ACUFO-1934-10-19-VICTORIA-1
Ufologically speaking, the “mystery” of the loss of the four-engine de Havilland plane “Miss Hobart” over the Bass Strait, between Tasmania and Australia, started with ufologist Paul B. Norman, Vice-President of the Australian ufology group Victorian UFO Research Society (VUFORS), of Moorabbin, Victoria 3189, Australia; he was also MUFON's representative in Victoria, and a member of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS).
Paul Norman told about this in the 1984 MUFON Symposium in the USA, and his paper was then published in the ufology magazine Flying Saucer Review, in the U-K., Volume 31, No. 2, of January 1986.
Discussing early Australian UFO cases, Norman said that one of the early examples took place on October 19, 1935, when the Miss Hobart, a new four-engine plane, took off from Launceston, Tasmania, for Melbourne at 9 a.m., under perfect flying conditions, clear sky and visibility over 30 miles.
Norman told that on board were Captain Gilbert Jenkins and co-pilot V. C. Holyman, with ten passengers. At 10:20 a.m., the Miss Hobart was approaching the Victorian coast when her last message was received, “all is well”. At 10:51 a.m., the radio operator at Melbourne called the plane. There was no answer; he called again at 10:56. There was still no answer, and no Mayday distress call had been heard.
The mystery deepened, said Norman, when a surveyor, Mr. H. Campbell and his crew, who were working 18 miles from where the captain reported his last position, said that he heard the engines of an airplane suddenly cease. He remarked to his fellow-workers that it was strange for such a thing to happen. There was no crash - just silence. They thought no more about it until after the aircraft was reported missing.
The spot where the survey crew was working was directly on the flight path the Miss Hobart would have followed if it had completed its flight. The time was 10 minutes after the last radio contact.
Norman adds that on the night of October 19th, residents 15 miles from where the airplane vanished “reported strange lights in the sky.” The captain who flew the Miss Hobart on the previous flight reported there were no flares aboard.
Three days later, the cargo ship Koolinga, bound for Melbourne, sighted lights not far from where the plane last reported its position.
Norman explained that as the aircraft's four engines were the 200 H.P. Gypsy VI type, in the event of failure, two engines could have kept the Miss Hobart airborne, and that this was just one more incident where an aircraft was reported missing during a period of UFO activity over Bass Strait.
In the 2010 - 2020's, on the Web, some people started to publish even more dramatic versions.
One such story claimed that “not one piece of wreckage surfaced”, and that “reports of the case at the time did mention strange aerial machines and an audible humming”. It is even claimed that “One of the official transmissions from Miss Hobart” stated that the “drone of a plane suddenly stop!” as the aircraft came towards them, and that “This last transmission was sent around the same time the airliner is thought to have met its unfortunate end.”
One author would write that he wonders whether “this suggest some kind of naturally occurring phenomena created by specific seasonal or gravitational conditions?” Or, “if we assume these bizarre encounters are UFO related, might these naturally occurring conditions be utilized by space travelers as a portal or wormhole to get from their part of the space and time to ours?”
Browsing through the local Press of the time, with references available below in this file, I can make the following corrections.
The date given by Paul Norman as “October 19, 1935” was actually October 19, 1934. The incident took place approximately as Norman described it, but the issues start with what Norman made of the “surveyor, Mr. H. Campbell and his crew”. First, it was only Mr. H. Campbell and one worker; second, the Press son found out that the “engine stop” Mr. Campbell and his colleague witnessed was not at the tome the Miss Hobart flew by, but what a noise that came from a later rescue plane searching for the Miss Hobart. The Mirror, Perth newspaper, on page 6 for October 20, 1934, reported:
“There is reason to believe that the aeroplane heard by surveyor Campbell may have been the Miss Launceston and not the Miss Hobart, as the Miss Launceston passed this locality at 10.15 or 10.10, and was sighted from the Promontory light house. The course which pilots believe the Miss Hobart would probably have followed as confirmed also by previous reports from the missing plane, would place her further to the west and probably out of sight or hearing of Promontory.”
So this “engine stop” Mr. Campbell heard is unrelated to the “Miss Hobart mystery”. The Press noted that the terrain where this was heard was hilly, so that, in my opinion, the plane engines noises could just stop as the plane passed behind a hill.
The Telegraph, of Brisbane, wrote on page 7 for October 20, 1934, about the “lights” that Paul Norman interpreted as UFOs. It told that “many conflicting reports have been received from residents in the district”, and that one “that may be of great significance” came from a resident of Foster, Mr. Charles Dyring, who stated that at 10.30 p.m. on October 19, 1934, “he saw a flare in the sky near Mount Hunter.” We are told that “Mr Foster is convinced that it was a signal light.” So though this light remains unidentified, it occurred well after the loss of the Miss Hobart, and one could hardly claim that it was surely an extraterrestrial craft.
As for the claim that “Reports of the case at the time did mention strange aerial machines and an audible humming” that appeared on the Web after the 2000's, they are just nonsense.
Some Web articles, though not always using the UFO angle, argue that the loss of the Miss Hobart is a real mystery, unexplained to day. However, it is not that simple. The very next day after the loss, the Press mentioned a possible cause for the loss. It appeared that although Gilbert Jenkins was at the controls when the Miss Hobart left Launceston, it was thought that Captain V. C. Holyman had taken over the controls before 10.20 a.m., when the last radio message from the plane was received in Melbourne, sent by Jenkins. This suggested that the two men had switched seats, and that as the plane neared the coast, Captain Holyman may have attempted to hand back the controls to his co-pilot. Pilots at the time explained that this operation would be difficult, “as both are big men”, and the space for the pilots restricted. They said: “If either had bumped against the wheel the accident might have taken place with dramatic swiftness. Indeed, it is generally thought that whatever happened must have taken place very quickly, as there seems no other way of accounting for the absence of a wireless message asking for assistance.”
