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The
cargo manifest for the arrival of the Altair at Honolulu on 29 October
1934. That there was no cargo declared is not surprising given that
Smithy and P.G. Taylor did not even have any baggage to speak of.
It is noteworthy that the aircraft is identified as a "British
Gas. Plane Lady Southern Cross". Although the aircraft was bearing
a VH registration, Australian citizens at that time were regarded
as British subjects. "Motive power" was derived from "Gas."
i.e. gasoline. Given that the Altair was the first foreign-registered
aircraft to arrive in Hawaii, one might expect the document to specify
the registration VH-USB but this document was more commonly used for
vessels which were usually identified by the name of the ship so this
"AEROPLANE" is identified by its name "Lady Southern
Cross". Curiously, the departure from Brisbane is shown as October
14. The aircraft had departed Sydney on October 19 and Archerfield
on October 21 but to Smithy and Taylor these dates would have been
lost in a blur after a flight of 25 hours. The aircraft had departed
from Fiji on October 29 and arrived in Hawaii on the same date (October
29) after crossing the International Date Line.
Source: Hawai'i State Archives PPWD-1-2-003 |