Last changed 4 February 2024

Kookaburra G-AUKA

Wikipedia entry Kookaburra (aircraft) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra_(aircraft)

The ill-fated Kookaburra aeroplane's last flight left Alice Springs on 10 April 1929 and ended with a forced landing south-east of Wave Hill. The subsequent search for the aircraft (by air and land), and then the recovery of the bodies of Anderson and Hitchcock involved a number of trips to the area, and decades later, a number of expeditions trying to locate the remains of the aircraft. Once it was re-located in 1978, there was a separate recovery of the airframe, and subsequently a number of commemorative visits to the location.

Anderson and Hitchcock's aim was to join the search for the Southern Cross G-AUSU, which had departed Sydney for Wyndham on 30 March 1929 but after a 28 hours sent a distress message (with no position) and made a forced landing. On Friday 5 April Capt. Les Holden in his Giant Moth DH61 aeroplane Canberra G-AUHW departed Sydney to search for the Southern Cross, and on 12 April located it.

On 21 April 1929 at 12:10pm the Kookaburra was located from the air by Lester Brain in the QANTAS DH50J Atalanta G-AUHE (NB not Atlanta). Brain had earlier piloted American Jim Stark in 1925 or 1925/26 in an aerial survey towards Tanami.

On 23 April 1929 Capt. Les Holden in the Canberra G-AUHW 'conveying the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr. Abbott) and his party, flew across the scene of the landing' (Sydney Morning Herald - 18 June 1929). The shadow of the Canberra can be seen in this photo of the Kookaburra https://slwa.wa.gov.au/images/wepon/transport/005583d.jpg The Canberra arrived back in Sydney on Saturday 27 April, with a description of what they had seen form the air (SMH 29 April 1929 page 7).

A ground party from Wave Hill, guided by an aircraft reached the Kookaburra and buried the bodies on Monday 29 April 1929 (Nash 1982, Charola & Meakins 2016).

The next month a separate party (on a new Thornycroft truck), using the marks of a 1928 railway survey, reached the site and recovered the bodies (Berg 1929, Miles 1929, Nash 1982).

On 24 July 1961 an NT Administration party chanced upon the remains of the Kookaburra while traversing from Wave Hill to Powell Creek (Ellis 1961). Subsequently many searches were made to locate and possibly retrieve the remains.

Those searches not mentioned by Davis include an attempt made by the RAAF during an exercise in 1971 acting on the information in O'Brien's record of his 1961 journey. An RAAF aircraft searched the area without success. In September 1971, John Kenna financed an aerial search with Jim Thomas of Alice Springs as pilot, and Ian Pirie and Ron Flavel. They followed O'Brien's 1961 wheel tracks, which were still clearly visible across the drought-stricken area. In July 1972, Jim Thomas flew Hitchcock's sister and her daughter over the area. The wheel tracks seen the previous year were no longer clear, due to significant falls of rain. Harry Mason, a geologist with Otto Exploration, in May 1977 made an aerial search again with pilot Jim Thomas. By this time, the only place where O'Brien's 1961 tracks were visible was the Renehan Ridges area. An overland expedition in 1974 was made by the writer Joyce Batty, and Ron and Helen Riding, all of Adelaide. (Nash 1982)

In 1974 there were two other searches. One included Vern O'Brien of the 1961 party. A water catchment drum was marked (from photograph in Davis 1980:117):

    6th AUGUST '74
KOOKABURRA SEARCH
G. CHILTON    G. EERDEN
J. HASLETT    T. HAYNES
R. MILLER    V. O'BRIEN

APPROX. 18°LAT. 132° LONG.

The third 1974 search was based at Kununurra. They left a monument in the search area, with a plaque (now in the Kununurra museum):

IN MEMORY OF
HITCHCOCK & ANDERSON
PIONEER AVIATORS
WHO PERISHED AFTER A
FORCED LANDING NEAR
THIS SPOT JULY 1929

ERECTED BY A PARTY FROM
KUNUNURRA. W.A.
21st SEPTEMBER 1974

In 1975 a major search by Darwin officials, and filmed by the ABC.

In 1977 the entrepreneur Dick Smith made a preliminary helicopter visit to the area in April, then instigated a search expedition in July using a grader, helicopter and a Unimog truck (Drake 1977, Geo 1979). The party included Gerald Nolan (co-ordinator), Gary Crapp, R (Bob) Coombe (helicopter), Keith Lock, Dave Poynter, Nigel Davies (surveyor), Peter Rappo, Kim Craig, Ben Sandilands, Jenny & Peter Lake. The base camp was at 17°59'55"S 132°00'28"E.
Smith returned in August 1978 when his party was at last successful in finding the Kookaburra airframe. The peope in 1978 were R (Bob) Coombe (helicopter), Gary Crapp, Keith Lock, Tony Peter, N Pottie, and Dick & Pip Smith and their two daughters. (Geo 1979)