Other experts noted that it had been verified that a bump in the wheel could easily put the plane into a crash dive; a 2018 report on the crash by the Tasmanian Aviation Historical Society noted that although “unable to present a conclusive report, investigators suggested that the fin design and adjustment mechanism was excessively sensitive. This could cause the aircraft yawing at an increasing rate, which if not corrected, could cause a potentially fatal spin.”
Note that of the 15 Australian D.H. 86, four had crashed, 2 in 1934, and 2 in 135, before improvements were made; which probably saved the rest of them.
The modern claim that “no wreckage was found” is nonsense. I show in my file below that the 1934 newspapers told otherwise. A seat, and various other debris were found on the shores in the weeks after the crash and positively identified as remains of the Miss Hobart.
The “success” of the story, essentially on modern Websites, rests on the idea that Bass Strait is something akin the Bermuda Triangle; the much more puzzling disappearance of private pilot Frederick Valentich over Bass Strait in 1978 had fueled searches for earlier “mysteries” thought to be similar. This one was not.
| Date: | October 19, 1934 |
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| Time: | 10:20 a.m. |
| Duration: | N/A |
| First known report date: | 1984 |
| Reporting delay: | 5 decades. |
| Country: | Australia |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Victoria |
| City or place: | Near the coast. |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 1 |
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| Number of known witnesses: | 1 |
| Number of named witnesses: | 1 |
| Reporting channel: | Ufologist Paul Norman. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Day, clear sky. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | ? |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | ? |
| Witnesses action: | |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Flare. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual:
[ ] Airborne radar: N/A. [ ] Directional ground radar: N/A. [ ] Height finder ground radar: N/A. [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [X] Damages: Aircraft crashed. |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | Unarmed. |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 1 |
| ACUFO: | Not UFO-related. |
[Ref. mey1:] NEWSPAPER "THE MERCURY":
No news has been received of the Tasmanian air liner, Miss Hobart, which disappeared during her flight from Launceston to Melbourne on Friday. Grave fears are felt for the safety of the passengers and pilots, and prayers for their well-being and the comfort of their relatives are being offered by the churches.
During the week-end a fleet of aeroplanes, operating from the Victorian side, spent every available minute in conducting an intensive search of the area near which the last wireless was despatched from the plane. No sign of the Miss Hobart was found, but the Southampton flying boat observed a large patch of oil on the surface of the water near the Citadel Light. It is proposed to examine the type of oil in an endeavour to test the theory that it may be from the tanks of the missing liner.
Captain I. Holyman, in an interview at Launceston, scouted the possibility of a petrol shortage or a failure of the wireless equipment. Lieutenant K. M. Frewin, who was prevented by influenza from piloting the Miss Hobart on Friday, has joined the searchers, and expresses the opinion that the controls may have been bumped as the pilots were changing over.
The Governor (Sir Ernest Clark) and Lady Clark have issued a message expressing their “intense sorrow” at the anxiety of the relatives of the passengers and pilots.
MELBOURNE, October 21.
An intense aerial search for the missing Miss Hobart was made yesterday and to-day. Six aeroplanes and a Supermarine Southampton flying boat searched all day on Saturday, but only one clue of importance was found. This was a large patch of oil found by the Supermarine on the sea near Citadel-Island, about ten miles west of Wilson's Promontory. The Southampton landed in the smooth water in the lee of Wilson's Promontory. It found no signs of wreckage near the oil stain, which was large, and which extended about one and a half miles.
The Southampton and the Holyman airliner, Miss Launceston, which was flown from Tasmania by Lieutenant K. M. Frewin, searched the sea between Curtis Island and Cape Woolamai along the route which the Miss Hobart would normally take. The land machines flew over the heavily-timbered mountains and low-lying flats in the region of Wilson's Promontory and Phillip Island. Apart from the oil stain on the sea, nothing was found which could indicate the fate of the missing aeroplane.
The search began shortly before dawn on Saturday, when a Civil Aviation Department Moth, piloted by Flight-Lieutenant D. Moss, another. Moth loaned by the Victorian flying school, piloted by Mr. D. Cameron; a Puss Moth flown by Mr. Frank Thomas, and a Moth piloted by Mr. D. H. Boston, all set out from Essendon. They made for the emergency landing ground at Yanakie, which, was used as a base for the search. At Yanakie the four planes were joined by the Hart Aviation Co.'s Desoutter monoplane, piloted by Mr. B. Watt, and the Miss Launceston. The Southampton, which left Point Cook early on Saturday morning, landed in the vee of Wilson's Promontory. Flight-Lieut. Ross presided at the meeting of pilots, who planned the area each was to search for the rest of the day. All day the search continued, but no sign of the Miss Hobart was found. In the afternoon, flying conditions were difficult, as a boisterous north-easterly wind was blowing.
At the conclusion of the morning search the planes returned to the rough landing ground at Yanakie, where the pilots lunched and then resumed the search. When they returned to Melbourne each of them could only report, “Nothing seen.”
Lieut. Frewin, who usually pilots the Miss Hobart, but who was prevented from doing so on Friday morning, owing to an attack of influenza, said that the liner was easy to handle. It was carrying sufficient fuel to remain in the air until noon, at least. The possibility of all four engines failing simultaneously was too remote to consider, and the Miss Hobart, he said, could' remain aloft on any two engines, and maintain a speed of 95 miles an hour. The only possible causes of the accident, he considered, were a structural defect, or a mishap to the pilot. The possibility of a structural defect was remote, as the weather was fine, and flying conditions good when, the plane was last heard of. “A more likely solution,” said Mr. Frewin, “is that the pilots were changing places and the controls were knocked, causing a sudden dive into the sea.”
