Statement of Editorial Policy

I am carrying this statement on each of my blogs.

There has recently been a fair bit of discussion (here, here, here and here, for example) about problems and issues associated with blogging.

I publish and mainly write four blogs, each serving a different purpose. In doing so, I try to be accurate. However, recently I made some mistakes of fact and interpretation in a story. They were pointed out to me and I have corrected them.

This case provided an excellent illustration of the need for care. I thought therefore that I should provide a statement of principles governing my approach to all my blogs. Each blogger has their own approach. This is mine.

All my blogs are intended to stimulate interest in and discussion on particular topics. They provide an opportunity for me to place ideas, thoughts, information and research on the public record. I spend a fair bit of time thinking about individual stories and want my readers to value the visit experience.

I also believe that blogs are a way of encouraging civilised conversation. To this end:

1. All my blogs contain a mix of fact, analysis, recollection and opinion.
2. I try to check my facts. However, I will make mistakes. Where I do so, I will make corrections to the story and, if necessary, acknowledge the mistake.
3. There will also be mistakes in my analysis. Again, I am happy to recognise and discuss such errors.
4. While I try to be objective, I recognise that my own values and opinions colour my writing. I will try to write in such a way that the reader can properly indentify my views and biases and hence make their own judgments. This holds especially when I am arguing a case.
5. When writing as an analyst, I try to deconstruct the elements in a discussion so that I can properly present issues and approaches. I will try to do so independent of personalities.
6. Since I want to encourage civilised conversation, I will try to treat my visitors with courtesy even where I disagree with them. I reserve the right to delete comments where those comments are nasty or may create legal problems, but I will never delete a comment just because I disagree with it.
7. As part of civilised conversation, I will try to recognise other's ideas, to contribute to relevant discussion on other people's blogs and to answer promptly emails arising from my blogs.
   

New England Australia Aviation Pioneers - the Virtues

Photo: Australian National Airways Captain Keith Virtue posing with DC-3 VH-ANR "Oana". Keith Virtue was the first Australian pilot to accumulate 20,000 hours.

Source Virtue family collection, from the Cuskelly site. This site includes a range of aviation related material, including the story of Adastra, another of Australia's pioneer aviation companies. The Sydney based Adastra was founded in 1931, finishing its life in the 1970's shortly after its acquisition by East West Airlines and the relocation of its HQ to Tamworth.

My thanks to Bruce Robinson and to John Lee from Chicago for more material on New England Airways and those associated with the company. I am still absorbing this. In the meantime, a brief snippet on another part of the pioneer story, Keith Virtue, who was a pilot with New England and went on to a long and distinguished career in Australian civil aviation.

Thanks to Bruce and John I now know that there is a biography of Keith that also covers the early days on New England Airways and of Airlines of Australia, Joan Priest's Virtue in Flying. (Angus and Roberston, 1975). So I have put this on my list to find, read and report back.

As I presently understand it, Keith was the youngest of ten boys and grew up near Lismore. An elder brother Ralph was also a pilot with New England and was killed in the NEA plane crash that also saw the death of pioneer aviator Leslie Holden plus another. I understand that there is a memorial near the crash site.

Again as I understand it, Keith married one of G A Robinson's daughters. By the end of his flying career Keith had established what was probably a world record of around 40,000 commercial flying hours, a title later taken over by his nephew Jason Hassard, 42,000 hours. I think that Jason was also a pilot with Airlines of Australia.

I will write more later. In the meantime, checking material reminded me that one of Australia's most famous air crashes involved an Airline of Australia Stinson flying btween Brisbane and Sydney in 1937. The plane crashed on the Lamington Ranges shortly after take-off from Brisbane. A search failed to find the wreckage.

Nine days after the crash, Beaudesert grazier Bernard O'Reilly set out on foot to find the plane. Through his superior bush skills he found the crash site and, to his surprise, two survivors in desperate need of medical attention. After making them comfortable, he left them to organise a rescue party. The full story can be found in the Queensland Government archives.

New England Airways - Follow Up

Photo: New England Airways, Avro10s, photo courtesy of Bruce Robinson.

While this blog has a historical focus, one of the nice things about it is that I am not bound by the canons of academic discipline. Yes, I do try to observe proper standards, but because I do not want an academic career (it's a bit late for that!), I do not have to subject myself to the whole rigmarole. I can go where I like.

