Props & mags MAY 2015

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AVIATION MUSEUM

66 LIPSON STREET, PORT ADELAIDE P.O. BOX 150, PORT ADELAIDE, SA 5015. PHONE (08) 8240 1230

http://www.saam.org.au

FROM THE PRESIDENT On Tuesday 28th April the museum had the pleasure of hosting our first national convention. The Verve Creative Group hired the museum on behalf of its client, Genie, to stage a function for 150 guests. No expense was spared as the preparation for the event took all of Monday and Tuesday with the setting up of a kitchen in the workshop; and lighting, a sound stage, dinner placing and a bar in the hangar. The event was a tremendous success and our museum was certainly given a great deal of valuable exposure. Guests were welcomed and farewelled by the particularly spectacular sight and sound of the Merlin engine running at night. There are pictures of all the action on pages 2-5, and you might like to check Facebook for videos of the 10-piece Big Ole Bus Band and the Starlettes doing their thing. The Merlin is fast becoming a popular attraction at events. This year alone we have run the engine at the All British Day, Clipsal 500, Barossa Air Show, Mallala Historic Race Day and, of course, our own World War 1 Commemorative Family Day and the event described above. We will be running it again at the Mannum Truck and Ute Show on 7th June. These events draw large crowds and enable us to promote our museum widely to the public. We are posting videos on Facebook of the engine running at each event, and the number of “views” and “likes” certainly confirms the popularity and iconic status of the Merlin! Pieter van Dyk PRESIDENT

Left ..

BIG OLE BUS BAND

“A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM” ….. when the engines roared, the bands played and the Museum came to life after dark

S.A.A.M. COMMITTEE _____________

MUSEUM PATRON:

THE HON. ALEXANDER DOWNER AC

_______________

PRESIDENT: PIETER VAN DYK

VICE PRESIDENT

DAVID BYRNE

TREASURER: JOHN HILLIER

SECRETARY: MIKE MILLN

COLLECTION

MANAGER

PAUL DAW

COLLECTION MANAGER – AIRCRAFT

WAYNNE LEE

MEMBERSHIP ROD KOPP

PUBLIC RELATIONS JOHN ROBERTS

WORKSHOP MANAGER

GRAHAM BELL

Dates for your diary …….. GENERAL MEETING

16th MAY 2015 at 1.00pm

This will be preceded by a

BBQ LUNCH at 12 noon - Cost $5.00

HISTORY GROUP MEETING at 10.30am EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 4th JUNE 2015

2

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE HANGAR

Above .. The lighting being installed

3

Above .. Stage and tables set Left .. Slowly the guests move in

Right .. Finally, 150 Guests sitting down to dinner in the hangar.

AND EVEN THE WORKSHOP WAS TRANSFORMED….

Left .. The work benches were created and food preparation starts

Right .. And then the food was brought in. 4.

REMINDER … KATE CLEMENTS PRESENTATION Immediately after the General Members’ Meeting on Saturday 16th May Kate Clements is making a presentation to us about her honeymoon flight from Scotland to Parafield in 1968 in a Beagle Terrier.

Right ….

THE STARLETTES

5

THE ENTERTAINMENT

Left …

THE BIG OLE BUS BAND

Right … And what better way could you find to finish off a wonderful evening than with the Merlin in full throttle

Please note, these photos were taken with a camera without flash under trying (lighting) conditions, however they will give you some idea of the work that went in to setting it all up for just one night! Yes they were back on Wednesday morning and the Museum was back to normal by lunchtime. Incredible!!

