Autograph Book Carried on the Delivery Flight of VH-EBB
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The
first Qantas Boeing 707 to be delivered to Australia was VH-EBB
which departed from Seattle at 0500 hours on 30 June 1959 and
arrived in Sydney at 1348 hours on 2 July 1959. The event was
described by Qantas Technical Manager, Captain Bert Ritchie, as
"The day that the jet age came to Australia!". This
historic flight set several commercial speed records:
| San
Francisco - Honolulu |
4
hrs 49 mins
|
| Honolulu
- Nadi |
5
hrs 34 mins
|
| Nadi
- Sydney |
4
hrs 47 mins
|
There were only
45 passengers on the delivery flight, all guests of Qantas. One
of the passengers was George Latham, a Qantas engineer who passed
around an autograph book to record the signatures of the passengers
and crew. All pages of the book are reproduced below. Numbers
have been superimposed for identification purposes.
We record our appreciation to Mavis Gullan and George Latham for
having the foresight to create this historical treasure. Thanks
to Barbara Jansen and Janice Latham for sharing the autograph
book and the in-flight menu with us. Thanks also to Karen Glass
and Colin Lock for their assistance with the crew names.
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1
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Captain
A.A.E. 'Bert' Yates (Commander) |
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2
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Captain
Mike P. Bamman |
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3
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Captain
Eric R. Robinson |
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4
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Navigation
Officer David Coulson Nolan |
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5
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Engineer
Officer Keith David Stark |
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6
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Navigation
Officer John William Newton |
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7
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Flight
Hostess Maria Hendricks |
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8
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Engineer
Officer Arthur P. Rowe |
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9
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Engineer
Officer George W. Riek |
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10
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Flight
Steward Gary Sweeney |
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11
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Flight
Steward John Underwood |
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12
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Flight
Steward Barry Slater |
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13
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Flight
Cabin Officer Sid Preece |
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14
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Flight
Steward Pat McGann |
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15
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Roy
Whitton, Qantas Traffic Superintendent |
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16
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Sir
Hudson Fysh |
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17
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Lady
Eleanor Fysh |
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Read
the newspaper cutting here
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18
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Captain
R.J. 'Bert' Ritchie, Qantas Technical Manager |
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19
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Mrs
G. R. Ritchie |
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20
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Robert
Ellerslie Neil Young, Radio Maintenance Engineer |
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21
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James
Frederick Brough, Dept of Civil Aviation |
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22
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Norman
Allan Black, Qantas Passenger Services Manager |
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23
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Dorothy
Dixon Allen (19 yrs), Daughter of Bill Allen |
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24
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Nancy
Dudley Allen, Daughter of Bill Allen |
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25
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Mary
Ellen Field Allen, Wife of Bill Allen |
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26
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Johan-Guenther
Von Behr, Daily Telegraph |
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27
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Neil
R.R. Edwards, ABC Television Executive |
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28
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Warren
Cecil Clarke, Qantas Photographer |
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29
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Frank
Even George Proust, Sydney Morning Herald |
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30
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Alexander
Arthur Barlow, Qantas Manager Eastern Division |
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31
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Frederick
Christian Nossal, Melbourne Herald |
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32
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Lewis
Henry Yardley, Melbourne Age Aviation Writer |
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33
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John
Anthony Ulm, Qantas Chief Public Relations Officer |
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34
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John
Denis Cahill, Vancouver Sun |
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35
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Eric
Andrew Riel, United Press International |
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36
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Harley
E. Beard, Boeing Test Pilot |
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37
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Roger
Noel 'Rod' Torrington, DCA Radio & Electronics |
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38
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Nancy
Carpenter Gray, San Francisco Examiner |
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39
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Richard
M. 'Dick' Leonard, CBS News Radio San Francisco |
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40
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Joseph
Victor Ramus, Qantas Security |
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41
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William
W. 'Bill' Kennedy Jr., Los Angeles Herald Express |
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42
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Leonard
Gray Usher, Fiji Times |
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43
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William
Charles Harold Anderson, Qantas Electrical Engineer |
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44
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Edmund
M. Speer, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft |
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45
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Willie
Carl Stohrer, Bendix Prod. Division |
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46
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Albert
C Green, Boeing Field Service Rep. |
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47
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John
Kenneth Longmuir, Boeing Flight Test Engineer |
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48
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Charles
Sanford Tompkins, Boeing Performance Engineer |
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49
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John
Alexander Lucas, Pratt & Whitney Field Rep. |
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50
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James
R. Morrison, Qantas Engineering |
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51
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George
Morris Latham, Qantas Engineering |
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52
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Wallace
Parkinson Stack, Senior Performance Engineer |
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53
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Herbert
Lawes Nicholas, ABC TV Chief Line Cameraman |
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54
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William
McPherson Allen, President Boeing Airplane Co. |
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55
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William
H. Ewing, Managing Editor Honolulu Star Bulletin |
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The interpretation
of the signatures has been supplemented with full names declared
on the Australian Incoming Passenger Cards. There are cards for
four additional passengers whose signatures do not appear in the
autograph book. They are:
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Name
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Nationality
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Occupation
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| Norman
Tyrrell Banks |
British/Australian |
Radio
Commentator |
| James
R. Gannett |
USA |
Pilot |
| Sydney
Mounsey |
British/Australian |
Journalist
(See Note: 7) |
| George
William Taylor |
USA |
Sales
Engineer |
The Incoming Passenger
Cards are held by the National Archives of Australia. Here are
the cards for two of the most distinguished passengers:
William
Allen, President of Boeing.