Although Mr. Gilbert Jenkins was at the controls when the Miss Hobart left Launceston, it is thought that Captain V. C. Holyman had taken over before 10.20 a.m., when the last wireless message despatched from the plane was received in Melbourne. Jenkins sent that message, and it is possible, as the plane neared the coast; that Captain Holyman may have attempted to hand back the controls to his co-pilot. This operation would be difficult, as both are big men, and the space for the pilots restricted. If either had bumped against the wheel the accident might have taken place with dramatic swiftness. Indeed, it is generally thought that whatever happened must have taken place very quickly, as there seems no other way of accounting for the absence of a wireless message asking for assistance.
Rumours have been abroad to the effect that the Miss Hobart was lightly loaded with petrol, and the possibility of nor supply having become exhausted was discussed, with Captain Ivan Holyman, chairman of directors of Holyman's Airways Pty. Ltd., at Launceston yesterday. He asserted definitely that the petrol tanks which carry 114 gallons, were full before the departure of the aeroplane from Launceston on Friday. He said that she had sufficient petrol for a flight occupying 31 hours, and he discounted the idea that she could have run out of fuel. He said that the last wireless message received from the aeroplane at iU-20 am. on Friday contained the information that the petrol supply on board was sufficient for a flight of 31 hours, and at that time the Miss Ho Hobart was at about 120 miles being within one hour of reaching Melbourne, even allowing for the possibility of strong winds.
Captain Holyman admitted that the Miss Hobart had recently landed at Flinders Island on a flight from Melbourne to Tasmania, and had taken in fresh supplies of petrol, but he said that on that occasion she had encountered very strong head winds. Even then, the landing was made only as a precautionary measure to take in more petrol, and the machine had not become actually short of petrol... When she left Tasmania on Friday she had sufficient petrol to give her a range of 450 miles. If there had been any shortage, the petrol gauges would have indicated the fact, and there would have been plenty of time to have reached the emergency landing ground at Yanakie, on Wilson's Promontory, as at 10.20 a.m. the machine was within only a few minutes flying distance of the-Victorian coast. Asked whether he had any theory to account for the mishap, Captain Holyman said he had none, and, he only wished that he could account for it. The disaster, if such it were, had apparently been caused by something happening by a chance which was one in a million.
The question whether Captain V. C. Holyman or Mr. O. E. Jenkins was piloting the aeroplane at the time has been raised, and it had been reported that the last wireless message was sent by Mr. Jenkins. When the matter was referred to Captain Ivan Holyman, he said he had no idea whose voice it was which gave the last wireless announcement. That would be determined only when an investigation was made into the occurrence. Though it is believed that certain adjustments to the wireless transmitter had been necessary in the initial stages, it was apparent that the apparatus was functioning satisfactorily on the flight on Friday. Captain Holyman stated that no trouble had been experienced with the wireless equipment. It was suggested to him that it was considered by some to be strange that no wireless message had been received from the machine when trouble was experienced. He said that the answer was obvious. The deduction was that something must have happened instantaneously. The factor tended to discount the theory that the mishap might have arisen through shortage of petrol, because if that had been the case there would have been plenty of time to send out a message when it was noticed that petrol was getting low. The electric gauges would show the amount of fuel in the tanks.
When the aeroplane Miss Launceston left Tasmania on Saturday morning to search for the missing machine, she was piloted by Lieut K. Frewin, who was accompanied by Mr. J. Stubbs; ground engineer, and Mr. A. Bain, another member of the firm's staff. There were no passengers on the Miss Launceston. Captain Holyman stated that the Miss Launceston would return to Tasmania until he gave orders, but would continue in the search for the Miss Hobart. In the meantime, the air service for mails and passengers would be suspended temporarily. Captain Holyman will leave Launceston for Melbourne by the Nairana tomorrow.
Concerning the quantity of oil which had been observed on the surface of the sea tn the vicinity of the Citadel Light on Wilson's Promontory, Captain Holy man said that wireless messages had been despatched to the steamers Lanena and Tambar to proceed to the locality and take samples for analysis. The brand of lubricating oil used by the Miss Hobart, he said, was a Vacuum oil, known as “Aero W.” If an analysis of the oil on the surface of the water were obtained it should clear up the matter.
Taking into account service runs only, the machines of the company have flown 210,005 miles, and have carried 2,669 passengers, 1,105 lb. of mail matter, and 8,577 lb. of freight. The machines have been in the air 2,212 hours 53 minutes.
Advice was received by Captain Ivan Holyman last night that the Southampton, flying-boat had continued to search yesterday morning, but heavy rain affected the visibility, and the machine had to return to the aerodrome at noon. The Dragon air liner Miss Launceston did not leave on the search yesterday owing to the inclement weather conditions, and further search in the afternoon was precluded. The search will be resumed today if the conditions are improved.
