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pp. 43-44 · Read in the full issue
The Man
Behind The
During the last war a young lieutenant flew Seafire fighters off the deck of a Royal Navy aircraft carrier and probably kept his fingers crossed as he took off be cause the carrier was only 400 ft
long.
Now, with 12,000 flying hours logged in war and peace, the flier, Captain Neil McGregor Ganley of Suva, Fiji Airways’ chief pilot, has been awarded the Queen’s Com mendation for Valuable Service in the Air (in the Queen’s June Birth day Honours list).
The story of much of that service is the story of the growth of Fiji Airways from the modest creation of Harold Gatty, of the famous Wiley Post and Gatty team, to the present regional airline.
Captain Ganley, a New Zealander, joined Fiji Airways 13 years ago as one of a covey of six who operated with three Drovers and a D. H.
Rapide—the same Rapide which ended its life and those of its pas sengers and crew in New Caledonia about three years ago.
He was a replacement for the irre pressible Fred Ladd, recently in the Solomons where, only two months ago, he had a narrow shave when
Captain Neil Ganley, of Fiji Airways.
Photo: Stan Whippy.
his Beechcraft Baron came in for a pancake landing.
Al - .. . . r .. .
The other five were the chief Pilot Dorn McGook, now flying in the BSIP with Solomons Airways; Peter Frame, currently flying for Sudan Ainvays; Morne Morrissey, first officer with Air New Zealand; Gordon Shearer, who is Fiji Airways deputy chief pilot, and George Washington, late of Polynesian Air lines. Western Samoa, and now piloting Connellan Airways planes between Darwin and Alice Springs.
Before he flew in Fiji’s skies, Cap tain Ganley flew with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Airarm on photo re connaissance, and his cameras
recorded “happenings” in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
He took pictures of the Italy landings, of Salerno, Anzio, and Sicily’s Messina, and had a grand stand view of the Marseilles opera tloib , . , He flew from the deck of a makeshift carrier which the Navy called a Woolworth carrier, but whjch was officially known as He renews acquaintance with her even these d when the Italian cruise ship caUs at Suva he goes down t 0 the wharf and takes a j o ok at her. She was the Attacker when the war was over, Captain Ganley was , ent to the Royal Aus . kalian Navy and he flew to war again; this time as chief pilot of 816 Squadron. He flew a Firefly, and instead of cameras he carried rockets for ground attacking.
That ended in 1953 and two year later he joined Fiji Airways. His firs official flight as a pilot reminded hie that flying in Fiji had its ups an downs. He was out looking fo Brian McCook who had come dow in an unscheduled landing some where in the almost inaccessibl Namosi Hills about 20 miles north west of Suva. It was New Year Eve, 1955.
Still together
He found McCook on New Year Day. He spotted him waving frant cally from the rara (village green of a Fijian village.
McCook had a hole in his cheel which went through to the inside < his mouth, and he was minus a fe fingers.
The six fliers were still togeth< when Harold Gatty died in Augu 1957, and they were still togethe when, in 1959, Qantas had bougl the airline, and the first Heron ai craft flew in.
There were two of them, FAL ar FAX. Almost immediately, Fiji Ai ways, into which BOAC and A New Zealand, then Teal, had bougl themselves, spread its wings outsic Fiji.
A regular weekly service to Ton* was started. Then, in March 196 flights to the New Hebrides bega Nine months later the service ' the Solomons was born.
October, 1961, saw the Herons Western Samoa, and after that it w: to the Equator that the Herons wer to Funafuti in the Ellice Group at on to Tarawa.
And that is the flight pattern the moment —but with a differenc The new twin-engined turbo pro HS 748 does the journey in half tl time.
Now Fiji Airways has four oper ting Herons, two DC 3s and tl HS 748 with another HS 748 e pected in Fiji in December. • Extensions worth $25,000 w 5 be completed to Blums HomeU Honiara, early next year. They ii elude six new rooms, a laundry, a dr cleaning service and a cafeteria. Pr prietor of the hometel, Mr. A.
Blum, said the extensions were beii made because of the increase visitors to Honiara.