[?]Xtraordinary

[?] Ecord In Pacific

[?]Nd In Navigation

[?]Fe Of

[?] Arold Catty

• In two books, recently published '‘Flying Matilda”, by Norman Elli n, and “Nature Is Your Guide”, Harold Gatty—we learn a good al more about the extraordinary e of Harold Gatty, head of Fiji rways, and former world-famous zr, who died late last year in Fiji.

IHE story of Gatty’s achievements, all packed into only 54 years of life, was told in PIM of Sep nber last. But few knew of his 5t attempt at a world-record flight, d of how near he came to death, is described in Ellison’s new book, ying Matilda (reviewed in PIM, n.); and the following is from at book: h 1930, Harold Bromley, Canadian ot, and Harold Gatty, Aus ilian navigator, were backed by a coma timber tycoon in an attempt make the first non-stop trans cific flight, Tacoma to Tokio, in a 3cially-equipped plane. No less an three planes crashed, when be \ tested.

Finally, they and their plane (the irth) were shipped to Japan. It ild carry fuel for 4,400 miles. The itance was 4,800 miles. In Sep nber, 1930, they took off from a panese beach, and hoped for a I wind. They got no wind, but t endless fog, a series of accidents equipment (the wind-driven fuel mp failed, and Gatty hand mped fuel for 18i hours) and just fore the point of no return was iched, with more than half the 3l gone, they turned back for pan. They reached the Japanese ist a few miles from where they .rted, after 22 hours’ blind flying i tribute to Gatty’s navigation.

For hours, the cracked motor had ured carbon monoxide into their )in —Bromley blacked out immedi ;ly after putting the plane down harmed on a sandhill. rhey abandoned the flight and ;urned to USA. rwo years later, because of his yigational skill, Gatty was selected go with Wiley Post —the first men fly around the world. Gatty was arded the American DFC, and t an important job in USA Air rce. His air navigation instru cts came standard equipment in •uglas planes, and a lifelong endship developed between Gatty d Donald Douglas.

Douglas sent Gatty to Australia th a plan for the establishment of II million Douglas aircraft factory sre. Prime Minister Joseph Lyons med down the proposition.

Douglas and Gatty then decided to investigate the idea of a trans pacific air service. Gatty favoured land-planes.

Islands 7 Ownership He personally investigated the history and titles of certain Pacific islands—Wake, Johnson, Kingman, Jarvis, Howland, Baker, Canton— and he was satisfied that, despite their colour (red) on most maps, Britain had no real title to them.

It was Gatty’s activity that started the lively British versus American competition to establish title (see many issues of PIM be tween 1934 and 1939).

In these inquiries, Gatty became impressed with the value of the fertiliser deposits on some of these small islands. He and Douglas formed the South Seas Commercial Company, to make use of the islands as sources of fertiliser and as air fields.

Then Pan American Airways said a few words. Douglas, they pointed out, built and sold airplanes. PAA bought and operated airplanes.

They should keep out of each other’s way. Douglas agreed.

Douglas joined the PAA board.

Gatty was retained by PAA to sur vey and establish the first trans pacific airline.

Gatty organised a PAA seaplane service via Palymra and Pago Pago to Auckland. No one knows how he persuaded the New Zealand Gov ernment to grant him landing rights. He failed to get similar per mission from Australia and, until World War 11, the PAA air-service terminated at Auckland. (over)

satty remained as general super or of PAA’s Pacific interests until irld War II came, and then he led the American-Australian Air :ces in the Pacific War.

No Australian Appreciation

aiison praises Gatty’s many lievements, and adds, pertin ly: But never has he had any token Australian appreciation. It is iwn that when he held the war e post of Director of Air Trans t, Allied HQ in Java, he was ; than popular in certain Aus lian military and airline circles.

Earlier, when he was organising first trans-Pacific airline ser , an American one, he had hes with some sections of Aus ian officialdom. And it is fair assume that Gatty’s effective ocacy of American possession of le tiny mid-Pacific islands, then iarently unwanted but since of lificant strategic and aeronautical le, did not make for his popu ty with the relevant British horities.

However, the fact remains that, ike every other international ious airman of his time, Gatty er had a token of approbation n his homeland. It is a flagrant ional oversight. Or worse.”

Let Nature Guide You

YEAR ago, in Suva, I sat with Harold Gatty and Publisher Collins, from London, and heard n discussing Gatty’s new book, i partly written. Its name then Let Nature Be Your Guide. atty, already a famous navi )r, claimed that it was possible ind one’s way around this globe, ly accurately, without naviga lal instruments. One was guided the sun, the moon, the stars, the Is, the winds, the waves, the ks on trees, the shape and move it of desert sands, the behaviour rivers, the way anthills are t. he manuscript was finished and t to London early last August.

August 30, Harold Gatty was d, of a coronary occlusion. Now, e is the book, exactly as author publisher described it to me; it has a better title — Nature Is ir Guide. his is, as Gatty says in his pre j, “a new sort of outdoor book.” ause of the invention of many s and instruments of navigation, b countless clues and guide-posts ch nature places at our disposal aids in natural navigation are e recognised or known to-day.” e, for the first time, those clues

1 guide-posts are described,

hey range from the camel

caravan system of keeping a straight line in the Australian deserts (leav ing behind a line of smoking fires) to the Captain Scott method of maintaining direction (leaving be hind a line of snow cairns) when crossing the featureless Antarctic wastes.

Although almost every kind of natural directional sign is ex amined and described, the author has given most space to the heavens (especially the stars) and the sea birds.

There are very numerous diagrams, sketches and photographs. Mr. Gatty must have devoted years of research to this work. These are, for example, drawings to enable one to identify each sea-bird, and four pages of small-type tables entitled, “Land Indications From Sea Birds.”

In its class, it is a most im portant contribution to the science of navigation, and to nature-study.

With his three books (The Raft Book, Around the World in Eight Days, and this one) Harold Gatty made for himself a place in air navigation that never can be for gotten.—RWß.

Nature Is Your Guide, by Harold Gatty.

Published by Collins, London and Sydney.

Price 20/- Aust,