VH-UIH de
Havilland D.H.60G Gipsy
Moth
(c/n 822)
I am indebted to Anthony Cleary
for the above photograph. It was taken by his grandfather,
Mr. V.F. Doran, and the
inscription on the back of the photograph states "Seaplane on the
Manning - Taree 16
August
1930". Mr. Doran was a builder in Newcastle,
NSW. The
photograph was taken
whilst he was contracted to built the Catholic Church in
Taree.
Material was shipped there from
Newcastle by steamship. Whether the Moth played any
part in the project
is not known. The aircraft was owned by P. G. Taylor
of Sydney at the
time. I am assuming that
this would have been the
Captain Taylor of later
Transoceanic fame?.
Floatplanes were rare in Australia in that
era. However, if
the P.G. Taylors are one and the
same, P.G's affinity for the water
would account for the aquatic gear on
the Moth. The image
below, (via Picture Australia) was
reputedly taken in while the aircraft was on a trip from Sydney
to Tasmania, circa 1929, and prior
to being re-registered VH-. (Looks like Hobart). VH-UIH
was ultimately destroyed by fire
whilst tied
down in a paddock in Kelso, NSW in
1935 while in
the service of Eastern Air Transport, Ltd of
Mascot..