famous writer Will Rogers on a world tour in a seaplane. They crashed into a lake in Alaska, and both were drowned. t March was a good month for the fishermen of Pukapuka. Two large sailfish were caught in addition to several huge tuna, and schools of a type of mackerel, known as koperu, were caught by the thousand daily, while the light lasted. Koama (red mullet), spawned around the island in millions, and were caught with both nets and lines and hooks. It is reported that the hook and line fishers took an average of some where between 300 and 400 koama a trip.