[Biographical information on the missing people, sympathies... I show only the parts about the crew:]
Captain V. C. Holyman, managing director and chief pilot of Holyman's Airways Pty. Ltd., also has established a notable record. Not only is he the oldest pilot In the Bass Strait service, but is one of the oldest in the commercial air service in Australia. He holds the record for the number of crossings between Launceston and Melbourne, having completed 110 trips in the air. He commenced his flights in the Strait service in the Fox Moth, with which the company commenced operations in August, 1932, and has been flying the Dragon, Miss Launceston, for the last 19 months. He holds also a distinguished record of war flying in the Royal Naval Air Service. His piloting has always been characterised by sound judgment, and that discretion and skill engendered by his long association with the air service during the war period. Captain Holyman in 1910 was actively engaged with the Royal Naval Air Service No. 3 bombing wing at Nancy, in the North of France, and the following year was with the No 5 fighting squadron at St. Eloi, flying Sopwith triplanes, afterwards serving with No. 6 squadron on the Somme and with No. 4 squadron. He was instructor in scout flying at Manstone, England, towards the end of 1917, and later was experimental officer in the Royal Naval Air Service at Martlesham Heath, England. In 1918-9 he was assistant air service adviser for the Commonwealth Government at the Naval Office, Melbourne.
Apart from his career in aviation, Captain Holyman has had long experience in command of steamers and in sail, and is one of the best-known sea captains in southern Australian waters. He went to sea in 1900 in a square rigged ship trading to Mauritius, and had an interesting career at sea prior to the war. After the cessation of hostilities, when he relinquished his duties at the Navy Office, he again took to the sea, and in command of various vessels trading in the service of W. Holyman and Sons has made 1,100 crossings of Bass Strait. Steamers which he has commanded include the Kooringa, Waroatea, Hall Caine, Awaroa, Laranah, and Koomela.
Mr. S. E. Jenkins, who joined the company on July 20, commenced flying In 1925 at Point Cook, and the following year he went to the United States of America, where he joined the Reanbeault Air Service. The following year he went to the West Indies, where he flew a three-engined Wright Whirlwind machine for 18 months. In 1929 he went to Canada as chief Instructor for the Saskatoon Aero Club, after which he was offered a commission in the Canadian Air Force, with which he served from 1929 until 1932, carrying out Instructional work. During the latter year he left the Air Force in Canada, and went to Vancouver, where he joined Captain Clark, flying Vickers Viking flying boats. After leaving Vancouver he joined the Mathews' Aviation Co. in Australia, and for 12 months was employed in the Bass Strait service. He has flown a total of 2,400 hours.
[Ref. pnm1:] PAUL NORMAN:
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Paul B. Norman
Vice-President VUFORS (Victorian UFO Research Society), P.O. Box 43, Moorabbin, Victoria 3189, Australia
(© 1984 Paul B. Norman)
With the special permission of Mr Norman, we have very great pleasure in presenting the full text of this paper as given in the MUFON 1984 Symposium Proceedings. It was also used as the theme for his lecture tours in the United States and In Africa in 1984.
Born and educated in the United States, Mr Norman served for six years in the U.S. Navy and thereafter worked in various places as an engineer In charge of hydroelectric and thermoelectric plants. He became interested In UFOs In 1953, when he saw one hovering over a power plant In Tennessee.
In 1963 he migrated to Melbourne, Australia, and rapidly became one of the foremost UFO Investigators in that country, serving as Vice-President and Investigations Officer for the prestigious VUFORS Group. He Is MUFON's representative in Victoria and also a member of Dr Hynek's Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS). - EDITOR
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Another earlier example took place on October 19, 1935. The Miss Hobart, a new four-engine plane, took off from Launceston, Tasmania, for Melbourne at 9 am. The day was perfect for flying. The sky was clear and visibility was over thirty miles. On board were Captain Gilbert Jenkins and co-pilot V. C. Holyman, with ten passengers. At 10:20 a.m., the Miss Hobart was approaching the Victorian coast when her last message was received, “all is well”. At 10:51 a.m., the radio operator at Melbourne called the plane. There was no answer. He called again at 10:56. There was still no answer and no Mayday distress call had been heard. The mystery deepened when a surveyor, Mr. H. Campbell and his crew, who were working 18 miles from where the captain reported his last position, said that he heard the engines of an airplane suddenly cease. He remarked to his fellow-workers that it was strange for such a thing to happen. There was no crash - just silence. They thought no more about it until after the aircraft was reported missing.
The spot where the survey crew was working was directly on the flight path the Miss Hobart would have followed if it had completed its flight. The time was ten minutes after the last radio contact. On the night of October 19th, residents 15 miles from where the airplane vanished, reported strange lights in the sky. The captain who flew the Miss Hobart on the previous flight reported there were no flares aboard. Three days later, the cargo ship Koolinga, bound for Melbourne, sighted lights not far from where the plane last reported its position. The aircraft's four engines were the 200 h.p. Gypsy VI type. In the event of failure, two engines could have kept the Miss Hobart airborne. This is just one more incident where an aircraft was reported missing during a period of UFO activity over Bass Strait.
[Ref. mlt1:] MARCUS LOWTH:
In late-1934 the Miss Hobart airliner would vanish without a trace over the mysterious waters. Nine passengers and two pilots disappeared with it. Weather conditions were perfect for flying, and the plane (a DH86) was one of the most powerful planes of its day. What's more, experts assured investigators there was no way all four of the plane's engines would have stopped working at the same time. Even if this was the case, they would argue, the plane would still have been able to maintain height long enough to make an emergency landing.
Searches would proceed along the strait, including the use of military warships and aircraft. However, not one piece of wreckage surfaced. Reports of the case at the time did mention strange aerial machines and an audible humming. One of the official transmissions from Miss Hobart would state that they could hear the “drone of a plane suddenly stop!” as the aircraft came towards them.
This last transmission was sent around the same time the airliner is thought to have met its unfortunate end.
Coincidentally or not, the Miss Hobart incident would happen almost forty-four years to the day before the Fred Valentich case. And under the exact same weather conditions.
