VH-UIK Avro 594 Avian Mk
IIIA
(c/n R3/CN/145)
This Avian was originally
imported in September 1928 (as G-AUIK) for Charter Wing, Ltd of
Brisbane. Its CofA lapsed in 1930, but by 1934
it was owned by Lance Brown of Albany, WA.
It is seen at that venue in the above shot from the
Geoff Goodall collection.. It had a mishap soon
after it was registered, as,
when piloted by Capt. E. J. Stevens in October 1928, it nose-dived into
the sands
at Greenmount Beach, Coolangatta. A clipping from the Brisbane
Courier for 15 October
1928 is appended below,
showing the Moth in its uncompromising attitude and registered G-AUIK.
In
fact, it was used mostly for joyriding from town ovals,
beaches and farms. Brown later moved
to Kalgoorlie WA and the Avian was
damaged in 1937 at
Leonora after allegedly being stolen by
another pilot. The aircraft was trucked to
Kalgoorlie and
repairs begun in a shed at his house, but
abandoned with the outbreak
of WW II. The airframe was damaged by
local children in the shed
and the
remains were burned in 1947.