1936-09-03 — Page 11

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HONG KONG DAILY PRESS. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1936.

Sidelights And Highlights

Air Transport

INTERESTING RADIO TALK BY MR. M. H. CURTIS

DEVELOPMENT OF

MEDICAL WORK :

From the Z.B.W. Studio last night Mr. M. H. Curtis, Traffic Officer of Im. perial Airways (Far East) Limited gave an interesting broadcast talk on "Sidelights and Highlights of Air Transport.'

Mr. Curtis traced his subject from the days of the first prospectors some ten years ago and dealt with the rapidly developing use of air transport for medical work.

Mr. Curtis said: ---

moa through the dense and almost

In the past few years niany peo-impenetrable jungle to discover the ple have written and talked of the rich gold felds in the Wau area; Romance of the Air. but air trans- but faced with the almost Insur- port has now become such an in- mountable task of constructing a timate part of our every-day exis-road through the jungle for the tence that some of us are apt to think that the romance died with the inish of the early ploneering days and are already beginning to lock upon the operation of the net work of air lines now encircling the world as a rather prosale achieve ment

duly located, thanks to the smoke signal, and the doctor arrived in time to save the woman's life.

INTERESTING SIDELIGHTS

Other interesting sidelights of transport of personnel, stores and air transport can be witnessed by equipment and the produce of spending a few hours at the Lon- these gold fields it seemed unlikely don Terminus of the Empire routes. that any prodtable extraction: An inspection of the Lost Property could be made. Then someone con- Office reveals a strange assortment ceived the idea of using aeroplanes; of articles, the largest collection rough landing grounds were hewn consisting of discarded topees of ou of the jungle and the 35-mile all shapes, sizes and colours, left journey which hitherto took nearly behind by passengers returning two weeks was cut down to almost home from Africa, India, and the a few minutes and a regular air Fast who, after leaving the areas service put into operation. Since of tropical heat, eagerly dispense those early days aeroplanes have with these reminders of long years provided almost the only conner- spent in the Outposts of the Em- tion between the thousands of wot-pire. Also, the apparent beneficial kers on the gold delds and the out- effect or air travel upon bodily

But those Intimately concerned with air transport know that ro- mance still exists and are constant- ly witnessing strange and unusual episodes and scenes which forcibly bring home to them how this latest mode of travel and carriage is de veloping new ways of living, open- ing up new territories, and bring-side world, and one of the urganisa- health can ing inestimable benefito man- kind generally

A traveller along the air routes cannot fall to be impressed by the way in which people who, a few years ago, would have gazed in wonder and probably with apen hostility at a white man, now look with equanimity upon the regular passage of air liners through their territories.

SHARJAH

tions running these air services has succeeded in carrying just on 30.000 tons of freight and well over 30.600 passengers.

Aircraft specially adapted for transporting heavy machinery were imported into New Guinea and the success of this experiment can be seen in the fact that there are now in full commission in the Bulelo valley Your boat-dredges each of approximately 1500 tona displace- ment, each single part of these ves- There are many such places on the Empire routes: but one of the been transported from the coast by sels and their equipment having most outstanding is Sharjah, onair. Among one recent batch of the northern side of Arabia. This place was once a centre of piracy and slavery and the scene of ferce inter-tribal Aghts, being situated on what in the old days, was known as the Pirate Coast. Only a few years ago no white man would have dared intrude into this formidable territory and yet now- a-days four great air, finers a week make night-stops here, where there is a fully equipped rest-house, in which passengers can enjoy all the amenities or a

Salamon for despatch aver cargo waiting on the aerodrome at mountains were barrels of cement, the

tins of kerosene, bags of rice and metal telegraph poles. and cases of flour, sheets of corrugated iron,

frigerators. tinned food and meat from the re-

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be concluded from a strange assortment disgorged from one aircraft arriving at Croydon. comprised of a tube of pilis, a pac- ket of neuralgia tablets, several bottles of medicine, and a set of false teeth!

cargoes can be seen arriving from, At Croydon varled and strange

Or awaiting shipment to, distant parts of the world-medical sup- piles being rushed out to some dying man in Central Africa, an Act of Parliament sent to England for Royal signature, mangoes from Egypt. boxes of day-old chicks, valuable pedigree dogs, whilst boxes of bullion are regularly ship- ing of time and the consequent ped by air owing to the great sa- minimizing of loss of interest on the gold.