Furthermore, the detail about the plane engine suddenly stopping was one shared by Jason Manifold, the son of Roy Manifold who snapped the picture on the evening of the Valentich incident. He would state later to researchers, that while his father had gone inside after taking the photograph, he could hear the sound of a plane, although he couldn't see it. Then, instead of gradually getting lower, it “suddenly cut out! (The) engine noise just ended like a radio being turned off!”
Naturally Occurring Phenomena?
Might this suggest some kind of naturally occurring phenomena created by specific seasonal or gravitational conditions? Or, if we assume these bizarre encounters are UFO related, might these naturally occurring conditions be utilized by space travelers as a portal or wormhole to get from their part of the space and time to ours?
[Ref. mlt2:] MARCUS LOWTH:
WEIRD STUFF | FEBRUARY 11, 2018
by Marcus Lowth
In October 1934, while crossing the Bass Strait in perfect weather conditions for flying, the airliner Miss Hobart would vanish without a trace.[2] There were 11 people on board, nine passengers and two pilots. Neither they nor even the smallest amount of wreckage was ever discovered despite extensive searches by military aircraft and vessels. Aviation experts, both at the time and today, believe the loss of the Miss Hobart to be a genuine mystery, not least due to the de Havilland DH86 aircraft (example pictured above) being one of the most advanced of its era. It made use of four independent engines, with the likelihood of all four engines failing at the same time being almost universally dismissed. Even if that had happened, the plane was designed so that it should have been able to be guided to an emergency landing. The last transmission from the Miss Hobart spookily shares a detail with that of the Jason Manifold account. The crew allegedly claimed they could hear the sound of a plane around them, and there were even several reports of an “aerial machine” coming toward them. They then reported that the humming sound had suddenly stopped. Nothing more was heard from the Miss Hobart after that.
[Ref. rwn1:] REG. A. WATSON:
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By Reg A Watson, historian
Posted on October 22, 2018
On Friday, October 19, 1934, the alarm went out... the airliner Miss Hobart had gone missing between Launceston and Melbourne.
Miss Hobart was a four engine, 12 passengers De Havilland 86 which left Western Junction airport at 9am. Ten Tasmanians were aboard; seven men, including the Rev. H.E. Warren of St Mary's township on the east coast, and two women, one with a small child. Rev Hubert Warren was on his way to take over St Thomas' Church, Enfield, Sydney. His wife and children, deciding not to accompany him, had planned to travel to Sydney by steamer.
One of the women was Miss K Mercer, a well-known competitive horse rider from Campbell Town in the Midlands. One of the men was Garnet Rupert Gourlay who had served with the 1st Battalion Commonwealth Horse during The Anglo-Boer War and later with the 40th Battalion in WWI.
Mr Gilbert Jenkins and Captain V C Holyman, traffic manager of Holyman's Airways, piloted the airliner. Gilbert Jenkins was ex-Royal Australian Air Force and ex-Canadian Air Force, with which he had commanded a squadron. After leaving the services, Mr Jenkins had further comprehensive flying experience, commuting between the mainland and Tasmania many times. It was only in July of that same year that he had accepted the post with Holyman's Airways Pty Ltd.
The plane was last heard from at 10.20 a.m. when approaching the Victorian Coast. A message was received at Laverton stating: “Over Rodondo Is. . . all's well.”
There were indications that it passed over Wilson's Promontory, but what happened next remains a mystery and no final conclusion was ever reached by the subsequent inquiry.
As soon as it was apparent Miss Hobart was overdue, the alarm bells were rung. Holyman's Airways Pty Ltd immediately contacted the Civil Aviation Department and a Desoulter monoplane began searching the area. Visibility was good that late afternoon and as time progressed with no result, other planes joined the search.
At dawn on Sunday October 21, the Royal Australian Air Force sent out a supermarine flying boat.
The route from Tasmania to Essendon in 1934 was northeast from Western Junction over Flinders Island, following a line from the small islands in Bass Strait north of Flinders to Janakie Aerodrome where emergency supplies of petrol were kept and on to Essendon.
Miss Hobart was under contract to the Commonwealth and had only begun its Melbourne, Launceston and Hobart service on October 1. In the test flights the plane had showed no problems. It flew three times a week, usually by way of King Island from Melbourne to Tasmania, and by the way of Flinders Island on the return journey. Besides the 10 passengers, it carried airmail. All the occupants of Miss Hobart were enclosed in one large cabin.
A possible cause of trouble given at this stage was that the plane might have run out of petrol, perhaps because of a leakage, but it was far too soon to be certain.
Over the weekend the search was intensified, but only one clue of importance had been found, a large patch of oil located by the Southampton Flying boat near Citadel Island, about 10 miles west of Wilson's Promontory.
There was further hope. A collier steaming in the vicinity witnessed two flares at Liptrap but although they steamed close to the beach they saw nothing. Later it would be revealed Miss Hobart did not carry flares.
Six planes had now joined the search including Miss Launceston, sister plane to Miss Hobart, but besides the oil slick, there was little other evidence. The search was joined by a number of ships, including Coastal steamers, but no wreckage or any other clue was discovered.
The search area was broadened and samples of the oil slick were taken for analysis to determine whether the film was caused by oil similar to that used in the engine of Miss Hobart.
By Monday, October 23, it was becoming increasingly apparent that to continue the search was fruitless. The Civil Aviation Department decided to abandon it. The belief was that the craft had fallen into Bass Strait and there was no hope for its passengers. Then, when proceeding out of Laverton over Rodondo Island, floating objects were observed. The craft swooped down in an attempt to identify them, but later the pilot, Lieutenant Frewin, reported that it was not possible to say whether the floating object was part of Miss Hobart's wing. After that, all hope of rescuing the passengers was totally abandoned.
