East-West Airlines - The Hudson Era

by
Roger McDonald

This is Part 2

Link to Part 1

Over many years when East-West operated long-distance "Air Tours" across Australia, the company Directors stated the financial stability of the company was due to these tours bringing in good revenue, particularly at times of low regular air service activity. The pioneer of these flights departed Tamworth on March 29, 1951 when Hudson VH-EWA carried 13 local residents and three crew to Adelaide via Mildura and on to Alice Springs before returning through Broken Hill to Tamworth. The success led to another more extensive tour in June and then a series of tours each subsequent year all operated by Hudsons until 1957 when DC-3 aircraft were used.

One flight made by East-West Hudson VH-EWB which caught media attention was an emergency flight from Tamworth to Alice Springs. On Saturday, April 28 1951, a stockman was seriously injured in a horse fall outside Alice Springs and needed urgent medical attention at a major hospital. Calls by the Ambulance Superintendent at Alice Springs for an aircraft were directed to East-West who made the Hudson available at very short notice.

The Flight Superintendent, Captain Smith and Tamworth based Captain Chris Braund along with Hostess Marj Ross elected to crew the aircraft on its mercy dash. Departing Tamworth at 8.00pm with the air ambulance kit installed, the Hudson flew a direct track to Alice Springs, some 1829kms away, where it arrived at 1.16am local time after nearly 5 hours flying. After refuelling and checking the aircraft, a 3 hour rest was had by the 3 crew members before the Hudson departed Alice Springs at 6.30am for Sydney. After 4 hours and 52 minutes flying, the Hudson touched down at Sydney’s Mascot airport where the injured man was transferred to a waiting ambulance. While refuelling, the airline agent was requested to load as much freight as he had into the Hudson during the quick turnaround. The weary crew departed Sydney at 12.30pm and 75 minutes later landed at Tamworth where the aircraft was handed over to the engineers for checking and servicing before it again departed on the 3.15pm service to Sydney and return.

The new Gunnedah aerodrome was officially opened on May 12, 1951 where Hudson VH-EWE was officially named Namoi City but it wasn’t until the 14th that the first Gunnedah - Sydney service was flown by the Hudson. This date also marked the introduction of Hudsons on to all flights except Armidale which was served by a connecting Anson flight from Tamworth which also continued to Glen Innes twice weekly to connect with the Tamworth - Glen Innes - Brisbane Hudson service.

The June 30, 1951 meeting of Directors instructed the Manager to insure Hudsons VH-EWA, VH-EWB and VH-EWE for £15,000 each while reducing the insurance on the remaining two serviceable Anson aircraft to £500 each.

Advertising special Christmas flights.
Northern Daily Leader – December 4, 1951

The frustration at the authorities not acting on the Armidale aerodrome problem culminated in the final Anson service to the city being flown on October 27 by VH-EWZ, thus ending all Anson passenger flights by East-West Airlines. It wasn’t until December 1956 that the aerodrome was re-opened following which services were mainly flown by DC-3 aircraft supported at peak times by Hudsons.

The "Hudson" timetable operated with little change over 18 months.
"Gordon's Air Guide" early 1953.

For the next 20 months, Hudson aircraft operated all East-West services until the airline purchased its first DC-3 on July 22, 1953. For the year ending 30th June 1952, the Hudson fleet carried 26,403 passengers while the following year they carried 28,531 passengers and a record 353,603kgs of freight and mail.

In early 1953 a decision was made to relocate the Tamworth aerodrome to a new site some 8kms west of the City along the Gunnedah Road. Work commenced in November with East-West officials hoping to have the airline relocated there towards the end of 1955 even though runways were to be completed by the end of 1954.

The loss of Hudson VH-EWA during a ground engine run accident at Mascot airport during June 1953 brought forward by two years, the entry into service of company owned DC-3 aircraft. Earlier on May 13, chartered T.A.A. DC-3 aircraft were introduced to fly a Sydney – Gunnedah – Tamworth - Sydney service each Wednesday and a similar but reversed routing each Thursday. On each day, a connection was made at Tamworth with a Hudson service from Brisbane and Glen Innes.