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Hudson
Fysh, Chairman of Qantas.
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(Source:
NAA Series A1225, Incoming Passenger Cards - Aircraft - 1959 NSW
JULY BOX 1)
NOTES
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1
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The
Hon. Howard Beale (Australian Ambassador to the USA) with
Mrs Beale and Captain Hugh Birch (Qantas Commercial Manager
Marketing) with Mrs Birch were included in the photograph
of VIP guests boarding at San Francisco but their signatures
do not appear in the autograph book. Furthermore, there is
no Australian Incoming Passenger Card for any of them so it
is likely that they either disembarked in San Francisco or
Honolulu. |
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2
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A
newspaper report
before departure from Seattle indicates that Captain Ian D.V.
Ralphe (sic) would be part of the crew but he does not feature
in the autograph book. Correct spelling is Ralfe. |
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3
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A
Pan American Douglas DC-7C N747PA arrived in Sydney with passengers
from Seattle on the same day (2 July 1959). |
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4
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The
Incoming Passenger Cards for journalists Ewing and Nossal
were typed! |
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5
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Australian
passports at that time showed nationality as British. The
Incoming Passenger Card stated: "If British specify Country
of Citizenship". Some Australians were already asserting themselves
as Australian! |
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6
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Len
Usher was Knighted in 1986. |
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7
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Syd
Mounsey was the first Australian Broadcasting Commission journalist
to be based in Longreach. He came in 1952 on the understanding
that it would be for twelve months only to establish the ABC's
first newsroom in western Queensland. In 1953, he moved on
and Geoffrey Luck took his place for the next three years
while Syd returned to the coast. (Source: Tom Harwood, Curator
Qantas Founders Museum, Longreach. Tom himself was once an
ABC journalist.) |
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Read
the Menu from the Delivery Flight
 This
graphic adorned the in-flight menu
| These photographs
of the delivery flight of VH-EBB are from the Qantas Heritage
Collection. In all probability the photographer was Warren Clarke
who was a passenger on the flight. Although many have benefited
from these photographs in recent years, it is not widely known
that the original negatives were scanned and restored by Peter
Gates. |
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| Captain
Bert Yates in the left hand seat of VH-EBB prior to departure
from Seattle. VH-EBB was originally intended to be City
of Sydney but when VH-EBA City of Canberra
was retained by Boeing for the certification of the fifth
pod it was apparently decided that VH-EBB, as the first
707 delivered, should carry the flagship name. Curiously
though, VH-EBB carries the Coat of Arms of Sydney but
no name. Captain Yates is not sticking out his tongue!
He is wearing a headset and microphone of the period (see
below).. |
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Captain
Bert Yates in the left hand seat of VH-EBB prior to
departure from Seattle.
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| VIP
guests about to board VH-EBB at Seattle on 30 June 1959.
(left to right) Bill Allen, Nancy Allen, Dorothy Allen,
Mrs Mary Ellen Allen, Mrs Beale, Lady Fysh, Hon Howard
Beale, Sir Hudson Fysh, Mrs Birch, Mrs Ritchie, Capt Hugh
Birch and Captain Bert Ritchie. |
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| Captain
Bert Ritchie (Qantas Technical Manager), the Hon Howard
Beale (Australian Ambassador to the USA), William Allen
(President of Boeing) and Sir Hudson Fysh (Chairman of
Qantas) with VH-EBB prior to departure from Seattle on
30 June 1959. |
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VIP
guests board VH-EBB at Seattle on 30 June 1959. (left
to right, top to bottom) The Hon Howard Beale, Mrs Beale,
Sir Hudson Fysh, Lady Fysh, Mrs Allen, Mrs Birch, Mrs
Ritchie, Nancy Allen, Capt Hugh Birch, Dorothy Allen
and Bill Allen.
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Adorned
with a spectacular lei, VH-EBB is welcomed at Honolulu
on 30 June 1959.
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| Sir
Hudson Fysh at the lectern during the welcoming ceremony
at Honolulu. William Allen, President of Boeing, looks
on proudly from extreme left. |
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VH-EBB at Nadi, Fiji during her delivery flight from
Seattle on 2 July 1959.
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| Still
with no name, VH-EBB is on blocks at Sydney on 2 July
1959. Cameras are ready and the guard of honour is in
place as they await the disembarking VIPs. |
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| Sir
Hudson Fysh and William Allen walk the red carpet on arrival
at Sydney on 2 July 1959. Qantas staff representing each
department of the airline form a guard of honour. |
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