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The Old School Report Historical Society May 2018 Merimbula –Imlay The Old School Report Historical Society www.merimbulahistoricalsociety.webhive.com.au May 2018 Nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a Diary - man’s character, give him power. [Abraham Lincoln] Mon 28 May 2pm - Thinking of today’s leaders!! M-HIS general meeting RSL Mon 11 June 10am - From the Editor - Jazz at the Museum Here I am in beautiful Tasmania again! Launceston this time - luckily as Hobart was Mon 25 June 2pm - washed out as you probably saw on the news. Actually we were in Hobart the weekend M-HIS general meeting before the deluge as we joined a protest against construction of a cable car on Kunanyi, RSL the now accepted Aboriginal name of Mt Wellington. Apart from scarring the natural Sat 21 July 7,30pm - beauty of the mountain, a cable car would be considerably dangerous in the sudden mas- Trivia Fundraiser at sive winds that come rushing round the peak and would in all probability have to be closed Club Sapphire half the year!! Anyway we joined thousands of like-minded people and listened to Mon 30 July 2pm - M- speeches by Richard Flanagan, Bob Brown, Andrew Wilkie and a couple of representa- HIS general meeting tives from the Aboriginal community. And speaking of Richard Flanagan, I am currently reading his new novel, First Person, which I can highly recommend. Mon 27 August 2pm - In this issue you can read both of Andrew McManus’s transcripts of talks to the M-HIS M-HIS Annual General meetings so if you missed the meeting you can catch up here! Also I have included my Meeting contribution to the ‘My Culture, my Story’ display as first part of a series. Look out for our exciting coming events. As you are all aware the museum needs finances to continue running so on Queen’s Birthday public holiday Monday 11 June we are having Committee members - Jazz at the Museum including some of the musicians from the Jazz Festival, stalls - President - Don Bretherton books, cakes, plants, Chocolate Wheel and -anything else we might think of! This is a free V-P 1 - Garry Moorhead event however donations are always gratefully accepted! On Saturday 21 July there will be a Trivia Night at Club Sapphire with Quizmaster, Alan Brown, and lots of games and Secretary - Shirley Bazley fun. Tell your friends and make up a table of 8. We need lots of people to make the night a Treasurer - Gary Selman success so spread the word. Curator - Liz Bretherton You might notice I have added to the list of committee members others who have posi- tions in the organization but are not on the committee. I felt it was time they were acknowl- Committee members -Andrew edged for the work they do - especially as one of them is me! - so have added them to the McManus, Brigitte Kestermann, list. If I’ve left anybody out please let me know.Olwen Morris Geraldine McCann Curator’s Corner - Non-committee Positions Some photos of Liz Bretherton’s Asian cooking demo from Saturday 19 May. One of our Archivist - Colette Moorhead members described the event as “a lovely experience to sit in the sun and sample deli- Librarian - Anne Birgan cious food!” A highlight was Don setting fire to a roll of kitchen paper, after instructing Liz on how to operate the gas burner!! Publicity & Newsletter 14 people attended and there were requests for a replay in the future. Perhaps in the late editor - Olwen Morris Spring when weather will be warmer for the outside venue. The event raised $225. Well done, Liz! Liz meticulously preparing her Looks delicious! I can almost smell Mouth watering! Noodles à la Liz! Members and visitors sampling the food on a ingredients for the feast! the wonderful flavours! lovely sunny afternoon! 1 When Smithy came to Bega - Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was one of Australia’s and the world’s great aviators. After serving gallantly in the Australian Flying Corps over the Western Front from 1916-1918, he came home determined to make a career for himself in aviation and to help Australian aviation develop to its potential. In June 1927, he became the first person to fly from the USA to Australia and in September of the same year, the first to fly from Australia to New Zealand. In 1930, he achieved the first east-west crossing of the Atlantic, against the prevailing winds of the Gulf Stream. “New York gave him a tumultuous welcome”, according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography (to whom the author is indebted for the above information). By 1928, ‘Smithy’ was a national hero, acclaimed in songs such as “Hats Off to our Airmen” and “Kingsford