Ownership of VH-EWA was officially transferred to Adastra Aerial Surveys Pty Ltd on July 1, 1953 after all insurance moneys were received for the damaged aircraft. These were immediately passed to Qantas Airways as the down payment for the DC-3 VH-EAM which was delivered to Tamworth on July 22, 1953.

Last Hudson advertisement.
"Gordon's Air Guide" – July 1953:

1953 Flight Folder Showing Hudson Routes.

The two remaining Hudson aircraft continued to play a big part in the fortunes of East-West and following the purchase of the company structure, route licences and goodwill of South Coast Airways Pty Ltd on August 1, 1953, the sphere of operation by the Hudsons moved from northern NSW to the western centres of Cowra and West Wyalong. At the East-West monthly Board meeting held on August 26, it was resolved to transfer ownership of Hudsons VH-EWB and VH-EWE to South Coast Airways Pty Ltd.

On May 2, 1954 Hudson VH-EWB flew a party of East-West officials from Tamworth to Coolangatta as a trial flight to investigate the possibility of commencing regular flights from northern centres to the popular holiday region. Flights commenced sometime later in August 1955 but with DC-3 aircraft.

The official 1954 Christmas holiday period commenced on Friday, December 24 which put considerable strain on East-West flights to Tamworth and other centres. To allow flights to be made to other centres as well as Tamworth, special permission was received from DCA to operate night flights into the new aerodrome even though no passenger facilities were ready. The timetable showed the evening flights to be:

Arrival 8.45pm - Hudson
Arrival 9.00pm - DC-3
Arrival 9.15pm - Hudson
Departure 9.10pm - Hudson
Departure 9.30pm - DC-3

As a trial for these flights, Hudson VH-EWE flew Sydney – Tamworth – Sydney the previous evening carrying a full load of Christmas parcels and mail in both directions. On both nights, oil burning wartime flares were laid out.

A large expansion of East-West services was announced on August 10, 1955 when new services to Newcastle, Coolangatta, Cootamundra and Inverell would be commenced when formalities were completed.

The Inverell service commenced on August 15 using mainly DC-3 aircraft although Hudsons operated one service weekly which continued through to Brisbane. The following week, the four times weekly Tamworth – Newcastle service was inaugurated using Hudson VH-EWE.

A new service to Port Macquarie commenced on November 26, 1955 when the new local aerodrome was officially opened which involved a contingent of East-West aircraft including DC-3’s VH-EWA and VH-EWF and Hudson VH-EWE which brought guests from Tamworth.

To give residents of Gunnedah and Tamworth the ability to spend a weekend at the Port Macquarie seaside, a new service by Hudson aircraft was commenced on December 9. Each Saturday morning, a Hudson aircraft departed Sydney at 7.30am for Gunnedah, Tamworth, Port Macquarie and back to Sydney where it arrived at 12.35pm. It departed again for Port Macquarie at 1.30pm, arriving at 2.50pm where it remained for the weekend. The Hudson again departed Port Macquarie at 7.00am on Monday for Tamworth and Gunnedah before continuing on to Sydney.

A similar flight to Armidale operated by Hudson each Wednesday for a trial period in early 1956 was short lived.

The early part of 1955 and the first eight months of 1956 were disastrous periods for East-West. In 1955, northern NSW was covered by floodwaters, which disrupted the company’s operations for some weeks, particularly late February and early March. East-West made available their sole DC-3 VH-EWA to carry urgent medical supplies, food and clothing to devastated communities throughout the region while the airline services were maintained by the two Hudson aircraft. Reviewing the previous two weeks on March 21, Captain Smith said:

"Up to nine flights a day were operated between Sydney and Tamworth carrying essential urgent goods and passengers plus extra flights operated to Glen Innes and Brisbane. Additional aircrew was engaged to cope with the extra flights and special arrangements were put in place at the new Tamworth aerodrome under construction for the servicing of all aircraft by night on the open tarmac. Because of the disruption, to road and rail traffic, we carried 3,355 passengers and 58,361kgs of freight during the emergency. Our aircraft, one DC-3 and two Lockheed Hudsons flew 96,600kms".

