VH-UOE  Avro 616 Avian Mk. IVM             (c/n  R3/CN/372)

                                 

                                     This was Charles Ulm's first aeroplane, seen here in this image from the John Balfour collection.
                                     Not only was Ulm Charles Kingsford Smith's co-pilot and partner, but he was also the business
                                     brain behind Smith's famous flights, and responsible, generally, for their financing.  He named this
                                     Avian, a Mk IVM with the Genet Major engine, 'Southern Cross Pup'.   It had several owners
                                     after Ulm sold it in 1931 and in 1936 was fitted with a Gipsy III engine.   It later went to Stephens
                                     Aviation in Wau, New Guinea.  Its CofA was suspended in 1941 and it was ultimately destroyed
                                     on the ground by a Japanese air attack on 21 January 1942.   The image below, from the Bruce
                                     Robinson collection, shows it an an air show at Lismore in 1931, carrying race number 7.   The
                                     full panoramic scene from which this cutting was taken can be found under the entry for Keith
                                     Virtue's Genairco Moth VH-UNT.