An expedition has failed to locate the remains of the Westland Widgeon G–AUKA Kookaburra lost during 1929 during the search for the Southern Cross. The expedition, led by Dr. C.J. Hilton of the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory hoped to recover the wreckage for exhibition in the Darwin Military Museum. A dispute has arisen as to whether the aircraft should be recovered and where it should be shown and who has actual title to it. The aircraft was relocated in 1961 but has since not been able to be discovered by several expeditions mounted. (AHSA 1975:69-70)
In 1975 the first official search was mounted since the Thornycroft expedition. Organised by Dr Colin Jack-Hinton, a director of the Northern Territory Art Galleries and Museum Board, it was backed by Federal funds. Vern O'Brien and John Haslett joined the party. The expedition was accompanied by an ABC camera crew and by Gary Moseley, a Vietnam War veteran, who piloted the expedition's helicopter.
For 10 days the party crashed through thick scrub and, aided by the helicipter, they searched the area where Vern O'Brien believed the Kookaburra lay. Despite his enormous experience as a surveyor and his previous relocation of the wreckage, O'Brien was unable to find any trace of it. Ironically the final successful expedition to locate the Kookaburra found wheel marks, which indicated that the ABC truck had come within a few hundred metres of the plane. Nevertheless, the ABC crew, directed by David Poynter, made an interesting documentary for the television programme A Big Country. (Davis 1980:116)
© 2020
David Nash
Created 31 December 2020
Modified 2 February 2024
URL http://www0.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/kt/1975-Kookaburra.html