(To gain access to Tamworth, company employees and airline passengers had to travel on an open truck through over 2kms of floodwaters, board a rail motor at West Tamworth to cross into Tamworth on the flood free rail bridge!)

As the floodwaters rose around Tamworth on February 25, the West Tamworth aerodrome was threatened so a decision was quickly made to fly DC-3 VH-AEZ which was being worked on to enter East-West service, from the water logged aerodrome to the new aerodrome still under construction. The aircraft carried spares and equipment for both the DC-3 and Hudsons and it was this desperate act that allowed the airline to operate over the next four weeks until a return to the old aerodrome was possible.

As 1955 drew to a close, heavy rain again caused considerable disruption to airline services and this continued into 1956, which forced a permanent move to the new aerodrome early in March, even though no passenger facilities were available. The following months brought the worst floods in memory to a large area of NSW, causing the suspension of flights to Cootamundra, Gunnedah and West Wyalong while there were temporary suspension of flights to most other centres. By July, the company’s complete fleet of three DC-3 and two Hudson aircraft were put at the disposal of the State Emergency Service. The magnitude of the disruption can be gained by the statement of Captain Smith on July 13, 1956:

"A large portion of the EWA network has been closed for many months and many of our developed services have been destroyed by the continuous heavy rain which has rendered many aerodromes unserviceable. We estimate over £50,000 in revenue has been lost since last October when the rains came, 324 scheduled flights have been cancelled and over 1200 other flights have operated at fractional loads due to the opening and closing of aerodromes, rendering their operations uncertain."

As the floodwaters receded to the north of the state, Hudson VH-EWE was called upon to uplift a complete 112 bale wool clip from the flood-bound station "Stanley", situated 80km north-east of Moree. Commencing on Septermber 12, 1956 , the wool was flown to Moree over 4 days on 22 round trips while mail and provisions were carried on the return leg. The station owners had not been able to move the wool for months and were desperate to get it to sale.

The financial year to June 30, 1956 showed the company had lost a disastrous £25,033 during the year caused by the 8 months of floods. The Chairman, Mr. Don Shand added that the fact the company was able to survive reflected great credit on management and staff who kept the aircraft flying under all circumstances. Mr. Shand praised the excellent reliability of both the DC-3 and Hudson aircraft.

In anticipation of becoming a total DC-3 operator within twelve months, Hudson VH-EWE was re-registered VH-BPT in December 1956 and a contract was signed with the CSIRO, in conjunction with Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority for the aircraft to commence a two-year (plus one year option) rainmaking project over the Snowy Mountains region of NSW. From March 1, 1957 the aircraft and three crew members were based at Wagga Wagga to seed clouds over the newly completed Snowy Mountains Scheme aiming to fill the many large dams as quickly as possible.

Throughout 1957, the one remaining Hudson aircraft took a less important role in passenger services with East-West as more DC-3 aircraft were introduced and early in the year, were only scheduled on the western routes to Cowra, West Wyalong and Temora. In late October it was announced Hudson aircraft would only be operated during peak periods or when there was DC-3 unserviceability. By December 31, 1957, Hudson aircraft were officially withdrawn from East-West passenger operations after eight years of service during which there were no incidents with potential harm to any crew or passenger.

Following the complete cessation of Hudson airline flights at the end of 1957 and little prospect for an immediate sale, the airline formed a new division within the company titled "Special Projects Division" to handle all non airline work. Both Hudsons were re-registered on March 21, 1958; VH-BPT became VH-EWR (R=Rainmaking) and VH-EWB became VH-EWS (S=Survey)

A tentative contract with the NSW Lands Department for aerial mapping commenced on July 21, 1958 using Hudson VH-EWS and following its complete success, a permanent two year contract (plus one year extension option) was signed. The company spent £14,000 converting the Hudson for its permanent mapping role. This commenced on November 17 when the NSW Minister for Lands, Mr. Gollan accepted Hudson VH-EWS on behalf of his Department at a ceremony at Mascot Aerodrome. For this contract, VH-EWS was re-named George Vincent in honour of the Surveyor-General of the New South Wales Department of Lands.