A big THANK YOU to John Roberts for his efforts in getting this fantastic event into the Museum

6

WING TIPS

BOMBS AWAY!!!!! We are collecting, restoring and getting ready to display a collection of bombs. We have found 10 complete and incomplete bombs lying about the workshop. They are all practice bombs but look lethal anyway. Once they are restored and repainted they will be displayed under the Anson on a lookalike bomb trolley. Well, that’s the intention. We have located and are refurbishing some original safety pins and metal warning tags regarding the

installation and removal of the bombs and safety pins and wires. Some of the tags have the original copper safety wire still attached. Russel has made some striker pins that were missing from several bombs and Graham has made the safety pins. With the weather moving into cooler/colder days our fabric work on the Sheppard wings is slowing but not stopping. Before it gets too cold we hope to finish the installation of fabric on the Anson’s fuselage under side as the wood work section have almost completed an upgrade of the stringers.

On a louder note Laurie Beck has finally sorted the start and run technique on the Walter Minor engine. It now runs reliably and smoothly at an ideal idle speed of between 650 and 900 RPM. Well done Laurie! An almost skeleton like Gipsy Minor engine has been placed near Laurie’s work station and being another “Minor” it might get the attention it richly deserves. Over and Out Anson Crew and other “Minor” contributors

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AVIATION MUSEUM SIGNIFICANT AVIATOR PROFILES

HORATIO (HORRIE) CLIVE MILLER

Career History Horrie Miller was born at Creswick, Ballarat, Victoria on 30 April 1893 and died at Dalkeith, WA on 27 September 1980. After growing up with dairy farmers in Gippsland (his mother died when he was an infant; and his father moved to WA), Miller moved to Melbourne after achieving a basic level of education. He was employed by Tarrant Motors, automotive retailers. However the employer also had some links with aviation, and it was here that Miller met some future aviation pioneers such as Harry Hawker, Harry Kauper and Harry Busteed. Those three went to England in 1911, and Miller followed in 1913 after receiving an inheritance from his father. The three “Harry’s” had found employment with either the Bristol or Sopwith aircraft companies. Miller, using these connections, also found employment with Sopwith. Working long hours, Miller learnt about all aspects of aircraft construction. Miller was involved with The Tabloid biplane that Sopwith used to win the Schneider Seaplane Trophy in Monaco in April 1914. While still working at

Sopwith Miller made plans to conduct his own flying training, but this was interrupted by the outbreak of WWI when all aviation came under government control. Enquiries about enlisting in the Royal Flying Corps received negative replies as Miller was told he was not considered officer material, as he was not from the educated class. Instead, after hearing that Australia was forming her own Flying Corps, Miller returned home and enlisted in the Central Flying School. However he was told there would be some delay until the school was ready. Meanwhile Miller had drawn up plans to manufacture his own aircraft. While running a taxi business, the aircraft was built in rented premises around a French Gnome engine using parts from a smashed Bleriot. Under war regulations, all private aircraft had to be registered with the Defence Department. Miller informed the department of his endeavours by letter, and when it was finished he received a certificate dated 8 June 1916. Thus he became the owner of the first officially registered civil machine in Australia. The aircraft was badly damaged during an indoor engine test, but was rebuilt and towed to Point Cook, one week before Miller was due to enlist. Miller actually test flew the aircraft himself, but at the same time realised his limitations as a pilot. After notification of an overseas enlistment, Miller put the aircraft aside and sold the engine. He embarked in October 1916, and was attached to 3 Squadron. Basic and advanced training was undertaken in the UK, and some brief operational sorties were flown in France before Miller became sick with the Spanish Flu. He was posted to South Africa for convalescence, and then returned to Australia. On recovery he was posted to Point Cook where he tested planes. He also flew from Richmond, NSW, while waiting to return to France. But the armistice intervened and all movements were cancelled. Remaining with the AFC, Miller was 7.