DAILY

MAINTENANCE

Leaving the Shipping Depart- "MEDICAL SERVICES"

ment and proceeding to the engin- eering workshops one enters a hive Another very interesting and

ot ceaseless, well ordered, activity. rapidly developing use of air trans-

In addition to the constant daly port is for medical work, this be- maintenance, every atreraft engine Arst-class hotel.ing illustrated by the remarkable at the end of a set period-usually built somewhat on the lines of aerial medical services' of 'Austra-six or those desert outpost förts one aftenila. Populated areas are confined sees depicted in films of the For-. eign Legion.

more or less to the east and south of that continent. whilst over the remainder of the country--an area larger than Western. Europe-are neighbours are

settlers whose

often 100 miles hospital may be 200 or more miles away and the nearest doctor or distant. much of this vast territory is by car The only transport in over bush tracks, and in the wet quagmires. Before the War a spe- season such tracks often become cial commission was appointed to

The local Sheik of Sharjah was quick to appreciate the benefits that would result from his territory dotted becoming an important night-stop on the Empire air routes and has provided a modernly equipped yet picturesque armed guard for the rest-house: sometimes distingulsh- ed air passengers are invited tr visit him at his neighbouring for! where they are served with Arab sweets and coffee and honoured by

nearest

a salute of guns from some ancient provide medical services for the re- cannon which probably in earlier mote bush districts. Nursing homes days were used to repulse unwel- come visitors; sometimes, too, for the further entertainment of pas sengers there is a thrilling exhibi- tion of Arab horsemanship.

It,

nag-goes back into the shops for seven hundred hours run-

complete overhaul. It is taken to pleces, examined by experts, and is may be considered necessary. provided with any new parts that is then re-assembled and subjected to test-bench runs which reproduce the most arduous conditions of act- ual flying. Then, and not illl then, when every detail has been checked and the motor enters on a new

lease of life, le it passed out for an- other spell of service in the air.

Many people who have never Indulged in air travel. Imagine that to travel for several days in an aircraft cabin must be rather were established at various centres boring, but so far is this from the possibilities of utilising wireless and thrilled by the and even in the pre-war days the truth, and passengers are 50 aircraft were "toreseen. It was not, changing vistas opened up however, unt after the war that them that they often endeavour plans in this direction began to

to record their sensations in 'pen taken shape.

pictures.'

"PEARL, INDUSTRY Only one stage away from Shar- Jah is another romantic port of

In 1927 a flying doctor began his call-Bahrein. This place is the

work at Cloncurry and at the same centre of the flourishing pearl in-

tine a special wireless transmitter dustry of the Persian Gulf and heremunication between the back-sta- was evolved for maintaining com- on the island of Manama the b- zaars provide a picturesque specta-

tions and the flying doctor's head- quarters. Since that date this work

on the

at

new and ever- to

A recent alr voyager writes:

the last mail bag goes aboard. .The last passenger arrives. The saloon. door is closed. The engines wake to a more vigorous life and punctual to the minute our air-liner taxies out. Faster the motors run. There comes 2 gentle floating sensation, We leave the earth and 50ar skyward. Elke some huge bird pur great craft circles. Then it settles smoothly on its course." Flying across Africa he find the romance heightened by never-to- of wild

cle during the pearl season,-being has been greatly developed; the thronged with Arabs. Persians, in-frat base at Cloncurry was soon dians and Iraquis who are either followed by another at Wyndham buying pearls or spending the money they have earned

and now there are additional bases diving banks. Air-liner passenger Broken Hill What the aeroplane Port Hedland. Kalgoorlie and alighting at Bahrein are soon made aware that pearl-fishing is the slow and laborious surface trans- can accomplish, as compared with chief local industry as the pearl- sellers come hurrying forward to port, was Illustrated by the case of offer their wares; while in the sa-

a native runner, who, hurrying to be-forgotten glimpses loons of aircraft flying up and

summan medical aid, took 23 hours animals in natural surroundings down the Gulf pearl merchants are

to cover approximately 50 miles and wiltes: often seer sitting together ex-

having during this journey, to amining their respective collections which carried the doctor made the swim two rivera. The Beroplane with critical eyes.

