VH-EFR  Avro 652A Anson 1

                              

                                    Just another day in Kokoda, New Guinea, (above) circa 1958.   VH-EFR was originally owned
                                    by E.F.Reid and the scratchy photograph below was taken at Rockhampton, Queensland around
                                   1956 when the Anson was being ferried to New Guinea on a DCA ferry permit prior to formal
                                    registration.  It was painted allover yellow and still had the original helmet cowlings.    Ex RAAF
                                    W2093, it had been purchased at RAAF Tocumwal NSW in March 1953 by Reid, and DCA
                                    had allocated VH-BOT but the civil conversion was not completed.   Ernie Reid was a pilot with
                                    several charter companies in New Guinea, and a partner in Goilala Air Services.   However by the
                                    time VH-EFR received its formal CofA in March 1958, (and Oxford type cowlings) it was regis-
                                    tered to Papuan Air Transport Ltd of Port Moresby (Patair).  Now repainted silver with red lettering,
                                    -EFR only flew with the New Guinea outfit for a year and a half before being retired in October 1959
                                    as their final Anson.  It was replaced by 4 new Piaggio P166s from Italy.   VH-EFR was donated to
                                    the Boroko Returned Soldiers League in suburban Port Moresby as a memorial.
                                    Both photos from the Geoff Goodall collection.