Horrie Miller in cockpit of Fokker Universal VH-ujt at Parafield 1931 Courtesy D Darian Smith Collection

was involved in surveying, by road, an aviation route between Sydney and Melbourne. But in his own words, he was “too much of a lone wolf” for a long period of service life, and resigned in late 1919. Seeing a future in post-war aviation, Miller had ordered a disposals machine from the UK: an Armstrong Whitworth FK.8. But with no sign of delivery, Miller took a job with a South Australian aviation company in the seaside suburb of Glenelg. This was a true “barnstorming” enterprise, run by ex-AFC men and engaged in providing joy flights and anything else that would provide a commercial return. During one such flight in a Sopwith Dove, Miller was involved in a landing mishap, although nobody was seriously injured. A DH-6 biplane was acquired from the AFC in early 1920. Soon Miller was flying to regional towns in the aircraft. Later in 1920 he did some “Peace Loan” flying with the defence department. Finally Miller’s war surplus FK-8 arrived from England. It was assembled at Glenroy, in Victoria. With new business partners, he registered a venture known as The Commercial Aviation Company. The FK-8 was moved to Rochester where profitable barnstorming soon began. Unfortunately, during a severe thunderstorm in October the machine was badly damaged. Repairs were undertaken and much flying was accomplished during 1921 over much of eastern Australia. In early 1922 Miller’s partner wished to retire from the business to marry: the FK-8 was sold to Qantas. Miller was briefly involved in a venture which intended to operate Curtiss Seagull seaplanes off Adelaide – but the project proved unviable. Miller’s next venture was to buy a Bristol fighter and fit it with a 340hp engine. Miller flew it from Richmond to Melbourne. Miller then reached a deal to sell the Bristol to Qantas – delivered to Longreach at the seller’s risk. This was duly accomplished. Meanwhile, Miller ordered a DH-9 from the UK with a 240hp Puma engine. In the meantime he commenced flying in Brisbane, for an enterprise which operated an Avro 504k with a 100hp engine. Miller considered it dangerously underpowered and arranged for one of the 150hp engines from one of the Adelaide-based Curtiss flying boats to be installed. This proved so successful that Miller used it to obtain a win in the 1924 Aerial Derby held in Sydney (handicap section). The other Curtiss flying boat was used for a short time off Southport. Finally the DH-9 arrived in May 1925, and the Curtiss was sold. He re-joined the RAAF in August 1925, and unsuccessfully attempted to sell the service his new DH-9. Twelve months later he again embarked on a “barnstorming” career. While considering an Adelaide-Broken Hill air service, some successful flying was held from the latter city in 1927. The money earned enabled Miller to return to Adelaide, where he operated under the name Commercial Aviation Company from a hangar at Albert Park. However, the DH-9 crashed near Port Pirie in February 1928. Thus Miller realised how risky it was running a business with just one aircraft. However he needed finance to buy bigger and newer machines. Via a friend, Miller approached Macpherson Robertson, a well known chocolate manufacturer. He agreed to finance the purchase of an 8-seat DH-61 Giant Moth at a cost of £5,000. As a result the McRobertson Miller Aviation Company was registered in May 1928. 8.

DH-6 C9372 “The Clutching Hand” at Waikerie in late 1920 with Darcy Rees, Horrie Miller’s partner (left) and a passenger (P D)

9

Described as the most modern commercial aircraft then in Australia, the new DH-61 was named “Old Gold” after a popular chocolate bar. It commenced operations from the new aerodrome at Parafield, alongside a

growing fleet of smaller aircraft, including a Fokker and two Moths. The company commenced flying throughout South Australia, doing all types of work, including charters, medical evacuations and aerial photography. However “barnstorming activities” still formed much of the income. There were no government subsidies to support scheduled services, but Miller became known throughout the whole of regional South Australia. In October 1929, Miller won an air-race (and £1,000 prize money) from Sydney-Perth held to celebrate the centenary of WA. It was highly competitive and the handicapping system displayed Miller’s prowess as an aviator, navigator and engineer – many of the competitor’s aircraft could not sustain their performance over the long 2,500 mile journey.

