| Kookaburra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Westland Widgeon |
| Construction number | WA1775 |
| Registration | G-AUKA |
| Owners and operators | Keith Anderson |
| Last flight | 10 April 1929 |
| Fate | Abandoned in the Tanami Desert until remains were recovered and preserved |
| Preserved at | The remains are on display at Alice Springs |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10 April 1929 |
| Site | Tanami Desert, Australia |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Westland Widgeon |
| Registration | G-AUKA |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 2 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Kookaburra was a Westland Widgeon light aircraft registered G-AUKA.
The Westland Widgeon was a British light aircraft of the 1920s. A single-engined parasol monoplane, the Widgeon was built in small numbers before Westland abandoned production in 1929.
When Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the Southern Cross disappeared during the "Coffee Royal" incident in 1929, pilot Keith Anderson and mechanic Bob Hitchcock flew in Kookaburra to search for the men. Kookaburra departed Richmond, New South Wales on 10 April and headed for the north of Western Australia via Broken Hill, Maree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs.
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith, MC, AFC, often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator.
Southern Cross is the name of the Fokker F.VIIb/3m trimotor monoplane that in 1928 was flown by Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, Harry Lyon and James Warner in the first-ever trans-Pacific flight to Australia from the mainland United States, a distance of about 11,670 kilometres (7,250 mi).
Kookaburra was forced to land in the Tanami Desert when the push rod on a valve on number two cylinder loosened, causing a loss of power. Hitchcock adjusted the push rod and the two men attempted to clear a runway. They were overcome by thirst and perished before they could clear a runway long enough. Their bodies were found on 21 April 1929.
The Tanami Desert is a desert in northern Australia situated in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
A ground party traveled from Wave Hill Station and buried the men where they lay. Due to a shortage of water, the ground party did not have time to clear a runway long enough for Kookaburra to take off. After a public outcry for leaving the men in the desert, a second expedition with a Thornycroft truck returned to the site and exhumed the bodies. Again, due to a shortage of water, a runway could not be cleared so the aircraft was not moved. In July 1929 Anderson was re-buried in Sydney and Hitchcock in Perth.
Wave Hill Station, mostly referred to as Wave Hill, is a pastoral lease in the Northern Territory operating as a cattle station. The property is best known as the scene of the Wave Hill Walk-Off, a strike by Indigenous Australian workers for better pay and conditions, which in turn was an important influence on Aboriginal land rights in Australia.
Kookaburra remained in the desert as it was not economical to recover it. It was unexpectedly discovered in 1961 by Vern O'Brien, a surveyor traveling through the area. It had been damaged by three decades of rain and bushfires. O'Brien did not ascertain an accurate location for the aircraft because the Tanami is flat and featureless. Several expeditions searched for Kookaburra after 1961 but to no avail.
Australian businessman, pilot and adventurer Dick Smith mounted an expedition in 1977 to find the Kookaburra but was unsuccessful. He searched again in 1978 and this time succeeded in finding the remains of the aircraft. [1] [2]
Richard Harold Smith is an Australian entrepreneur, businessman, record-breaking aviator, philanthropist, and political activist. He is the founder of Dick Smith Electronics, Dick Smith Foods and Australian Geographic, and was selected as the 1986 Australian of the Year. In 2010 he founded the media production company Smith&Nasht with the intention of producing films about global issues. In 2015 he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia, and is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
The remains of Kookaburra were moved to a public display at Alice Springs Airport and are currently at the Central Australian Aviation Museum.
Alice Springs Airport is an Australian regional airport 7 nautical miles south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The airport was notably involved in Australia's first domestic airline hijacking, and later a suicide attack by a former airline employee which claimed the lives of four others.