Some believed at the time the pilot of Miss Hobart was forced to attempt a pancake landing on the ocean surface. In such a case the Miss Hobart would have in all probability dived straight for the seabed and there would be no wreckage on the surface.
The Duke of Gloucester, visiting Australia at that time, sent the following message to the Governor of Tasmania: “I am profoundly distressed at the loss of the airliner, Miss Hobart. Please convey my deepest sympathy to the relatives and dependents of those who lost their lives.” He also received telegrams from the Governor-General, Sir Isaac Isaacs and the Governor of Victoria, Lord Huntingfield.
By the following Friday, October 26, the disaster was slipping from the headlines. Although ships had passed through the area where the craft was believed to have downed, there were no further reports of wreckage. The belief that it crashed into Bass Strait off the coast of Victoria was accepted.
An official inquiry was opened in Launceston on Tuesday October 30, 1934, sparking great public interest. The inquiry went into great detail about the prevailing weather at the time and the plane's range, but there was no clear reason for the mishap. Very strong head winds were ascertained as a cause of the accident.
In tribute to Miss Mercer, the Woman Show Judges Association stated: “While our sympathy goes out to the relatives other thoughts will air by her dumb friends who will miss her loving touch and her understanding.” One suspects by her “dumb friends” it is meant, horses.
The Miss Hobart mystery is contained in Reg's booklet, “Strange Happenings over the Skies of Tasmania and Bass Strait”. Available: $10 posted. Please inquire: reg@regwatson.com
[Ref. tah1:] TASMANIAN AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY:
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Author: w. Dearing, December 2022
As with the development of any new industry, the early years of Tasmanian aviation industry were not without its problems and in the case of the stories to be published in this and a forthcoming newsletter, its tragedies.
This issue deals with the accidents that claimed the first DH.86 aircraft of Holyman's Airways and the lives of the crew and passengers, in particular the life of Victor Holyman who at the time was the driving force behind the fledgling airline. Although Qantas had placed orders for the DH.86, Holyman's Airways received the first one to arrive in Australia. The arrival of DH.86 (VH-URN) caused enormous excitement as this news article shows: i
The first de Havilland 86 which is to be named Miss Hobart is due at Melbourne on board the Baradine on September 10. It will be unloaded, transported to the RAAF aerodrome, Vic, where the construction will be carried out. The machine will be flown to Tasmania about September 27 or 29.
Arriving on 28 September Miss Hobart commenced services on the 1st of October 1934. ii
The Aircraft
The DH.86 was conceptually a four-engined enlargement of the successful de Havilland Dragon, but of more streamlined appearance with tapered wings and extensive use of metal fairings around struts and undercarriage. The most powerful engine made by de Havilland, the new 200 hp (149 kW) Gipsy Six, was selected. For long-range work the aircraft was to carry a single pilot in the streamlined nose, with a wireless operator behind. Maximum seating for ten passengers was provided in the long-range type; however, the short-range Holyman's aircraft were fitted with 12 passenger seats and carried the pilot and radio operator.
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The Crew
[Photo with caption:] Victor Holman (centre) and Gilbert Jenkins (2nd from right)
Mr Gilbert Jenkins and Captain Victor Holyman, Managing Director and Chief Pilot of Holyman's Airways, piloted the airliner. Gilbert Jenkins was ex-Royal Australian Air Force and ex-Canadian Air Force, with which he had commanded a squadron. After leaving the services, Mr Jenkins had further comprehensive flying experience, commuting between the mainland and Tasmania many times with Matthews Aviation. It was only in July of that same year that he had accepted the post with Holyman's Airways Pty Ltd. iv
The Passengers
Ten Tasmanians were aboard; seven men, including the Rev. Hubert. E. Warren of St Mary's township on the east coast (the father of black box inventor David Warren) and two women, one with a small child. Rev Warren was on his way to take over St Thomas' Church, Enfield, Sydney. His wife and children, deciding not to accompany him, had planned to travel to Sydney by steamer. One woman was Miss K Mercer, a well-known competitive horse rider from Campbell Town in the Midlands and one of the men was Garnet Rupert Gourlay who had served with the 1st Battalion Commonwealth Horse during the Anglo-Boer War and later with the 40th Battalion in WWI.
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The Flight
The aircraft departed Launceston at 9 a.m. on 19 October in good flying conditions and bound for Essendon airport. Visibility was reported to be excellent and the aircraft made a routine radio call at 9:50 am some 30 miles north west of Flinders Island and a further call at 10:20 a.m. over Rodondo Island. When the 10:50 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. reports were not received and attempts to contact the aircraft by Melbourne Radio were not acknowledged, the Civil Aviation Branch and Holyman's Airways organised a search utilising aircraft and any ships that were in the area. Several days of searching proved fruitless with only an oil slick and some floating wreckage (which was never positively identified), was reported. The last message was received at Laverton stating: “Over Rodondo; all's well.”
[Photo with caption:] Rodondo Island looking south from Wilson's Promontory
The Inquiry and Possible Causes
An official inquiry was opened in Launceston on Tuesday October 30, 1934, sparking great public interest. The inquiry went into great detail about the prevailing weather at the time and the plane's range, but there was no clear reason for the mishap. vi
Following the inquiry several scenarios were presented as to what may have caused the accident:
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None of these circumstances were positively concluded as to the cause of the accident, however, other theories tend to throw a possible different light as to the cause of the accident. Seriously lacking in directional stability, the DH.86 aircraft were frequently in trouble and following the loss of Qantas' VH-USG near Longreach four weeks later while on its delivery flight, it was found that the fin bias mechanisms of the crashed aircraft and at least one other were faulty. vii Tragically a second Holyman's DH.86 aircraft, Loina, was also lost off Flinders Island with witnesses reporting the aircraft spun into the sea.