The success of the two Hudson contracts was confirmed at the 1959 Annual Meeting of shareholders when Chairman Shand announced a record £21,422 profit for the company stating in part:

"The airline itself made a small loss ... but the profit was derived from the 'Special Projects Division' and non-airline activities such as charters."

At the next four Annual General Meetings of shareholders, Mr. Shand said the company’s profitability was mainly derived from the "Special Projects Division", Charters and Air Tours.

During 1959 there was bitter confrontation with Ansett owned Butler Air Transport Pty Ltd to gain the licence to operate into the new Grafton aerodrome at Pillar Valley which was under construction. In an effort to get the support of the Grafton City Councillors, and to show the East-West "flag", a number of East-West Directors and officials flew to Grafton on July 29 in Hudson VH-EWS, landing at the new aerodrome. Because the runway was not sufficiently complete to allow the aircraft to take off with passengers, the party returned to Tamworth in Miles Gemini VH-BMT, departing from the town airstrip.

The utilisation of the two Hudson aircraft dropped dramatically in 1960 when both contracts ceased. During the 1960 Annual General Meeting of shareholders held in December, the Chairman, Mr. Don Shand announced both Hudson aircraft were officially withdrawn from the company’s service and had been put up for sale. He paid tribute to the sterling job the aircraft had done in East-West service. Some years later, Mr. Shand told the writer it was the Hudson aircraft that saved East-West from extinction by allowing instrument flying compared to the Anson’s visual flying.

As the aircraft had not been sold after being on the market for nearly 12 months, Directors at their December 2, 1961 meeting, resolved:

"That Lockheeds VH-EWR and VH-EWS be salvaged and sold as spares."

However, events were to prove that you "can’t keep a good Hudson down" as in April 1962, the Victorian State Government chartered VH-EWR for a month to seed clouds around the Melbourne metropolitan area in an attempt to break the long drought and replenish Melbourne’s diminishing water supply. The first flight under the contract departed Essendon on April 28 and some success was achieved over the next weeks as Melbourne recorded one of the wettest Mays on record! This was to be the final commercial flight by an East-West Hudson.

Following an earlier recommendation by the East-West Airlines Ltd Auditors that they wind up two dormant subsidiary companies including South Coast Airways Pty Ltd., Directors at their March 31, 1962 meeting, resolved:

"That the company purchase the following assets from South Coast Airways Pty Ltd for the sums indicated:

2 Lockheed aircraft	£	5,000
Furniture / Fittings	£	258

They further resolved:

"to sell South Coast Airways Pty Ltd to Mr. R. Cooksey (East-West Secretary) for £1."

The last Hudson to be "officially" sold was VH-EWS, which was stored in Sydney and this was transferred to newspaper publisher, John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd on September 10, 1962.

The second Hudson, VH-EWR was sold to Adastra Airways Pty Ltd on August 13, 1962. At a ceremony at Tamworth aerodrome on August 16, 1962, the General Manager of East-West, Mr. John Riley, handed the aircraft log books to Captain E. Mackenzie, Operations Manager of Adastra. At the ceremony, Mr. Riley paid tribute to the wonderful service the type had given East-West during seven years of airline flying and another three years with the "Special Projects Division".

The local newspaper, The Northern Daily Leader - marked the hand-over with the heading "Farewell to Old Faithful: The last of East-West Airlines’ Lockheed Hudsons took off from Tamworth airport yesterday - and probably will never return."

How wrong this prediction was! East-West purchased Adastra Airways Pty Ltd on April 1, 1973 and in doing so, re-purchased Hudsons VH-EWB as VH-AGP and VH-EWA as VH-AGS. Their subsequent careers with Adastra are covered under that company.

EWA - The Hudson Era - Part 1

Special Thanks

The publisher extends sincere thanks to Roger McDonald for this outstanding contribution to The Lockheed File. This is, without doubt, the most comprehensive treatment of East-West's Hudson operations ever published. It is no exaggeration to state that Roger is a world authority on East-West Airlines, for indeed there have been occasions when East-West Airlines consulted Roger on aspects of their own history! It will be immediately apparent from the depth of the preceding article that it draws upon actual East-West board minutes, copies of which are held in Roger's collection.