In April 1979 a party from Alice Springs and Darwin placed a memorial at the site, with a mast and rainwater catchment. This can be seen in https://confluence.org/photo.php?visitid=10953&pic=2
There have been a number of subsequent commemorative visits.
30-31 July 1988 Aust Army Aviation Kiowa helicopter
10 April 1989 Hitchcock's sister and niece, Thomas family, Perry Morey
22 February 1994 "Deep in the Tanami Desert we put down at the spot where the celebrated Kookaburra made a forced landing in 1929," (Pip Smith 1996:26, Hazelton 1994)
2016?: Chris Grieves, Henry Hitchcock (grandson)
2018: Dick Smith attempted to find his 1977 plaque near 18°S 132°E
2018: All 4 Adventure team Simon Anderson, Jason Andrews; Gordon Jackson (2019, 2020, 2021 YouTube); also retrieved Dick Smith's 1977 plaque from near 18°S 132°E
10 April 2019: Hitchcock family

Overflights:
3 May 2021 5 aircraft from Hunter Recreational Flying Club (Crowe 2021)

There has long been a story associating the area of the Kookaburra forced landing with a gold reef, said to have been encountered by the Thornycroft Expedition (Kennedy 1975).

a reputed rich gold-reef was very close to where the Kookaburra went down. (Davis 1980:112)

References (ordered by year)

1929: [photograph] Aerial view taken of Westland Widgeon III biplane G-AUKA 'Kookaburra' after it was forced to land near Wave Hill, Northern Territory, 23 April 1929 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-151423758
'Life and death of Keith Anderson' photographs, including 2 of the Kookaburra taken from the Canberra https://catalogue.slwa.wa.gov.au/record=b1987558~S2
1929: Eaton's diary in Farram 2007; Douglas' log etc in Douglas 1958
1929: Miles, Leslie (Les) Raymond. 1929. Diary account of the Thornycroft Expedition into Central Australia to recover the bodies of aviators Anderson and Hitchcock in 1929. 30 March to 30 June 1929. Held at National Museum of Australia, 1985.0027.0001.001 http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/?object=111760 http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/object/111760/print https://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/icons/images/kaui2/index.html#/home
1929: Berg, W.N. 1929?. The story of the Thornycroft expedition to the centre of Australia. May-June 1929. 16pp. [Daily Guardian pamphlet] https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22057121