Although unable to present a conclusive report, investigators suggested that the fin design and adjustment mechanism was excessively sensitive. This could cause the aircraft yawing at an increasing rate, which if not corrected, could cause a potentially fatal spin. viii What's more, to the question asked as to engine failure, the experts assured investigators there was “no way” all four of the plane's engines would have stopped working at the same time. Even if this was the case, they would argue, the plane would still have been able to maintain height long enough to make an emergency landing.
Searches would proceed along the strait, including the use of military warships and aircraft. However, not one piece of wreckage surfaced. Reports of the case at the time did mention strange aerial machines and an audible humming. One of the official transmissions from Miss Hobart would state that they could hear the “drone of a plane suddenly stopped” as the aircraft came towards them. This last transmission was sent around the same time the airliner is thought to have met its unfortunate end.
With no accurate and substantiated information, the inquiry handed down “strong headwinds” as the cause of the accident. Hardly a fitting decision!!
i Launceston Examiner, 5 September 1934
ii The Hobart Mercury, 2 October 1934, p5
iii Wikipedia
iv R A Watson
v Ibid
vi Ibid
vii Wikipedia
viii The Forgotten Giant of Australian Aviation by Peter Yule
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The “Miss Hobart” (photo below) was a de Havilland 86. It commenced services in Tasmania on the 1st of October 1934.
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The de Havilland Express, also known as the de Havilland D.H.86, was a four-engined passenger aircraft manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1934 and 1937.
The D.H.86 was conceptually a four-engined enlargement of the successful de Havilland Dragon, but of more streamlined appearance with tapered wings and extensive use of metal fairings around struts and undercarriage. The most powerful engine made by de Havilland, the new 200 hp (149 kW) Gipsy Six, was selected. For long-range work the aircraft was to carry a single pilot in the streamlined nose, with a wireless operator behind. Maximum seating for ten passengers was provided in the long-range type; however, the short-range Holyman aircraft were fitted with twelve seats.
Wikipedia (EN) has this to say about it on their “de Havilland Express” web page:
Seriously lacking in directional stability, the D.H.86s were frequently in trouble. On 19 October 1934 Holyman's VH-URN Miss Hobart was lost in Bass Strait with no survivors. Flotsam that may have been wreckage from the aircraft was seen from the air three days later but surface ships failed to locate it in rough seas; the aircraft had effectively vanished. At the time Miss Hobart disappeared it was thought that an accident may have occurred when Captain Jenkins and the wireless operator/assistant pilot Victor Holyman (one of the proprietors of Holyman Airways) were swapping seats midflight. However, following the loss of Qantas' VH-USG near Longreach four weeks later while on its delivery flight, it was found that the fin bias mechanisms of the crashed aircraft and at least one other were faulty, although it is doubtful that this had any direct bearing on the accidents other than perhaps adding to the aircraft's lack of inherent stability. Further investigation revealed that VH-USG had been loaded with a spare engine in the rear of the cabin, and that one of the crew members was in the lavatory in the extreme aft of the cabin when control was lost. It was theorised that the centre of gravity was so far aft that it resulted in loss of control at an altitude too low for the pilot to recover (the aircraft was at an estimated height of 1,000 ft (300 m) prior to the crash).
On 2 October 1935 Holyman's VH-URT Loina was also lost in Bass Strait, again with no survivors. This time a significant amount of wreckage was recovered from the sea and from beaches on Flinders Island. Investigation of the wreckage revealed a section of charred carpet on a piece of cabin flooring from just ahead of the lavatory door. It was thought possible that a small fire from a dropped cigarette had led to someone running aft suddenly to stamp it out - a sudden change in weight distribution that could lead to fatal loss of directional control while the aircraft was on a low-speed landing approach.
On 13 December 1935, another Holyman DH86, Lepina, forced-landed on Hunter Island off northern Tasmania with the lower port interplane strut having “vibrated loose”. An investigation by the Australian Civil Aviation Board using stop-motion film of the wing in flight resulted in identification of wing distortion and failure under certain flight conditions. Australian authorities in December 1935 required the installation on all Australian DH86 aircraft of a complete set of lift bracing in the wing rear spar and redesign of the bracing on the tail unit to provide greater redundancy.
Note that this means that on the 15 Australian D.H. 86, four had crashed, before improvements were made: which probably saved the rest of them.
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It is impossible to me to reproduce here all the newspaper articles of the time; they were simply too many.
However, I read them and the essential is below.
Paul Norman [pnm1] wrote that “The mystery deepened when a surveyor, Mr. H. Campbell and his crew, who were working 18 miles from where the captain reported his last position, said that he heard the engines of an airplane suddenly cease. He remarked to his fellow-workers that it was strange for such a thing to happen. There was no crash - just silence. They thought no more about it until after the aircraft was reported missing.”
This appeared for example in The Argus, of Melbourne, on page 25 for October 20, 1934:
While he was taking levels at 11 a.m. yesterday, on the new road that is being built between the National Park Chalet, at Darby, and the Wilson Promontory lighthouse, Mr. J. C. Campbell, road surveyor, heard the roar of an aeroplane approaching from the south.
