Air Conquest

Nay! Though Time with petty Fate
Prison us and Emperors,
By our Arts do we create
That which Time himself devours—
Such machines as well may run
'Gainst the Horses of the Sun—Kipling.

Perhaps nothing in New Zealand history has stirred the imagination or pleased the public so much as the triumphant air passage of the “Southern Cross” from Australia to New Zealand. The feat is of particular moment to railwaymen, as transporters, for it shows the wonderful possibilities of that third and long neglected element—the air—as a means of swift conveyance.

The speed with which these present-day great birds of flight, invented by the genius of man, can cover space and annihilate distance sets new bounds to human imagination in regard to what the future holds in store.

This Dominion, although separated by 12,000 miles from the heart of the Empire, can now be counted nearer by the lessened time that air transport requires to cover the journey. Australia, a four days' sea trip away, is brought by air as near to us as Wellington is to Auckland. With the wiping out of “insular provincialism”

The giant Fokker monoplane Southern Cross and a portion of the enthusiastic crowd of 30,000 which welcomed its arrival at Sockburn Aerodrome, Christchurch, on the morning of 11th September, 1928. The Southern Cross covered the 1,450 miles from Richmond Aerodrome, Sydney, to Christchurch (via Wellington) in 14 hours 25 minutes, maintaining an average speed of about 100 miles an hour throughout the journey.

within our own boundaries—probably no one at the present time could accurately state what is the boundary line between Taranaki and Hawke's Bay—the wonderfully increased speed by which transport between one country and another can now be accomplished is tending to increase that mutual understanding of, and respect for, each other, between nations, that is the necessary prelude to universal peace.

So that in accomplishing their daring and inspiring flight across the ocean wastes, the four men—Squadron-Leader C. Kingsford Smith, Flight-Lieutenant C. T. P. Ulm, T. H. McWilliams, and H. A. Litchfield—have performed a tremendous service towards the higher aims of humanity. New Zealand greeted them proudly as international heroes, and views their departure for Australia with regret, for they have won the hearts of our people and added a bright page to the country's history.

First Crossing Of The Tasman Sea By Air
The Men Who Made The Epic Flight.
Commander of the Monoplane Southern Cross.
Navigator.
Co-Commander of the Southern Cross.
Wireless Operator.