''Kookaburra'' was a Westland Widgeon light aircraft registered G-AUKA. When Sir

Charles Kingsford Smith Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 18978 November 1935), nicknamed Smithy, was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first transpacific flight and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand. Kingsford Smith was b ...

and his crew in the

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

disappeared in 1929 in what later came to be known as the "Coffee Royal" incident, pilot Keith Anderson and mechanic Henry Smith "Bobby" Hitchcock flew the ''Kookaburra'' in an attempt to find them. ''Kookaburra'' departed Richmond, New South Wales, on 10 April and headed for the north of Western Australia via Broken Hill, Maree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs. ''Kookaburra'' was forced to land in the Tanami Desert when the push rod on a valve on number two cylinder loosened, causing a loss of power. Hitchcock adjusted the push rod and the two men attempted to clear a runway. They were overcome by thirst and perished before they could clear a runway long enough. Their bodies were found on 21 April 1929. A ground party traveled from Wave Hill Station and buried the men where they lay. Due to a shortage of water for their horses, the ground party did not have time to clear a runway long enough for ''Kookaburra'' to take off. After a public outcry for leaving the men in the desert, a second expedition with a Thornycroft truck returned to the site and exhumed the bodies. Again, due to a shortage of water, a runway could not be cleared so the aircraft was not moved. In July 1929 Anderson was re-buried in Sydney and Hitchcock in Perth. ''Kookaburra'' remained in the desert as it was not economical to recover it. It was unexpectedly discovered in 1961 by Vern O'Brien, a surveyor traveling through the area. It had been damaged by three decades of rain and bushfires. O'Brien did not ascertain an accurate location for the aircraft because the Tanami is flat and featureless. Several expeditions searched for ''Kookaburra'' after 1961 but to no avail. Australian businessman, pilot and adventurer Dick Smith mounted an expedition in 1977 to find the ''Kookaburra'' but was unsuccessful. He searched again in 1978 and this time succeeded in finding the remains of the aircraft. GEO Magazine Vol 1, No 2, 1979, pages 112 to 131 The remains of ''Kookaburra'' were moved to a public display at Alice Springs Airport and are currently at the Central Australian Aviation Museum.

References

External links

Accident description
at the

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* Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Chapter 17. {{Coord, 23, 42, 8, S, 133, 51, 51, E, type:landmark_region:AU_dim:32, display=title 1920s in the Northern Territory Individual aircraft Aviation accidents and incidents in the Northern Territory