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The Canberra Air Disaster, 1940

The wreckage of the Lockheed Hudson air crash, Canberra, 13 August 1940. Courtesy National Archives of Australia

 

As we commemorate Armistice Day we remember the WWII service and sacrifice of Strathfield Pilot Officer Richard Frederick Wiesener who died in 1940, aged 29. Along with too many others, his name appears on the Strathfield War Memorial. The plane crash in which he was killed in Canberra on 13 August went on to alter Australia’s political history and destabilise Menzies’ wartime government.

Dalgety’s Review (Perth, WA) 22 August 1940 p.2

Wiesener was second pilot of the Lockheed Hudson RAAF bomber transporting three cabinet ministers, the Chief of the General Staff and four crew members from Melbourne to Canberra. James Fairbairn,[1] the Air and Civil Aviation Minister had requested the flight to attend an urgent cabinet meeting to discuss the threat of war with Japan. He was accompanied by Geoffrey Street,[2] Minister for the Army, Henry Gullett,[3] Minister for Information, and General Sir Brudenell White,[4] Chief of the General Staff. Dick Elford, Fairbairn’s private secretary and Frank Thornthwaite, White’s staff officer were also on board. Prime Minister Menzies had been booked on the flight but decided to take the train instead. It was almost a year since the war had begun and, in England, the Battle of Britain was underway.

Henry Gullett                                                 Geoffrey Street                                             James Fairbairn                                                     General Sir Brudenell White

Courtesy National Library of Australia      Courtesy National Library of Australia     Courtesy Australian Parliamentary Library    Courtesy Australian War Memorial

Brigadier Street was a veteran of WWI, during which he had been awarded the Military Cross. Fairbairn too had served in the Great War with the Royal Flying Corps while Sir Henry Gullett had been a war correspondent. General Sir Brudenell White’s military service dated back to the Boer War and included the role of Chief of Staff to Generals Bridges and Birdwood during WWI. Lieutenant Thornthwaite received the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross during WWI.
The RAAF crew on board were Flight Lieutenant Robert Hitchcock, Pilot Officer Richard Wiesener as navigator, Corporal John Palmer and Aircraftman Charles Crosdale. Unusually for the era, Hitchcock was a second-generation pilot. His father, also Robert Hitchcock, had perished of thirst, along with Keith Anderson, in April 1929 as they searched for the missing Kingsford-Smith and Ulm and the Southern Cross.[5] Kingsford-Smith and Ulm were rescued. Wiesener was not yet qualified to fly the Lockheed Hudson and had ‘passed out’ of the navigation course just four days earlier with a ‘special distinction’.[6]

On approach to Canberra the aircraft was seen to circle the runway before flying towards Queanbeyan to make another approach. Witnesses later reported that it was flying low and slowly on approach to the airport. Possibly stalling as it came in to land, it crashed into a hill just over two kilometres from the aerodrome. It was a fierce and fiery crash, killing all ten men on board instantly. The crash was to have serious and far-reaching political implications for the Australian government, along with the personal loss to the families of those who were killed.

It was a national tragedy, utterly unequalled in Australian political history. Never before nor since has so much political experience and authority vanished in the blink of an eye.’[7]

Richard Frederick Wiesener was born on the last day of 1910 in Strathfield. His father was ophthalmic surgeon, Dr Frederick Abbey Wiesener who practised in Macquarie Street. The family lived at Cooroona, 74 Churchill Avenue, Strathfield during Richard’s childhood and he attended Strathfield Grammar School before moving to Shore School, where Errol Flynn was a classmate.[8] Strathfield Grammar School once occupied the grand house Llandilo, which later became part of Trinity Grammar Preparatory School.[9]

Cooroona, 74 Churchill Avenue Strathfield, 9 November 2022. Courtesy Strathfield Local Studies

Dr Frederick Abbey Wiesener c.1922. Courtesy NSW State Records & Archives

Dr Wiesener’s father, Theodor Frederick Wiesener, had arrived in Australia from Hanover, Germany in 1871 and was naturalised in 1873.[10] He opened a jewellers, watch-makers and instrument business in the city and was highly regarded. Theodor died in 1897, but his son, Dr Frederick Abbey Wiesener later suffered for his German ancestry, with blows to both his reputation and business during WWI. He wrote bitter letters to the government when he was unable to vote in the conscription referendum of 1917 because of his father’s German birth. At the same time, his brother, who had donated a fully equipped field ambulance to the AIF, was serving overseas with the Australian forces.

Richard’s parents spent some time overseas whilst he attended Shore School. Returning to Strathfield they settled at Bramhall, 12 Jersey Road by 1927.
After leaving Shore, Richard began an apprenticeship as an electrical fitter with Australian Iron and Steel (AI&S) near Port Kembla, a business established by his maternal grandfather, Charles Henry Hoskins.[11][12] He twice made visits to the USA to inspect steel pipe plants. The business was sold to BHP in 1935 and Richard returned to Sydney, married local girl, Elizabeth Joan Beale of Huntingtower, 33-35 Homebush Road Strathfield,[13] and took up accountancy. Richard and Joan settled at 1 Hydebrae Street, Strathfield. A newer house now stands on this site.

