Recollections of flying from Suva to Sydney in
1946 on the Qantas flying-boat Coriolanus
© Rod Ewins 2009. May be cited with acknowledgement and URL.
A few years ago a friend referred me to a
book by another ex-Fiji person, Alexander Frater: Beyond the blue
horizon: On the Track of Imperial Airways London, William Heinemann.
I don't remember him personally, as he was 4 years older than I and he went to
school in Australia, so our paths would never have crossed. However, I do
remember his sister Kirsty, who was in my class in primary school, and their
father was Dr Frater, at the CWM
Hospital. The chap who referred me to this book is a pilot — John Williams
— who at the time of writing flies little sightseeing planes etc. and has a
passion for airplanes. In conversation I mentioned
that the first commercial flight I had taken was in the Coriolanus, at
which he pricked up his ears and referred me to this book, which is a very
interesting read. It opens with an account of flying on the Qantas flying
boat Coriolanus in Dec.1946, and is a remarkable feat of memory for one
who was only a boy of nine at the time of his flight.
I had actually flown from Laucala
Bay to Rose Bay, Sydney on the Coriolanus even earlier, in the middle of that same year of 1946, and I
was even younger, not yet six years old. The War had ended and this was the
fastest available route to Australia from Fiji, so the fact that we both ended
up flying on the same route was not so surprising. How the famous aeroplane
came to fly that route in is described briefly in an article about the Short
Empire flying boats: “…the first Qantas aircraft to enter the liberated
Singapore [at the end of World War II] was VH-ABG 'Coriolanus', on 8
October 1945 [this was the sole survivor of Qantas' fine pre-war fleet of Short
Empires, the others having been destroyed in active service]. Post-war, the
same aircraft inaugurated the Sydney / Brisbane / Noumea
/ Fiji route on 19 November, flying it until December 1947. 'Coriolanus'
was the last Empire flying boat in operation in the world. It was broken up in
Rose Bay during 1948. http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/coming%20of%20age/imperial/short%20s30%20empire.htm
I have no memory of the stopover in Brisbane, so it must have been brief and we
possibly didn't leave the plane. On occasion the stopover was in Hamilton
rather than Brisbane, as in the linked photo of the Coriolanus about to touch down in Hamilton in March 1947, with Bulimba Hill in the background (Photo by John Wilson, Brisbane Courier Mail:
I can recall being rowed to and from the flying boat in dinghies at each
ingress and egress, something that my Mum, a poor swimmer, was very nervous
about. I on the other hand could already swim pretty well and was an old hand
at small boats, having regularly been out fishing with the Fijians who
lived on the shore below our house, so I took that all in my stride. On
the flight, I remember Mum and Dad being amused because there were some Fijian
men in the rear section and when the normal-sized Western meals were served the
Fijians inhaled them and looked around wistfully for something more to fill the
void normally taken up with a large load of dalo (taro — Colocasia esculenta) or tavioka (cassava — Manihot esculenta)!
The most exotic of our “ferrymen” were the ones in Nouméa,
who had on all whites, and berets with red pompoms. I have no recollection,
though, of whether they were Europeans or kanakas— such distinctions were
apparently not important to a small boy who had more regular contact with
Fijians and Indians than with other Europeans. I recall that the plane was
anchored directly off the jetty of an impressive hotel where we were to spend
the night. I have not been able to verify which hotel Qantas used for stopover
guests. I believe it was either the “Hôtel Pacifique”or the "Hotel
Royale". Both these hotel names exist today, though attached to resorts
that are a far cry from the splendid white colonial building of my (admittedly
rather vague) memory—a bit on the lines of the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva and
Raffles in Singapore. However, both are on the water's edge, like the one we
stayed in.
When we had followed our
cases into the rooms, we came down onto the lawn by the seaside and sat under a
large spreading tree (probably the popular flamboyant tree—Delonix regia—but I don't remember
that) to be served afternoon tea. I can still see in my mind’s eye the Coriolanus bobbing at anchor not more
than a hundred metres away. What I also clearly remember is that it was the
first time that I had ever slept on a feather mattress (an experience to be
repeated only once in my life, in an old hotel in Zurich in 1963), and was most
impressed by how it enveloped me. Not worried by it, just intrigued!Of the airplane itself, my main memory is
of the relatively large amount of space we had. In usual form, the CSR had put
us in First Class, in the section right at the front of the plane—presumably
where Frater describes the Governor sitting on his flight. We could see back to
the main cabin well enough, and walked about in flight as well. I recall that
there was lots of room for me to sit on the carpeted floor near my parents’
seats colouring-in a colouring book (whether given to me on board or taken with
me I don't recall). I remember that in the front section our meals were
served on tables that were brought along for the purpose, as I recall they were
probably folding tables similar to card- or camp-tables. Those in “Economy”
would have used the ones in the centre of the cabin pictured here: http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/new%20site/images20/9.jpg
On these were spread starched linen and silver service! I don't recall
it being divided into cabins like a ship, as Frater describes in his book, and
think his memory may be at fault there. What I recall is a fore-and-aft
division of space, as well as an upstairs/downstairs, and that is borne out by
this photo:
Apropos the spaciousness, I like the following quote: “Hudson Fysh [founder of Qantas] described the delights of flying
boat travel, “Getting up out of his chair a passenger could walk about and, if he
had been seated in the main cabin, could stroll along to the smoking cabin for
a smoke, stopping on the way at the promenade deck with its high handrail and
windows at eye level to gaze at the world of cloud and sky outside, and the
countryside or sea slipping away below at a steady 150mph [240km/h] if there
was no wind. On the promenade deck there was also a
practical useable space where quoits or even golf were played, and child
passengers could play. There was even a demand for fishing lines at refuelling
stops, where both passengers and crew members would enjoy the relaxation of
dropping a line over the side.” http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/history-relocation-to-sydney/global/en
(Incidentally, that Qantas history makes fascinating reading too! There is a
great description of the Catalinas that Qantas flew
between the Swan River, Perth, and Koggala Lake, in
southern Ceylon, to avoid the Japanese.)
The other clear recollection I have is astonishment and not a little
alarm when we were taking off, at the sea rushing up to cover the portholes, as
though we were diving into the sea rather than taking off! What an adventure—I
was almost sorry when we were rowed ashore at Rose Bay. The adventure that
started there was far more prosaic and less to my liking!
Here is a website with the biography and technical
details of the "Coriolanus", with numerous photographs. http://www.aussieairliners.org/shortfb/vh-abg/vhabg.html
I haven’t found a closer photo of her in Australia, but there is this
one of the "Cooee", another of Qantas's
“Short S30 Empire” flying-boats and sister of the Coriolanus. http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=pic&fn=3xei8bdo&s=4
Footnote: The next
time we flew to Sydney was two years later in 1948, and that flight was on a
Pan Am DC4 "Clipper". The "Coriolanus" was broken up in
Sydney Harbour that year. Also on that flight was Éamon
De Valera, the Irish free-rule activist and politician (and later President of
Ireland). He flew to Sydney via the USA, and was on our flight because PanAm flew to Sydney via Nadi,
which is where we joined the flight. I do remember that my Dad, a British
loyalist through and through, was highly indignant to be sharing a flight with
the Irish rebel! In later years he and I disagreed
constantly about this and other matters!