However, after this the Great Depression began and severely curtailed activities. The leading airline at the time was Norman Brearly’s West Australian Airlines which operated a Perth-Adelaide service using large three-engined DH-66 Hercules aircraft. This had begun a five-year subsidised service in 1929 that proved highly successful. One morning at Parafield one of the pilots injured himself and convinced Miller to fly the aircraft in his place after a very quick brief on the aircraft. Despite having never flown such a large aircraft before, Miller flew it successfully to the mid-point of Forrest without the passengers any the wiser. As a result of the depression the DH-61 was sold to Western Australian Airlines. It was flown to Perth by Miller in April 1931. Around this time Harry Butler’s widow donated his Bristol monoplane to Miller, which he described as a delight to fly. With a new engine installed, Miller won the South Australian Aerial Derby in 1932. Some thirty years later, Miller donated the aircraft to the town of Minlaton – Butler’s birthplace – where it is displayed in a glass-sided display structure. Meanwhile the South Australian activities of the McRobertson Miller Aviation Company continued on a smaller scale until almost 1939 when the Department of Civil Aviation ordered them be transferred to Guinea Airways. In 1934 Miller again displayed his forward thinking. Despite a ban on the importation of American aircraft, Miller purchased a Lockheed Vega which he intended on entering in the 1934 Centenary Air Race from England to Australia. Two pilots were sent overseas to take possession of the aircraft.

DH61 Giant Moth G-AUTL at Parafield Courtesy D.Darian Smith Collection

H. C. Miller hangar circa 1929-30 Courtesy D. Darian Smith Collection

However during the race, on 21 October 1934 they crashed in Aleppo, Syria. It was packed and sent by boat to Fremantle, where it arrived in January 1935. Repairs took some eight months, and there was then a battle with the authorities over registration of an American aircraft. However it was finally able to fly and beat an RAAF Hawker Demon fighter during an aerial derby later that year. The aircraft was used until the war, when it was impressed by the RAAF. Flying from Maylands, Perth, during the second half of the 1930s it flew as far afield as Adelaide and Darwin. At this time MMA was to achieve the dream of operating a permanent, scheduled service. It won a government tender to operate a north-west service, formerly pioneered by Brearly’s operation. This would soon match up with international services arriving through Darwin operated by Qantas and KNILM. In this way MMA, under Miller, became based in Perth. Initially using aircraft such as DH Dragons, in 1938 the route was modernised with Lockheed Electra aircraft. These proved most successful on the lengthy 2,000 mile route, which connected virtually every significant town along the coastline between Perth and Darwin. Operations continued during the war, the service being deemed essential. Pilot Jimmy Woods was decorated by the Dutch government for his work in evacuating wounded civilians in an MMA Electra after the Japanese raid on Broome on 3 March 1942. Later, operations were further modernised and expanded using DC-3s. In 1955 the company merged, at the request of the WA State Government, with Airlines (WA) Ltd, to form MacRobertson Miller Airlines Ltd. Operations throughout regional WA were provided. In 1963, needing funds for new aircraft, the airline became a subsidiary of Ansett. Both Miller and the MacRobertson family sold their shares in the company, although Miller himself remained involved as an employee. Further modernisation took place which included Fokker F.27s and an F.28 jet. The company evolved further becoming Ansett WA in 1984. Miller retired in 1972 to live in Perth. In 1978 he received the highest aviation award, the Oswald Watt medal, and was appointed O.B.E. Miller himself died in 1980. He had six children, one of whom, Robin Miller, became known in her own right as an aviatrix and nurse fighting polio in remote communities. She was known as “The Sugarbird Lady”. Sources Include: Horrie Miller – A Pictoral Profile – The Early Years 1893-1936 by Kevin O’Reilly 2011 AHSA Miller, H.C. Early Birds. Rigby Limited, Adelaide 1968. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition, Miller, Horatio Clive (1893–1980) by Geraldine Byrne Peter Ingman History Group Member

To all those celebrating their birthday this month, we wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY and hope you have a great day.

10.