Members of the Wiesener family regularly appeared in the society columns during the 1930s, with the weddings of Richard’s three sisters all reported on in some detail, complete with photographs.[14][15] Mollie married next-door neighbour, James Gowing, of the Gowing’s Store family, in June 1939.[16] The Wiesener sisters had attended Meriden School. In 1938-39 Richard’s father, Frederick took a trip to Africa. An account of his adventures was donated to the State Library of NSW by his daughter, Mollie Gowing in 1993.[17]

With a love of machines, Richard learned to fly, acquiring his civil ‘A’ pilot’s licence shortly before war was declared in September 1939. In January 1940 he joined the RAAF as an Air Cadet and began training at Mascot. He was granted his commission in early May, with the rank of Pilot Officer.

… Wiesener had done his share of carousing and stunting, and waving the wings of small planes over family in Edgecliff and Strathfield.’[18]

Wiesener standing 2nd left. No.8 Navigation Reconnaissance Course, Laverton, Victoria, August 1940. Courtesy Australian War Memorial

On the day of the crash, Hitchcock selected Wiesener to accompany him. The Hudson Lockheed bombers were new aircraft. One hundred had been ordered for the Royal Australian Air Force but, in the first few months of their use in Australia, there had been several accidents[19] and a shortage of experienced pilots. Hitchcock had been one of the instructors of the conversion course. A16-97 had flown from Melbourne to Canberra just a week before the accident and had a total of just over seven hours’ flying time before the crash, of which two-and-a-half hours had been completed by test pilots. Maintenance staff had checked the plane on the morning of its final flight. The weather was good.

Lockheed Hudson aircraft during WWII. Courtesy Australian War Memorial

The coronial inquiry into the crash, held in late August 1940, noted that the ‘almost complete destruction of the Lockheed Hudson RAAF bomber … made it impossible to reconstruct any cause of the accident from observations of the plane itself.’ [20] A Court of Inquiry attributed the crash to the aircraft stalling on approach to landing, with all occupants killed on impact before the fire took hold.[21]

The Bulletin reported on the tragedy:

For a loss so sudden and so overwhelming there is no counterpart in Australian history. To the Army, the Air Force, the Government and the people it came with the shock of a battle in which honoured leaders had fallen. Messages of sympathy arrived from the King, from the British Parliament, from all parts of the Empire. The Commonwealth Parliament adjourned in sorrow for the funerals, deeply impressive ceremonies in which the whole nation joined in spirit with those who rendered the last offices to the fallen.’[22]

A State funeral was held for eight of the victims, including Richard Wiesener, in Melbourne just two days later on 15 August. Thousands of people attended the sombre service held in St Paul’s Cathedral. Prime Minister Menzies himself acted as pall-bearer for Brigadier Street.[23] Later that day the remains of Pilot Officer Wiesener were escorted by train to Sydney. After a service with full Air Force honours at the Burwood Congregational Church on Saturday 17 August, attended by 400 people, including 70 airmen and officers, his remains were cremated at Rookwood. Several thousand people lined the streets along which the cortege passed.[24]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

Scenes from the State Funeral of eight of the ten men killed, St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, 15 August 1940. Courtesy Australian War Memorial

In the political aftermath, new rules were introduced to ensure that, as far as possible, no more than two Federal Ministers should travel together in a plane.[25]

Faced with a by-election in three seats, Menzies decided to call an early election for 21 September and recalled Harold Holt, formerly an assistant minister, from the AIF where he was training as a gunner.[26] Menzies had been Prime Minister only since April 1939. Although his government survived the election of September 1940, Menzies had lost his greatest supporters and friends, and the cabinet was severely shaken. He stepped down as Prime Minister the following year, returning to the role in 1949, becoming Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister.

After Richard Wiesener’s death, his widow, Joan settled at 46 Llandilo Avenue Strathfield with her young children. Joan had been in the dentist’s chair in the city on the day of the crash, when a phone call to the surgery had summoned her home. In the street she saw the newspaper billboards and realised her loss.[27] Her third child, a son, was born in Strathfield in December 1940 – four months after his father’s death. He was not the only child born after the disaster. Charles Crosdale’s baby son was born just a few hours after the plane crash.[28] Richard’s younger brother, Brian followed him into the RAAF, aged 18, in 1943.[29]

By 1958 Joan Wiesener had moved to Killara where she died in 1978. Richard and Joan’s daughter, Margot went on to marry Charles Buttrose and become step-mother to journalist, Ita.[30]

On 13 August 2015 a special service was held at the Australian War Memorial to mark the 75th anniversary of the tragic crash. A memorial stands on the crash site in the Fairbairn Pine Plantation near Canberra Airport,[31][32] unveiled by Prime Minister Menzies exactly 20 years after the terrible accident.

There was speculation after the crash – and occasionally ever since – that perhaps Fairbairn was in the pilot (or co-pilot’s) seat on that fateful day. An accomplished pilot from WWI, and still a licensed pilothe had apparently shown great interest in the new Lockheed Hudson aircraft in the months before the crash, expressing a wish to test it out and master its eccentricities for himself.[33] Opinion has long been divided on the likelihood of this scenario but in recent years the speculation has been revived. The truth will probably never be known for certain.

