In 1913, a 23 year-old English-born aviator, Arthur W. Jones,
brought his imported Caudron bi-plane to Townsville for two exhibition flights
that thrilled Townsville crowds. The display was one of the many activities
organised for the city’s 50th birthday Jubilee celebrations.
 |
| Arthur W. Jones and his Caudron bi-plane at Cluden, August 1913. Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection. |
The single-engine, French designed aircraft had been shipped
to Townsville aboard the SS. Kyarra,
and in the lead up to the flights, was on display at the old wool stores in
Flinders Street, for a fee of 1 shilling.
Special trains were laid on to transport curious onlookers to
Cluden racecourse, where the exhibition took place. The return fare, including entrance to the
racecourse, was 3 shillings, or, if you had your own transport, the entry fee
was reduced to 2 shillings.
Mr Jones had already made 150 successful flights in his
Caudron, exhibiting at shows all around Australia.
The Townsville Daily
Bulletin reported on “a most successful aviation display”, noting that more
than 1500 people had travelled by the special excursion trains, and that the
road to Cluden, “presented an endless trail of motor cars, vehicles and
bicycles.”
“At six minutes past four the propeller was started, and
after backfiring twice, the young aeronaut gave the signal to let go.”
“The machine glided forward about 20 yards, and amidst an
outburst of cheering rose gracefully on her course towards the south-east at a
gentle slope, going behind the grandstand and turning towards the north when
past it.”
After only 3 and half minutes of flight, Mr Jones passed over
the grandstand to the cheers of thousands of onlookers, where it became
apparent that he was having difficulty with the wind.
According to the Bulletin,
“The skill of the airman and the response of his machine was displayed in this
work which was performed with the gracefulness of a bird.”
After a few more minutes, Jones had landed his plane, to the
delight of the crowd.
“When a few feet off the ground Mr Jones glided his plane along
and stopped immediately in front of the stand with remarkable ease.”
Piloting the aircraft was certainly not for the
faint-hearted, as it had no throttle.
The engine was either on or it was off, and the only way to land the
plane was to switch off the engine.
The Bulletin waxed
lyrical, noting “It was a splendid afternoon’s entertainment and added still
another historical event in the life of Townsville, in that the first
successful aeroplane flight of North Queensland had eventuated in that city on
its 50th birthday.”
In January 1914, Jones had a lucky escape during an
exhibition in Adelaide, South Australia, when both he and his aircraft fell
from the sky.
According to the local press, Jones had been flying for about
16 minutes, when the engine seemed to stop suddenly, and plummet to earth. Then a gust of wind struck the plane when it
was about 70 feet in the air, causing it to nosedive into the ground, and flip
over on impact.
Remarkably, Mr Jones received only minor cuts and bruising
and muscle strains in the crash, and when asked what had happened, reportedly
said that he had lost his way and run out of petrol.
“She simply dived to the ground,” Mr Jones remarked.
“A cup of petrol would have saved it all.”
Jones repaired his aircraft and was back on the circuit later
that year, exhibiting in Cairns in July 1914.
 |
| Arthur W. Jones and his Caudron, at Cairns, 1914. Photo: State Library of Queensland. |
No comments:
Post a Comment