Sold To Mal

Gibbes Airways

After negotiations extending

over some weeks, Gibbes Sepik

Airways Ltd., of Goroka, New

Guinea, appears to have been

purchased outright by Mandated

Airlines Ltd., of New Guinea (a subsidiary of the W. R. Carpen

ter group).*

MR. GIBBES retains ownership of house and land properties in the Highlands, and expects to make his future home there, as a planter.

The well known “Bobby” Gibbes began operating in New Guinea in 1948 with one Auster aircraft, and within two years he had a fleet of five Austers and two Norsemen.

Being himself an exceedingly skilful and daring airman, he carried on freighting and some passenger services in the Territory’s most difficult areas, mostly from Madang, Goroka and Lae. He and his organisation survived many accidents—he lost three Austers in 1950.

He finally established Gibbes; Sepik Airways Ltd, at Goroka, and, in recent years he has gathered, together there three large Junkers i planes (purchased in Sweden) and. six Norseman aircraft; and his air craft workshops in Goroka are; probably the largest and best-equipped in the Territory.

"Considerable Advantage"

It is believed that the absorption j of the Gibbes organisation— especially the Goroka workshops? and its staff of 11 European i technicians—will be of considerable j advantage to Mandated Airlines.

The genesis of Mandated Airlines? was the purchase in 1933 by W. R..

Carpenter & Co. Ltd. of two small I Moth planes, whereby the big firmi challenged the virtual monopoly ofl Morobe Goldfields air transporta- tion then enjoyed by Guinea Air ways Ltd., based on Lae.

The only other air operators at d that time were Pacific Aerial!

Transport Co. (Ray Parer) and!

Holdens Air Transport Service, bothi based on Salamaua.

Carpenters at first serviced their own stores; but in 1934 they\ got a two-engined DH Dragon Mothr and became competitive; and, later,, the enterprise was registered as a Mandated Airlines Ltd.

Later, Carpenters successfully \ challenged Guinea Airways for thes operation of the Australia-New v Guinea airmail service; but thisB organisation eventually was sold too Qantas. * But, up to October 10, no official an- nouncement had been made.