Aviation Historical Society of Australia

Aviation Historical Society OF Australia Registered in Australia for transmission by post as a periodical I:'- VOLUME IX NUMBER 4 JULY-AUGUST 1968. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 (AUST.) isiii IBII ■ .....■v,-J Sllilli ill ill I® ■imii IIP m . - III ii i; iiiSiilfiiiiSil AoH.SoAc Journal -75- July August 1968 EAST^ÎEST AIRLINES THE FIRST 21 YEARSc Roger McDonalde Sunday^ 23rd June 1968 was the twenty-first anniversary of East-West Airlines Ltd, This airline is tht^ only one remaining out of ten or more formed in the early post war years5 to survive and grow into a large intra-state operator« The origins of East-West go back to the latter part of 1946 when the resident instructor of the Tamworth Branch of the Newcastle Aero Club^ Squadron Leader Basil Brown^ conceived the idea of forming a local airlineo After interesting local people in the idea^^ the ^Ânson Holding Company^^ was formxed to acquire surplus ex RoAoAoF. Avro Anson aircraft for the yet un-nam.ed airlineo At this time operations from the Tamwnrth Aerodromxe were not considered as the then Butler Air Transport held an option over the Sydney-Tamworth route. The trading name^ East-West Airlines^ appeared on December 23rd^ 1946^ as it was the intention to operate over the east-?/est route of ^ Moree to GraftoUc However it was soon realised that the proposed route would not provide sufficient traffic^ so when the Butler option on Tamiworth lapsed, it was decided to base operations there and fly the Tamworth-Sydney route* The Anson Holding Compam^ purchased four Arsons from the RoA«A*F, and these were converted by Marshall Airways^ of Bankstown^ for airline usee The firsts NH-ASM^ came onto the civil register on May 7th 1947, while the second^ 'VH-AYI^ was added on Jul-y- jrirttr; After the necessary civil aviation licences were granted, THÂSM: made a trial Tanworth-Sydney flight on June 7th^ returning to Tamworth on the Bth, The remaining two Ansons^ TO-EWA and \HI-BKL_, were added to the register on December 19th 1947 and April 14th, 1948 respectively, The new air service was first advertised in the local press on June 19th the fare being $7„50 and was to commence’ on June 23rdV The servioe did start on the SSrdo^ and was scheduled three times weekly (Mon., Wedo, Fri,)«y However, after three weeks service and with the addition, on MH-AYI, the service became daily except for Tuesday. Sc^ .........-With the disbandment of the Anson Holding Company, the company,, East-West Airlines Ltd,, was incorporated as a public company on July 11th, 1947, when it was registered in Sydney with a’^paid up capital of |534,OOOo The first and present chairman was Mr. DoHo Shand of Armidale. Other directors, including Sqn, Ldr„ Basil Brown, were residents of the Hew England area. The staff of the company numbered five. The operations of East—’flest Airlines were officially declared open by the then Director of Civil Aviation, Air Marshal Williams, at a ceremony at Tamworth Aero drome on. September 6th, 1947= During the ceremony, Mrs. Shand named the Ansons, VII-ASM "Hinlcler" and m-AYI "Smithy”, During September 1947, East-Tifest pioneered aerial agriculture in Australia, by superphosphating 600 acres of linseed by air in the 'ffalcha district using the Tiger Moth 'VE-PSS.^thiB being the first commercial aerial agriculture venture in Australia, This sideline to the com.pany was carried on until October 1949 when a separate company Irgriouiture Pty, Ltd, was formed, ■Detailri -of airg-paf-t-.-taken over by the--a:ew--8-eHipa'Hy ha-Vfr-hecn loot in the—p&ee-age of timo-. A substantial increase in East-West dparations occurred during 194&, On April iOth, a survey'of the Tamworth-Glen Iroies-Brisbane route was flown and regular services^ commenced on April 19th and by June were being flown six times per week.^ y The first twelve menths operations returned a net profit of $1,792, with 7,632 passengers being’carried. The Anson fleet had increased to six aircraft, but one was written of.f on October 12th 1949, when TO-BLO suffered an engine failure on take-off at Tamworth and came down in an adjoining paddock, without injury to the passengers but the pilot, Capt, John Rentell lost a leg in the accident. Further expansion occurred' during 1948/9„ Armidale was added to the route network late in 1948 and further'extensions were temporîly tried in 1949, The first sixteen passenger Lockheed Hudson, VH-BHJ, purchased through the Shell Oil Com.pany, was introduced into service on December 22nd, 1949. On June 17th 1950, East-West operated its first night flight when Hudson VH-BHJ AoHoSoAo Journal -76- July-August 1968 departed Tamworth for Sydney at 6o30pm| a special flare path being laid at Tamworth for the occasiono Also at the end of June, air taxi work was introduced by the