Many other examples could be hour. In another instance a wo-

same trip in less than half-or quoted of the way, in which air transport is opening up previously station 500 miles from the nearest man was desperately ill at a remote little-known territories, but a parti- medical base; this station was right cularly emphatic example can be out in the desert country, devoid witnessed in the gold felds of New of any gulding landmarks. The

Guinea.

•

FIRST PROSPECTORS Some ten years ago: the Arst ¿prospectors took nearly fourteeri days to force their way from Balu-

doctor, by means of his wireless, instructed those at the station to light a big amoke signal, and then set off posthaste on his aerial errand of mercy. The station was

I and my fellow become excited

11$

"The sun is up. The desert lies behind. travellers game appears below. Herds of buck scamper in all directions.. We see ostriches. hyaenas, and innumerable sinall animals. Sometimes the

cry of 'thinos' is raised and one may be just in time to see two or three of these monsters crashing through the bush Crocodiles le basking. on river banks. A hippopotamus may be seen in one of the rivers, Then there are the herds of

Of

elephants, and sometimes---that is, if you are lucky-you catch sight of lions, And it is not a spectacle you are 'likely to for get to see a group of young and old, "standing below in the African sunshine."

SUBMARINES

DUE TO-DAY

FRENCH AND JAPANESE WARSHIPS SAIL

llons. Where Warships Are Berthed

It is of such thrills as these and many others that Empire air voy ages are now composed and our passenger summarizes It in this way:

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"As you roar through space you look down on mountains. forests, bush, and swamp. From your saloon you watch the "sun rise over the heart of" deserts. The clouds may envelope you and you rash through a strange world high above the earth.

It

After which, as evening falls. may come a landing just on the fringe of some vast forest. is romance, all this a romance of speed. of colour, and of all those wonderful

panoramas which untold themselves tinually beneath your windows,"

con-

THRILLING RESCUE

Thirteen Persons Saved On

Falling From Junk

A large crowd of music-lovers who thronged the Bund Garden, Shanghal. on August 28, became spectators of a thrilling rescue on the Whangpoo when list, throwing the entire crew and a junk, loaded with sand, took a heavy their families, thirteen persons in all into the water, Launches and their aid, and, although three tons sampans in the vicinity hurried to

of cargo were lost, no fatality was reported.

The accident occurred shortly before 6 pm, when a concert by the now very popular Municipal Brass Band was in progress, coastal steamer was passing the Public Garden and the pleasantly

A

HM. Submarines Pandora and

day from Singapore. They will Osiris are due, in the Colony to-

sall for Wel Hai Wel on Septem- ber 7.

The sailed

Japanese gunboat Saga for exercises yesterday and is expected to return here on September 5, whence she will all for Canton two days later.

de Genouilly aalled yesterday on The French man-of-war, Rigault a Far Eastern cruise, Shanghai being her probable destination.

were

The following warships berthed in Hong Kong harbour yesterday:-

South Wall-Cicpla North Arm-Duchess.

In Dock-Daring. Diamond. Talkoo Dock-Regent Cosmopolitan Dock-Regulus.

FOREIGN

Chinese Chu Kuan.

harmonious scene was rudely dis- turbed £5 its wash upset the balance of the junk, precipitating those on board into the water, where they clung to the side of the junk, loudly crying for help.

In full view of hundreds of

carried out by laodabs of sampans spectators, both in the garden and on the bridge, the rescue work was and launches which-happened to pass by. With the exception of culty in climbing to safety because one person, who had some dim-

he insisted on saving a heavy bundle he was carrying, all were restored to their boat without much trouble.

to

The junk was proceeding from up-river the Boochow Creek when the accident occurred. was not overturned.

It

II

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