Mercy

Rnzaf Sunderlands

Air Missions of Mercy

rfE Sunderland Flying Boats, at the RNZAF station, Laucala Bay, Suva, have literally be come the “mercy missioners” of the Pacific, with its hundreds of islands separated by thousands of miles of sea. Hardly a week passes without their being called out on emergencies which range from dropping medical supplies to searching for those who are lost.

So, on January 17, at 6 a.m., they answered another urgent message from the Tokelaus—this time to drop medical supplies. Polio had broken out on Atafu and Fakaofa islands, causing some deaths and considerable concern. The drop was successful and the Sunderland, piloted by Flying Officer J. Laing, made the round trip without land ing in under 13 hours.

This flight was shortly after they had spent a week-end scanning the Fijian bush for a lost Fiji Airways pilot, Capt. Brian McCook.

It was actually a Fiji Airways plane that spotted McCook, but it was a Sunderland that dropped messages and medical supplies, all of which were recovered.

McCook remarked on the accuracy of the drop—but the fact that he

did not read the first messages until two days later, was due to the non chalance of the Fijian villagers.

They collected the canisters con taining the messages and quietly placed them on a small table beside his bed, without mentioning the fact that they had been dropped from the sky!

The whole world knows of the hours of flying put in by Sunder land pilots and crews searching the ocean for the Joyita and later her missing passengers in October- November.

ff Mr. J. A. Marsden, Sydney dentt; surgeon, is commencing the practio. of his profession at Santo, Nes Hebrides. He left Sydney on tb January voyage of the Polynesia and will be joined later by his son George M. Marsden, who is als. a qualified dentist.

If Prominently listed in the recen NSW Leaving Certificate passe; were John, Joe and Dick Traces 16-year-old triplets at Chevalie College, Bowral. They come fro* the phosphate island of Nauru.