1929: Report of AIr Inquiry Committee in connexion with the flights of aeroplanes "Southern Cross" and "Kookaburra". March–April 1929. Dated 14 June 1929. 14 pages. National Archives of Australia CRSA460 item G5/38.
1958: Douglas, Group Captain Eric (1902–70). 1958. The RAAF Search for Anderson and Hitchcock – in the Ryans Well – Wave Hill vicinity of the Northern Territory in April, 1929. October 1958 manuscript; prepared for publication by Sally Douglas, 2013. * 1958 version: MS 9014, State Library of Victoria http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1fe7t3h/SLV_VOYAGER1638325 * EoAS entry http://www.eoas.info/archives/BSAR03117.htm
Douglas, Sally, Douglas, Eric. 1929. Rough log of ground party's trip to Lieutenant Anderson's machine & back. Territory Times Gone By Collection, Library & Archives NT. https://hdl.handle.net/10070/574449
1961: Surveyors find crash remains. NT News Thursday 3 August 1961, page 4
1961: Ellis, Lindsay. 1961. Ghost plane of the dead heart. Australasian Post 28 September 1961, 2–4.
1974: Anon. 1974. The ill-fated Kookaburra. Northern Territory Newsletter May 1974,3-8.
1974: Kununurra Museum object - KHS-2013-116-H-A-O — 1974 Plaque for 1929 Kookaburra Victims. https://www.facebook.com/Kununurra.Museum/photos/a.723160961044745/5224488790911917/ * posted 11 December 2021
1975: Kennedy, Frank. 1975. Seeking the Kookaburra. The West Australian. Magazine. 16 August, page 23. * Frank Nottle and Rod Liebernecht
1976: Regulations under the NT Native and Historical Objects and Areas Preservation Ordinance. 6 April 1976. http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/num_reg/nahopr5o1976578/nahopr5o1976578.pdf
1977: Drake, Laurie. 1977. Kookaburra -- mystery plane. Australian Outdoors December 1977 cover, 14-18. https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/australian-outdoors-1997/ linking to https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Australia-Outdoors-December-1977-FINAL-1.pdf * see also Drake 1984
1977: Moffitt, Ian. 1977. Search for a long-lost plane. Bulletin 30 April, 24-25. * Dick Smith and Gerald Nolan
1978: Haslett, John M.W. 1978. The Kookaburra saga — 49 years of aviation history. 6pp. typescript, Darwin, September 1978. Corrected copy 17/4/79.
1978: Brain, Lester. 1978. [Letter to editor] Aircraft December, 15 * commenting on 'Flashback No.2' in October issue, pp.32-33
1979: Haslett, John M.W. 1979. Northern Territory 'Kookaburra' memorial expedition, north-east Tanami Desert — April 10th, 1979. 4pp. typescript, Darwin, 12 April 1979. * Dick Miller, John Haslett, John Gorrell, Bob Milliken; Jim Thomas, Bill Kinsman, Alison Thomas, Rachel Thomas; Perry Morey
1979: GEO: Australia's Geographical Magazine 1.2,112-131 https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/26328262 * Dick Smith's account of the 1978 re-discovery, many photographs
1980: Davis, Pedr. 1980. Kookaburra. The most compelling story in Australia's aviation history. Research by Dick Smith. Story by Pedr Davis. [Cataloguing-in-Publication Data has different subtitle: Australian aviation's most compelling story.] Sydney, Auckland, London, New York: Landsdowne Press. http://dicksmithadventure.com.au/kookaburra-1980/ linking to https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Kookaburra-Dick-Smith-and-Pedr-Davis.pdfhttps://openlibrary.org/books/OL3842680M/Kookaburra_the_most_compelling_story_in_Australia's_aviation_history
1981: Dahlenburg, Terry. 1981. Coffee Royal affair. NT News 16 May, page 4 * includes story of 'Kookaburra' engine
1981: Coffee Royal Affair Expedition 1981 (also 'The Coffee Royal affair') [movie] 46m52s duration. https://vimeo.com/user56134971 linked from https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/coffee-royal-affair-expedition * 2 Kookaburra segments: 28:32–30:40 re-enactment of 1929; 31:45–38:47 locating in 1978
1982: Nash, David. 1982. Aboriginal knowledge of the aeroplane 'Kookaburra'. Aboriginal History 6.1,61-73. http://doi.org/10.22459/AH.06.2011 ISSN:0314-8769 http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p71431/pdf/article05.pdf * also at http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=089338818206100;res=IELHSS
1984: Drake, Laurie. 1984. Desert search for a long lost plane. Australian Adventures 126-130. * 1977 search * see Drake 1977
1994: Hazelton, Jim. 1994. Terrey Hills to Kathmandu by helicopter VH-SHW. AOPA 47.10(October),70-71,74-79. * visited 'Kookaburra' memorial 22/2/94
1996: Smith, Dick & Pip. 1996. Above the world. Terrey Hills: Australian Geographic. https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/above-the-world/ linking to https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Above-the-World_Dick-and-Pip-Smith.pdf
2001: Curran, Stan. 2001. Per ardua ad astra. Post World War 1. The Whisperer: The Newsletter of the Beaufighter and Boston Association of Queensland March 10-11; June, 8-10; December, 4-5. https://www.ozatwar.com/raaf/whisperer/newsletter.htm
2007: Farram, Steven Glen. 2007. Charles 'Moth' Eaton : pioneer aviator of the Northern Territory. Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press. http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46657930 * pp.4-13,59-60 Eaton's first trip to the Northern Territory: the search for the Kookaburra
2016: Charola, Erika & Felicity Meakins (eds). 2016. Yijarni : true stories from Gurindji country. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/204657492 * one chapter presents in Gurindji (with English translation) Dandy Danbayarri's account of the first ground search
2019: ABC. 2019. Coffee Royal affair. ABC News item. 2m46s https://dicksmithadventure.com.au/abc-news-the-coffee-royal-affair-a-tribute-to-bobby-hitchcock-and-keith-anderson/ linking to https://vimeo.com/330383479 * descendants of Anderson and Hitchcock met with Dick Smith at Richmond airport on 90th anniversary
2019: Simon crawls to the Kookaburra: Extra ► All 4 Adventure TV 13 Jan 2019 1m55s 'The boys also trek deep into the Tanami Desert to the site of “Kookaburra, the most compelling story in Australia’s aviation history.”' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WBvTGWP-p8
2019: A conversation with Dick Smith: The Kookaburra ► All 4 Adventure TV. 28 Aug 2019 7 min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahSuEdsYi2A
2020: WE WERE WARNED — How we got TWO HUNDRED+ tyre punctures!! ► All 4 Adventure 30 Jul 2020 12m48s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2OjqPu1g4s
2021: Crowe, Alan. 2021. Flight of the Kookaburra. Sport Pilot (RAAus) August 2021,70-75 * links to gallery of photos https://hunterflyers.com.au/photo-gallery/, 'Historic Kookaburra trip' https://sites.google.com/view/vk2li/flying/kookaburra

To 1975 search page
To Karlantijpa page

URL http://www0.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/kt/1929-Kookaburra.html