My aim when I started was to capture and document the New England experience before it was lost, hopefully drawing others in. I am starting to get there.

In earlier posts I spoke of New England Airways (here(1) and here(2)).

I first came across a reference to New England Airways back in 1982 when I was doing my PhD thesis. I was fascinated. I knew Don Shand and the story of East West Airlines (story), but I had never heard of New England Airways. Yet here was a pioneer airline of some substance holding the Sydney-Brisbane mail contract that had somehow vanished. I could not do anything about it at the time, so put it aside.

When I launched this blog and came to write something for the first time on New England aviation I made finding out something about New England Airways my first priority. While the on-line historical record was skimpy it did allow me to fill in some gaps. In turn, this led Bruce Robinson, the grandson son of New England's founder George A Robinson, to contact me. Now we may be able to fill in some gaps.

Does this matter? I think that it does very much and not just from a New England perspective.

Today when airlines are the bus lines of the sky, we forget the romance and the physical and commercial risks associated with this early period. Nevile Shute, one of my favourite authors, brings this early period alive in many of his books. New England Airways was a major player in this early period and deserves to be remembered for that fact alone.

Celtic culture, bushy beards and plenty of Felicity

Photo: Felicity Urquhart

While I was thinking further about New England history, email to remind me that this year's Glen Innes Land Of The Beardies Festival will be held from 3 to 12 November.

Each spring, Glen Innes celebrates its unique Celtic heritage with its Land of the Beardies Festival, a rare and entertaining mix of Celtic culture, typical Australian pastimes and traditional events.

Along with the program favourites like the Beard Growing Contest, the strongman events and the street parade, the special highlight this year is a performance by the multi-award winning country singer Felicity Urquhart on Saturday, November 11.

The Festival kicks off on Friday November 3 with the opening of the Outback Memorabilia display in the Town Hall. On Saturday November 4 the major event is the ABCRA Rodeo at the Glen Innes Showgrounds, when riders from around the state compete for major prizes.

During the week, the Glen Innes History House offers a fascinating insight into the region’s heritage.

On Saturday November 11, the day begins with Market Stalls and a Celtic Pet Show, followed up in the afternoon with the lively street parade, which winds it way towards King Edward Park, where you’re guaranteed a full evening of family fun and entertainment.

This includes the beard-growing contest with sections for the longest, scruffiest and most eccentric beards; a truck parade and show; a Ulysses Motorbike Club display; and a concert by Felicity Urquhart supported by rising star Aaron Bolton. The night ends with a fireworks display.

Felicity Urquhart recently won three awards at the Telstra CountryWide Southern Stars 10th Annual Australian Independent Country Music Awards in Mildura.

Festival Chairman Alan Goldsmith said it was an absolute thrill to secure Felicity for the Festival.

“We expect Felicity’s appearance will bring even greater numbers to the Festival,” he said.

“We think this year’s program really offers something for everyone and trust people will find our Festival an enriching experience.”

Glen Innes Economic Development and Tourism Manager Wendy Fahey said the Festival gives visitors the chance to see some of the region’s other attractions.

“It’s an opportunity for visitors to come to Glen Innes and see the Australian Standing Stones – which are unique in the southern hemisphere, our World Heritage national parks, fossick for sapphires in the State’s richest region, fish for Murray cod, or simply enjoy our Heritage main street and tourist drives,” she said.

The saphires are not to be sneezed at. One of Australia's best prospecting areas runs along the western edge of the New England Tablelands between Glenn Innes and the nearby town of Inverell whose own Saphire Festival will be held from October 20 to 29.

Exactly how you go about unearthing them, though, requires just the right kind of advice. Here Glen Innes Tourism has just produced a new fossicking brochure that makes your chances of striking it rich just so much easier. Even if you don’t, this brochure will give any first-time fossickers a decent head start.

The “Fossicking in Celtic Country” brochure includes a guide to all the fossicking sites and reserves within easy driving distance of Glen Innes, a detailed map, rules and regulations, instructions on how to fossick and equipment required, a list of local gem sellers and a guide to gem festivals. Copies can be obtained by contacting Glenn Innes Tourism.

Location Details

Gelnn Innes sits at the junction of the New England and Gwydir Highways and is around four and a half hours driving time south of Brisbane, an hour and a quarter north of Armidale, around seven hours driving time north from Newcastle, a bit over eight hours north from Sydney, around two hours west from Grafton.