Do You Remember?

From PIM of 20 Years ago

THE air-age was getting per

ceptibly closer to the South Pacific in April, 1937, although the great ocean expanses and the small land areas in this ocean im posed tremendous problems for the slow-moving aircraft of that time.

Here are some other extracts from the PIM of that April, 20 years ago; Trans-Pacific aviation history was made when the Pan American Airways Sikorsky flying boat "China Clipper", sucessfully made a survey of a new route San Francisco-Auck land, and returned over the same route from Auckland on April 3. The Clipper did the flight in four hops—Honolulu-Kingman Reef (900 miles south of Hawaii)-Pago Pago- Auckland. The flying times are interesting; from San Francisco to Honolulu, a distance of a little over 2,000 miles—24 hours! The other hops were done in 8 hrs., 10£ hrs. and 1 respectively. Kingman Reef, little more than a sand cay, had only a brief period in the aviation limelight. But at this time it was believed that PAA would make it a key base on their South Pacific route. * * * "The economic outlook here (Port Moresby) is exceedingly bright at the moment and there is good reason for saying that Papua, so long the Cinderella amongst Pacific ter ritories, may yet be the richest of them all . . . The steady influx of experienced men from all over the world to join the staffs of the companies engaged in oil search has caused a boom. . . . Everyone confidently

expects an important oil discovery soon." (Well, that particular Cinderella has been waiting a long, long time for her Fairy Godmother.) ♦ * * The report of Mr. Ivan Champion on a patrol he had led into the Lake Kutubu area of Papua between April and December, 1936, had been released in Canberra. The patrol had explored the area between the headwaters of Bamu and Purari Rivers and discovered Lake Kutubu which, the report said, "may become a centre for seaplanes" (which it has). * * * Four tenders had been received for the proposed Sydney - New Guinea air service.

They were from Guinea Airways Ltd., W. R.

Carpenter & Co., Australia-New Guinea Air lines (a group of Australian aviation com panies) and Southern Airlines and Freighters (a group headed by Mr. I. H. Grabowsky, formerly general manager of G'Air). * * * The 30-miies Suva-Navua section of the proposed road right around Viti Levu was opned to traffic. This left a gap of about 20 miles between Navua and Sigatoka to be completed before it would be possible to drive right around the island. * * * World copra production figures showed that in 1935 over 1,000,000 tons were produced, of which Malaya produced 112,000 tons, Dutch East Indies 476,000 tons, Philippines 249,000 tons, Ceylon 4'>,000, New Guinea 56,000 and Fiji 26,000.