The East-West Hudsons

Registration	Acquired	Disposed	Remarks
VH-EWA	JAN50	03JUL53	Sold to Adastra Aerial Surveys
VH-EWB/EWS	21DEC50	10SEP62	Sold to Herald Flying Services
VH-EWE/EWR	20NOV50	13AUG62	Sold to Adastra Aerial Surveys
A16-124	12FEB49	51/52	Conversion abandoned.

The Other Four

As related in the preceding narrative, East-West purchased six Hudsons from Brigadier MacArthur-Onslow (t/a Macquarie Grove Flying School). Of these six airframes we can identify only two:

A16-112 - which became VH-EWA.
A16-124 - conversion of which was never completed.

Macquarie Grove Flying School (MGFS) purchased a total of 11 Hudsons from disposals. Of these, two were sold to Herald Flying Services (A16-120 & 199 which became VH-SML and VH-SMM respectively). From East-West board minutes we know that one of the three aircraft towed to Tamworth was A16-124 which was indeed one of the eleven aircraft sold to MGFS. This leaves the following as possible candidates for the remaining four:

A16-127, 130, 143, 148 - all Mk IV
A16-180, 189, 207, 229 - all Mk III

Although it is tempting to speculate that East-West might have chosen only Mark IV Hudsons, we have seen elsewhere that conversion from a Mk III to a Mk IV and vice versa is not an obstacle. Given a choice of many airframes and many spare engines, an operator would most likely select the superior airframes and change the engine type if necessary. Therefore, it is unlikely that we can draw any valid conclusions from the above list of candidates. As we will see in the case of A16-112, the list of possible candidates need not be restricted to those eleven aircraft purchased directly by MGFS.

As an added complication, A16-112 was purchased at disposals by Stanley Godden although paid for by his business partner Warren Penny who subsequently sold the Hudson to another party. Penny later repossessed A16-112 and gave it to the Shell Company as a guarantee against his fuel bills. This arrangement was later formalised when Penny sold the aeroplane to Shell for £250. (Revealed in Warren Penny's bankruptcy proceedings in July 1949). According to the East-West board minutes, A16-112 was purchased from Shell although it was also included in the package of six Hudsons acquired from MGFS so it would appear that MGFS were selling the aircraft on behalf of Shell. Of course there is yet another player in this complicated transaction, East-West's agent Wilmore Aviation Services who may have had access to additional Hudsons! In all probability, the identities of the "other four" will remain a mystery.

UPDATE 15 March 2017:
In July 1950, East-West Airlines expressed interest in Guinea Airways' Lockheed 14 VH-AEW which was stored in the open at Parafield. Although DCA reported that the aircraft could be made flyable in approximately one week, EWA apparently lost interest in the aircraft.

East-West Hudson Colours and Markings

EAST-WEST HUDSON GALLERY

	An unidentified Hudson at the old Tamworth Aerodrome. Probably one of the five Hudsons that never entered service with East-West. Photo: Chris O'Neill
	Hudson VH-BNJ at Mascot in 1951. Photo: Peter Ricketts
	Hudson VH-EWA at Mascot. Note open nose compartment door. Photo: Ed Coates
	Hudson VH-EWA at Brisbane, Eagle Farm. Photo: Grulke Collection
	Hudson VH-EWB. Photo: Ed Coates
	Hudson VH-EWE. Photo: East-West Airlines via Roger McDonald Collection
	Hudson VH-EWE. Photo: Ed Coates Collection
	Hudson VH-EWE. This image is linked to detailed close-ups of the East-West Airlines markings. Photo: Geoff Howarth via Queensland Air Museum
	The cabin of an unidentified East-West Hudson. Photo: Geoff Howarth via Queensland Air Museum
	Hudson VH-BPT in rainmaking configuration. Photo: CSIRO
	Special Projects Division Hudsons. VH-EWRainmaking VH-EWSurvey Photo: Source Unknown

Issue	Date	Remarks
7	15MAR17	Added a reference to an expression of interest by EWA in acquiring L-14 VH-AEW.
6	03FEB16	Refreshed images.
5	09JUN14	Refreshed layout.
4	17OCT01	The last paragraph has been rewritten with new information which clarifies the role of the Shell Company in the acquisition of Hudson A16-112.