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Old 12th Dec 2016, 12:38
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onetrack
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Perth - Western Australia
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A681001 - The DH61 Giant Moth was delivered as G-AUHW, and registered to Airgold Ltd of Sydney on November 19, 1928.
However, it was damaged in the landing accident you have found the photo of - on 9 Dec 1928 - and the aircraft was subsequently never accepted by Airgold.
I can find no news reports of the 9th Dec 1928 landing crash of the Giant Moth.

The aircraft was re-registered to De Havilland under Australian registration as VH-UHW, after the landing crash, and the Giant Moth was subsequently purchased in early 1929, by the famous WW1 fighter ace, Capt Les Holden.

Les Holden was a member of the extended Holden family, who owned the Holdens Motor Body Builders business - which company originally built bodies for motor vehicles - and which company was then purchased by General Motors in 1931, to form the famous General-Motors-Holden Co - producer of the GM range of vehicles in Australia from 1931, and manufacturer of the Holden car from November 1948. GMH also built many types of vehicle bodies for other vehicle manufacturers.

Wikipedia - Les Holden

Les Holden formed Holdens Air Transport Services to carry out air transport services - and Les Holden and the DH61 Giant Moth gained great renown, when Holden, flying the DH61, found Charles Kingsford Smith and his lost aircraft, the Southern Cross, in NW Western Australia, on 12 April 1929.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=25654

Ed Coates collection - VH-UHW

The Sydney Morning Herald - 6 Dec 1928 - New seven passenger 'plane arrives
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