company using the three-seater Klemm Eagle W-UTG which had been rebuilt at Tamworth, The Klemmj as well as the Butler Bat VH—ARG-, were both purchased from an unknown source and were unairworthy at the time of purchase in mid-1949. The Klemm was lost on July 28th 1950<, IThile dropping supplies to flood-bound homes in the Moree district., the front end of the crankshaft fractured and the propeller was shed. The pilot ditched in the flood waters, shearing off parts of both wings as he went between trees. The fate of the Butler Bat while in East-West's posseôn cannot be traced, December 1950 saw the introduction of two further Hudsons, WE-BKY and VH-JCM, both purchased from the defunct Curtiss Madsen Airlines, Also in December, a second Anson VH-BKL was written off when it made a forced landing near Stanthorpe on the 5th, after it suffered engine failure, No-one was injured. On March 29th 1951, the first "Air Tour" left Tamworth for points in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory, This was the first and fore-runner of regular Air Tours to be operated by East-TsTest Airlines. The next big increase in operations occurred in 1953j the first DC-3 was acquired on July 22ndo, from QANTAS, this being VB-EAlvI which was re-registered ATH-EWA, On August 1st 1953, East-fifest acquired control of South Coast Airways Pty, Ltd,, and their main route of Sydney-Cowra-?fest Wyalong was first flown by East-West's DC-3 on August 3rd, The two Lockheed Lodestars being used by South Coast Airways were not included in the take-oTer, The financial year ending June 1953, saw the first profit of $12,748 earned for four years after accumulated losses amounted to $55,722, ........Two further DC-3*s were acquired during 1955; VH-EWD (ex VH-AEZ of TAA) on February 17th, and VH-EWF (ex VH-AEE of TAA) on May 11th, New additions to the route network were Newcastle, Inverell, Port Macquarie and Cootamundra. The latter service was discontinued in August 1956, Persistent heavy rain and floods during the end of 1955 and the first half of 1956 in northern N„S.W, caused severe strains on East-West's operations; a large number of were cancelled and by February 1956 the Tamworth aerodrome became unserviceable ® °P®^®'^Tons to the new airfield under construction at Westdale, before any facilities, engineering or otherwise, were available. This disruption to operations resulted in a large loss of $50,066 for the financial year. During 1957, the two remaining Hudson’aircraft were transferred from passenger operations to other duties. On March 1st,, VH-EWR (ex VE-BPT, VH-EiE) commenced rain making experiments over the Snowy Mountains on behalf of the C.S.IoR.O. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), VH-EIS (ex VH-EWB) was shortly afterwards converted for high altitude photography for the N«SoW, Dept, of Lands, Ten years successful operations were celebrated on June 23rd 1957, During the period, 341,052 passengers were carried and the airline was flying to eleven country centres between Sydney and Brisbane, A fourth^ DC-3 was acquired on October 17th 1957 (ex RAAF A65-21), this becoming VH-EM, In a move to encourage further aviation activity at Tamworth, East-West announced on November 11th 1958, that they had purchased sole manufacturing rights to the Millicer Air Tourer, It was planned to manufacture these at Tamworth in partnership with an overseas company, A separate subsidiary. Pacific and Western Aviation Co, Ltd, was formed to handle East-West's interest in the project, However, due to problems encountered, the rights to the design were re-sold to Victa Consolidated Industries Pty, Ltd, Pacific and Western is still an East-West subsidiary and handles the non- airline activities of the parent company, March 1959 was high-lighted by the announcement of.the lease-purchase of a Fokker F-27, made available by T.A.A. under a Federal Governme^nt scheme whereby ToA.A. allotted three Fokkers to smaller intra-state operators, with generous repayment terns. The Fokker, VH-EWA "City o.f Tamworth" arrived in Tamworth on August 12th after being accepted in Holland by EoW.A, The first turbo-prop service was the 7,00am Tamworth- AoHoSoAo Jouxnal July-Âugust 1968 Sydney flight on August 26tho Also in March^ a Beech Do50^ 'VHÊiT^ was introduced on CoSoIoBqOo rainmaking activitieso In April I96O5 the real test of East-West^ s desire to remain an independant air=- line camOo Ansett Transport Industries Ltdo/made an offer of l5o50 cash or l6o40 in a share exchange for the whole of the $220^^000 paid capitalo This offer was rejected outright by a vote of EoW<>Ao shareholders at a meeting on May 14thc After claims by East-West that Ansett was again endeavouring to get control of the company^ the then Labout State Government announced on

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