Smith, Aussie is Proud of You.” In 1931, the Post Office released a range of postage stamps bearing his image (the first time a living person had been so commemorated) and in 1932, he was knighted. He even figured in advertisements. Yet, despite the fame generated by his remark- able achievements, by 1932, according to the Dictionary, “Kingsford Smith was almost back to where he had started, selling joy-flights at ten shillings a trip”. In 1931, Australian National Airlines, founded by Kingsford Smith and his co- pilot Charles Ulm, went bankrupt after the crash of two of its aircraft and in March 1932, he crashed the famous Southern Cross on landing after a night flight over Sydney to celebrate the opening of the new Harbour Bridge. As Peter Fitzsimmons puts it ‘....six weeks and £1500 later, he had no choice but to head back out again, through Wellington, Warren Narromine, Dubbo....’ and Bega. Smithy was no stranger to Bega. In 1929, he had been the best man at the wed- ding of his cousin Raymond Kingsford in Bega, where, so the Southern Recorder tells us, he ‘attracted almost as much public attention as the bride’ – a comment the bride must have treasured! Smithy generously lent the newly-weds his car, a 1928 Studebaker President Straight Eight, of 100 horsepower, valued at 1000 pounds. However, on their return journey from their honeymoon at Genoa, they drove through a bushfire and a tree collapsed across the front of the car, forcing them off the road towards a deep gully south of Eden. The tree crushed the front of the car and trapped the driver’s foot on the brake. They stopped at the edge of the gully. They were rescued by local people and were unhurt. The car was a write-off. In February 1932, Smithy, his wife and some friends spent two weeks on holiday in Merimbula during the course of which ‘he went out for ducks about Wallagoot but the birds, no doubt scenting a rival of the air, stepped on it in their best style, keeping well out of reach of the guns of the party. They returned with empty bags’, commented the Nowra Leader of March 11th 1932. In October 1932, however, he came down purely for business. On the 23rd, he landed at Bombala racecourse in the Southern Cross, accompanied by Captain Pat Hall in the Southern Cross Midget. The Bombala Times reported that, after a welcome by the mayor and the Returned Soldiers, “Sir Charles and his companions got to business, and bookings for seats and flights followed in quick succession”. Both aircraft flew from 10.30 am until after 1 pm. “It is estimated, roughly,” said the Times, “that the takings amounted to over £150. Sir Charles expressed himself as being highly delighted with the result. Out of 200 towns visited lately, it was said that Bombala showed the best financial result for a morning session.” And then it was on to Bega. “BEGA TAKES TO THE AIR”was the headline in the Bega District News of Monday October 24th. The paper went on to report that “close on 2000 people” attended the landing of Kingsford Smith’s two aircraft: “Long before the appointed time for their arrival, the roads from Bega and outlying towns were crowded with all kinds of traffic making for Mr B Gow- ing’s paddock to witness the landing.” Mr Gowing’s paddock was at Jellat Flat, about 7 km southeast of Bega and Kingsford Smith’s was possibly the first use of the paddock as an airstrip, as it was necessary to light a fire in paddock so that the pilots could determine wind direction from the smoke of the fire. The lack of a windsock, a basic landing aid since the early days of flight, suggests that the paddock had not played host to aircraft before, at least not on any regular basis. The District News takes up the tale: “At fifteen minutes past two the “Southern Cross Midget” was sighted coming along the Southern Cross in Bega sky from the west..........Captain Pat Hall landed his plane gracefully then came the “Southern Cross”, all eyes being turned skywards to see the grand old bus and her skilled pilot. She looked great up there in the sunlight, cutting her way through the air and with pride that large concourse of people must have watched for they all knew what Sir Charles and his companions in this plane had accomplished, battling through the elements time and again on their long flights and winning out to make a name for Australia that thrilled its people and the world.” (continued next page) 2 (continued from p 2) Smithy brought the Southern Cross down for a perfect landing, says the District News. “Thecrowd thronged around to obtain a close view of the airman and the plane was inspected from propellers to tail shaft.
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