Flying Bass Strait - stories of Tasmania's aviation history, from Lieut. Long's first crossing| James R Boag | 2013 [USED – SC – Rare]

James R. Boag structures this book as a year-by-year chronicle of key events in Bass Strait aviation history, from 1914 to 1956.

The first flight in Tasmania took place in 1914, when Andrew Delfosse Badgery demonstrated his own flying machine at Elwood Showground before an astonished crowd. No one that day imagined anyone flying across the notoriously stormy waters of Bass Strait — but five years later, in 1919, ex-Australian Flying Corps officer Lieutenant Arthur Long did exactly that, flying from Stanley, Tasmania, to Torquay, Victoria, and carrying the first airmail across the strait.

Boag traces the story from there: the 1920s search for regular air services, the first women to fly Bass Strait, seaplane flights, the founding of the Tasmanian Aero Club, and Bert Hinkler's visit to Tasmania in 1928. In 1934, Holyman's Airways introduced Miss Hobart, a new four-engined de Havilland DH.86 — only to lose her without trace three weeks later, on 19 October 1934, 16km off Wilsons Promontory, with all 11 aboard killed, including the airline's own co-founder, Captain Victor Holyman. No wreckage or remains were ever found. Among the passengers was Miss Kathleen Mercer, of the Mercer family who at the time owned and resided at Foxhunters Return — the very building The Book Cellar occupies today in Campbell Town. A second DH.86, the Loina, was lost the following year in similarly mysterious circumstances.

The book continues through wartime RAAF training and reconnaissance flights, the post-war introduction of the Douglas DC3, DC4 and Convair, the arrival of the Viscount, and Ansett and Trans-Australia Airlines' competing services, closing with the end of what the book calls "the romantic era" of Bass Strait flying.

Also featured: Harold Gatty, born here in Campbell Town — see our biography of him, Gatty: Prince of Navigators, in Related Products.

See Related Products below for more Bass Strait aviation history — order two or more titles together and we'll combine postage into one parcel. Many more of our Tasmanian titles are yet to be listed online — see our full catalogues at justtassiebooks.com/catalogues.html.

BOOK DETAILS

• Softcover book
• Published 2013
• 279-pages
• Black/white photos

CONDITION

Used but very good condition.

DELIVERY & IN-STORE PICKUP

• Combined Shipping: Sourcing multiple titles for your Tasmanian history library? The Book Cellar offers combined flat-rate parcel delivery across Australia. Secure your books using our online checkout, or phone the bookshop directly on 03 6381 1545 to coordinate multi-volume shipping.
• Free Instore Pickup: Located in Tasmania or travelling the Midland Highway? Select "Instore Pickup" at checkout to pay no postage and collect your items directly from the counter at The Book Cellar, underneath Foxhunters Return in Campbell Town.