1933 - Mysterious plane parts found at Jervis bay.

THEORIES ABOUND.

 

A charred and rusted aeroplane wing was found at Jervis Bay, the Civil Aviation Authorities were puzzled by the find.

Many theories were put forward, most were discounted. It was thought they might be parts off the Ryan Monoplane “ the Aotearoa” which Moncreif and Hood, two New Zealanders, attempted to fly across the Tasman in 1928, they disappeared and were never found,  this was discounted. Another theory, It was thought it might have come from the Southern Cloud, an Avro 618,  The Southern Cloud flew daily air services, and during a trip between Sydney and Melbourne disappeared in March 1931 without a trace with 6 passengers and two crew, this was discounted once the relics were examined. . Another theory put forward, was it might have come from the R.A.A.F,  D.H.9A in which Captain W.J.Strutt and Sergeant Dalgell set out from Melbourne in 1920 to search for the Schooner Amelia J, reported missing in the Bass Straight area. The plane was not seen again, until wreckage was found floating near Fiji two years later over 2000 miles from the initial search area and that wreckage was believed to be from the missing D.H 9A. Examination of the wreckage found in Jervis Bay discounted this theory as well. . Senior air inspector Captain T.E Johnson:  The parts could not have come from any British machine in Australia as they were made to fit a machine with a big wing span, between 50 and 60 feet. .

Another theory, They may have drifted from Hawaii, They may be parts from a machine which hurled into the Pacific during the Dole race from San Francisco to Hawaii in 1927. .

Another Theory, During a visit of the American Fleet two single float seaplanes crashed. One fell into Port Phillip Bay and was never found, while the other crashed near Longueville. .

And still another theory came forward, They may have belonged to a seaplane lost from a Scandavanian whaling fleet in the South Pacific, and the campers have used the wood and parts as fuel for fires. .

It was thought the burnt parts could not have been burnt as bad as they were,  if the plane had caught fire in the air and fallen into the sea. .

The final theory, advanced by authorities at Mascot, is that the parts belonged to a Curtis Flying Boat imported to Australia and never flown. The machine was lying on a beach near Botany Bay for some time, and subsequently,  parts were taken to a spot near Jervis Bay to be used for building a weekend camp. The mystery still remains.   .

Post Script. On 26 October 1958, a worker on the Snowy Hydro-electric Scheme named Tom Sonter was bushwalking on his day off. Near the little dam at Deep Creek, he came across the twisted wreck of a plane, and found some skeletons s well. The mystery of the Southern Cloud was finally solved.

Attribution: "Airco D.H.9A ExCC". Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Airco_D.H.9A_ExCC.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Airco_D.H.9A_ExCC.jpg Southern Cloud: http://richandyon.com/?p=1402 Aeroplane Aotearoa: Lieutenant J R Moncrieff. Ref: 1/2-051197-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23228357