Flightpath - May 2018

54 |FLIGHTPATH

WhileintheGulfofCarpentaria,thecrew

wereaskedtohelplocatealostShortScion

amphibian. Pilot Stuart Campbell, with a

passengerhaddisappearedintheFlyRiver

areawhileonaerialsurveywork.ThePap-

uan Concessions company offered to pay the

Commonwealth for costs incurred in the use

of the Southampton.

TheScionwasquicklylocatedontheFly

RiveratMadiriPlantationon27July,and

afterthebigflyingboathadlanded(inthe

handsofHempel)theScion’screwwere

found safe and sound. While the search had

beenquicklyconcluded,theDefenceMinis-

ter,SirRobertArchdaleParkhillKCMG,stat-

ed:“Theinformationandexperiencethus

gained will be of considerable future value to

theAirForcefromastrategicaswellasa

surveypointofview,anditalsoenabledare-

port to be submitted to the Civil Aviation

Branch on the possibility of obtaining land-

ing grounds at Daru, and on the coast of New

Guinea.Inviewofthesecircumstances,I

have approved that no claim should be made

against Papuan Concessions.”

However the Southampton’s own adven-

turessoonafterwardshitaroughpatch,lit-

erally,whenitstruckacoralreef,andwhile

that damage was being repaired it was de-

cided to replace one of the engines. Five

weeks later, with the new engine fitted and

thehullfixed,theSouthamptonwasflown

to Port Moresby and survey work undertak-

enalongthecoastofPapua,lookingforpos-

sible sites at Kikori, Kerema and Yule Island.

Howeverthenewenginewasn’tsatisfactory,

theSouthamptonreturningtoPortMoresby

whereitstayeduntil27Septemberwhile

further engine work was carried out, where-

upon it returned to Thursday Island and

continued the around-Australia flight.

Heretheaircrafthitasubmergedlog,a

wingfloatwasrippedoffandthewingdam-

aged. For the following two months the air-

craftremainedataMissionStationnearNor-

manton, with O’Donnell ending up in

Thursday Island hospital with tropical ulcers

for most of October. A Hawker Demon was

ABOVE:The second of the RAAF’s Southamptons, A11-2, inside the seaplane shed

(still surviving today) at Point Cook.[RAAF Museum Archive]

BELOW:SouthamptonA11-1aftertheround-Australialightof1935-36ledby

Squadron Leader Arthur E. Hempel (third from right). The black armbands were

mourningforthedeathofGeorgeVinJanuary1936.[State Library of Victoria]

BOTTOM:The RAAF Southampton A11-1 outside the sheds of the Southern

Tarmac at Point Cook.[State Library of Victoria]