“It was about the usual time at which the Tasmanian air liner passes,” Mr. Campbell said last night. “I was working with another man, and when we heard the drone of the engine growing louder we both turned to watch the plane come over the trees in the distance. The noise, which had been very distinct, suddenly ceased as if the engine had cut off. The plane would then have been to the south of Darby, probably about five miles away. I remarked to my friend on the strangeness of the sudden stopping of the engine. The coast in the direction from which the plane was approaching is only three quarters of a mile away. At the time the engines ceased it would appear that the machine was over the sea, probably about four miles from the coast The country in the district is very rough, and the hills are precipitous The whole area is heavily wooded, and places on which an aeroplane could land are few.”
“From the sound I believe that the plane was heading in the direction of the Government aerodrome at Yanakie, where petrol for it is stored. At 6 p.m. an aeroplane, apparently searching for the missing machine, was sighted overhead. After cruising around until dusk it appeared to land at the Yanakie aerodrome The district is out of touch with the surrounding centres, except by telephone The nearest town is Foster, 32 miles away.”
But in The Mirror, Perth newspaper, on page 6 for October 20, 1934, we learn that:
There is reason to believe that the aeroplane heard by surveyor Campbell may have been the Miss Launceston and not the Miss Hobart, as the Miss Launceston passed this locality at 10.15 or 10.10, and was sighted from the Promontory light house. The course which pilots believe the Miss Hobart would probably have followed as confirmed also by previous reports from the missing, plane, would place her further to the west and probably out of sight or hearing of Promontory.
The Telegraph, of Brisbane, wrote on page 7 for October 20, 1934, about the “lights” that Paul Norman interpreted as UFOs:
MELBOURNE, October 20.
With Darby as their base six planes to-day made intensive searches of the area around Wilson's Promontory for the missing air liner Miss Hobart. Visibility was good and the Inlets and Islands of Bass Strait were thoroughly searched, but without result. A search is also being made by sea.
Many conflicting reports have been received from residents in the district. One that may be of great significance is from a resident of Foster, who states that at 10.30 p.m. yesterday he saw a flare in the sky near Mount Hunter. Another report, as yet unconfirmed, which was broadcast from the radio station at Kent Island, states that a pool of oil two miles long and a mile wide was seen floating by two fishermen in Bass Strait.
[... description of search operations...]
Mr. Charles Dyring, of Foster, who saw the flare in the sky near Mount Hunter at 10.30 last night is convinced that it was a signal light. Mount Hunter is on the eastern extremity of the Promontory. It is not a high peak and, though heavily timbered, should offer little difficulty to a search party.
The Daily Mercury for November 8, 1934, told that the experts expressed the opinion that the 'plane had insufficient safety fuel in bad weather because it carried fuel for only three hour; it should have been for 4 hours. Squadron leader A. Meinpel said that “if the plane received a bad bump under the tail when the pilots were changing places, the tendency would be for it to plunge straight down”.
The Maryborough Chronicle for November 9, 1934, also cited experts opinions that fuel was not sufficient for safety, and cited a Mr. Little saying that “the disaster was caused by the pilots changing over at the controls. Both of them were big men.”
The Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser for November 15, 1934, told that the investigation by the Accidents Committee demonstrated that it would be “highly dangerous” that pilots would change seats in flight, and that “the controls should never be left without somebody actually in charge”.
The Muswellbrook Chronicle for November 23, 1934, told that “It has been proved by the identification of the seat washed up at Sandy Beach, Waratah Bay, that the air liner, Miss Hobart, fell into the sea on the morning of October 19.”
The Riverina Recorder for November 24, 1934, told that “The Controller of Civil Aviation, Captain Johnson, and the officials of the Holyman's Airways Ply. Ltd., have definitely identified the aluminum seat found on the beach at Waratah Bay as having belonged to the lost airliner” Miss Hobart.
The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser for October 24, 1934, informed that the “interstate vessel Kooyuim” carefully picked up the wreckage which were seen from a plane searching the coastline for the missing Miss Hobart; and it will be forwarded to the civil aviation authorities in Melbourne.
The Tweed Daily for December 6, 1934, informed that dealing with the loss of the Miss Hobart, the Investigation Committee reported that the evidence indicated that the pilots were in the habit of changing over in the air; that Captain V. C. Holyman, though a pilot, did not hold a licence to fly this type of aircraft so that he had been considered as a passenger. It had been definitely established that Captain Holyman flew the plane on a number of occasions. They also noted that the wireless communication arrangement was unsatisfactory, and recommended for the future a continuous watch should be maintained of the aircraft's wave length during the flights. They also were in the opinion that the tankage of this aircraft did not provide a sufficient margin of safety during adverse conditions on this flight route.
The Shepparton Advertiser for November 16, 1934 reported another crash of the same type of aircraft near Longreach.
The Queensland Times for November 22, 1934, reported that several pieces were found by a search by local residents at Waratah Bay and Wilson's Promontory, though to be from the Miss Hobart.
The Gundagai Independent for November 22, 1934, reported that “A party searching for the wreckage of the air liner, Miss Hobart, found a quantity of plywood and boxes on the beach at Waratah Bay, being parts which have belonged to the plane.”
The Border Morning Mail for November 23, 1934, reported that this find of debris “indicates that the Miss Hobart was probably on its correct course at the time of the disaster.”
Paul Norman indicated that “three days later”, the cargo ship Koolinga, bound for Melbourne, sighted lights not far from where the plane last reported its position. I found nothing in the Press about this, neither in 1934 not in 1935.
Not UFO-related.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
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| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 22, 2024 | Creation, [mey1], [pnm1], [mlt1], [mlt2], [rwn1], [tah1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 22, 2024 | First published. |