This Remembrance Day we honour the memory of all those lost on home soil in the Canberra Air Disaster of 1940 as well as those who have served our country in all war and peacetime operations.

Lest We Forget.

 

By J.J. MacRitchie

 

References

[1] Persse, Michael D. De B. Collins ‘Fairbairn, James Valentine (Jim) (1897-1940) Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fairbairn-james-valentine-jim-364

 

[2] Hazlehurst, Cameron ‘Street, Geoffrey Austin (1894-1940)’ Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/street-geoffrey-austin-946

 

[3] Hill, A.J. ‘Gullett, ‘Sir Henry Somer (Harry) (1878-1940)’ Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gullett-sir-henry-somer-harry-448

 

[4] Grey, Jeffrey ‘White, Sir Cyril Brudenell (1876-1940)’ Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/white-sir-cyril-brudenell-1032

 

[5] Worker (Brisbane, Qld) 8 May 1929 p.20 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71162067

 

[6] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy. ANU Press, 2013 p.69 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[7] Robert Menzies Institute ‘1940 Canberra Air Disaster’ https://www.robertmenziesinstitute.org.au/institute-news/1940-canberra-air-disaster

 

[8] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy. ANU Press, 2013 p.56 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[9] Jones, Cathy ‘Llandilo’ The Boulevarde Strathfield – Strathfield Heritage https://strathfieldheritage.com/streetnames/the-boulevarde-strathfield-2/llandilo-the-boulevarde-strathfield/

 

[10] Certificate of Naturalisation AncestryLibrary.com.au – New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Naturalization, 1849-1903

 

[11] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy. ANU Press, 2013 p.64 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[12] Parsons, George (1983) ‘Charles Henry Hoskins’ – Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hoskins-charles-henry-6738

 

[13] Jones, Cathy ‘Huntingtower’ 33-35 Homebush Road Strathfield – Strathfield Heritage https://strathfieldheritage.com/streetnames/homebush-road-strathfield/huntingtower-33-35-homebush-road-strathfield/

 

[14] The Daily Telegraph 9 June 1939 p.16 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/247594751

 

[15] The Australian Women’s Weekly 19 April 1941 p.35 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47484905

 

[16] The Sun 11 June 1939 p.5 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230886541

 

[17] Australian adventure in Africa 1938-1939, by F. Abbey Wiesener | Collection – State Library of NSW https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/9yM3BW39

 

[18] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy Acton, ACT: ANU Press, 2013 p.54 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[19] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy Acton, ACT: ANU Press, 2013 pp.373-374 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[20] Sydney Morning Herald 28 August 1940 p.12 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17689718

 

[21] The Canberra Times 27 August 1940 p.2 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2536601

 

[22] The Bulletin Vol.61 No.3158, 21 August 1940 p.8 Vol. 61 No. 3158 https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-592278320/view?sectionId=nla.obj-593006247&searchTerm=wiesener&partId=nla.obj-592298363#page/n7/mode/1up/search/wiesener

 

[23] The Daily Telegraph 16 August 1940 p.5 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/247538159

 

[24] The West Australian (Perth) 19 August 1940 p.6 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46733220

 

[25] Sydney Morning Herald 29 August 1940 p.6 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27949987

 

[26] Hancock, I.R. (1996) Biography – ‘Harold Edward Holt’ – Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/holt-harold-edward-10530

 

[27] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy Acton, ACT: ANU Press, 2013 p.642 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[28] Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld) 16 August 1940 p.5 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/152068683

 

[29] Wiesener, Brian Wallis enlistment papers https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5545228

 

[30] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy Acton, ACT: ANU Press, 2013 p. 643 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

[31] Air Disaster Memorial | National Capital Authority (nca.gov.au) https://www.nca.gov.au/attractions/air-disaster-memorial#

 

[32] Monument Australia https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/disaster/aviation/display/99154-air-disaster-memorial

 

[33] Hazlehurst, Cameron Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm: an Australian Tragedy Acton, ACT: ANU Press, 2013 pp.526-527 https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/anu-lives-series-biography/ten-journeys-camerons-farm

 

Further Reading

Blackburn, Estelle ‘Family of pilot blamed for air crash calls for inquiry’ The Canberra Times 13 August 2020
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6876202/call-for-a-new-inquiry-into-air-disaster/

Gallacher, Lyn (2018) The 1940 Canberra air disaster that changed history — and the unanswered questions that remain – ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-04/canberra-air-disaster-mystery-still-remains/10182052

Pianegonda, Elise (2015) Canberra air disaster remembered by ceremony at Australian War Memorial 75 years on – ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-13/canberra-air-disaster-remembered-75-years-on/6696058

Tink, Andrew A. Air disaster Canberra: the plane crash that destroyed a government Sydney: NewSouth Publishing, 2013

Wilson, Robert ‘One fell swoop: the Canberra Hudson disaster’ Flight Safety 12 February 2020
https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2020/02/one-fell-swoop-the-canberra-hudson-disaster/

 

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