Poetic ballad about Australian flyers and a de Havilland 9

[BroomstickPilot]

Can anybody please help me. I'm trying to track down the name and author of a poetic ballad about an epic flight by two Australians in a de Havilland 9.

The storyline went as follows. At the end of World War 1 two Australian airmen took their demob in London. For a couple of months, they lived it up and had a good time, until they realised that they now had insufficient money left to pay for their sea passage home.

Instead, they bought a government surplus de Havilland 9 for a pittance and flew it all the way home to Oz, having all sorts of adventures on the way. (Apparently, the de Havilland 9 was a very flawed aeroplane: the later de Havilland 9a was much improved).

Does anybody please recognise this?

Broomstick.

[Super Cecil]

Try looking up Damian Parer's brother Ray, he and another bloke flew from England in a DH9.

[chimbu warrior]

It was Parer and Macintosh. Don't know of the ballad, but there was a good article on the pair in the Christmas/New Year edition of "The Bulletin".

Ray Parer's son has also been involved in aviation, both in PNG (as a GV Branch Manager) and Australia (flying).

An incredible feat.

[Animalclub]

Chimbu Didn't know Mike was a flyer. After he left Kiunga I heard that he was a motorbike courier. If he's flying - good on 'im.

[BroomstickPilot]

I still can't find the ballad, but I think Super Cecil and Chimbu Warrior must be right about it being based on the Parer/MacIntosh flight: the similarity of events described is very striking. I might look up that flight anyway just to read for interest: it seems to have been an epic journey.

I'll continue my search.

Very many thanks to Antipodean Ppruners all.

G'day,

Broomstick