ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 163196
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| Date: | Saturday 16 November 1929 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60 Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Jesse E O'Connor |
| Registration: | VH-UHF |
| MSN: | 406 (DHA.5) |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Barrys Bay, off Seven Mile Beach, Gerringong, NSW -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Mascot Airport, Sydney, NSW (SYD/YSSY) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
c/no406: DH.60X Moth [Cirrus II] sold to DH Australia with C of A 1163 issued 7.7.27. Registered as G-AUHF [C of R 200] 19.4.28 to The De Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd, Mascot, NSW [also reported as c/no 5 which was DH Australia assembly number]. Registered 3.7.28 to E.F. Rule, Mascot, NSW. Crashed at Alexandria, NSW 9.7.28. Sold 11.2.29 and re-registered 28.8.29 to Jesse E O'Connor, Homebush, Sydney. Re-registered as VH-UHF by 31.10.29.
Written off when stalled and crashed into the sea at Berrys Bay, off Seven Mile Beach, Gerringong, New South Wales, 16.11.29; pilot/owner Jesse E O’Connor and passenger Wilbert Berg killed. According to a contemporary newspaper report (The Nowra Leader (Nowra, NSW) Friday 22 November 1929 Page 4 - see link #1)
"THE AEROPLANE CRASH AT SEVEN MILE BEACH.
Amongst the thousands of people in attendance at the Seven Mile Beach, Gerringong, were many from Nowra and other parts of this district on Saturday afternoon last with the object of witnessing the motor races. It had a tragic ending as a result of the ill-fated plane, Gipsy Moth, crashing and diving headlong into the sea just outside the raging surf when two men - the pilot, Jesse O'Connor, and Mr. Wilbert Berg, photographer of the "Guardian" newspaper - met their deaths in full view of the horror-stricken thousands of people who thronged the beach.
Several of the car races had concluded whilst one was in progress and preparations being made for the car and plane race when the sad fatality occurred. The late Mr. Wilbert Berg was a journalist of note, and a returned soldier, who had been badly wounded at the war, being shot through the chest and lung.
He was recognised as one of the foremost of press photographers, and accompanied the expedition that went by lorry to bring the bodies of Lieut. Keith Anderson and Mr. Robert Hitchcock home. He was married and was 33 years of age and had a son of 12 years. A party was to be held at his home at Lakemba on the night on which the dreadful happening took place.
Strange to say, after, wandering all over Australia in pursuit of his work in which he was so great an enthusiast, he met death in the quiet environs of Gerringong, where an uncle, Mr. J. O'Sullivan, of Belinda Street, resides.
Another peculiar coincidence was the presence at Gerringong, for the weekend (where he was to preach in the Methodist Church) of the Rev, A. J. Harding, uncle of the pilot, Mr. Jesse O'Connor.
Miss Edna Brown, of Haberfield, to whom he was shortly to be married, was also on the beach and had the awful experience of seeing her fiancée crash to his death.
No sooner had the plane crashed than men - at the risk of their own lives - plunged into the sea in the hope of effecting rescue. Len Palmer, a prominent footballer and all-round sportsman, was the first to reach the plane, and with the assistance of Hector Melville, they started for the shore with the body of Mr. Berg. Resuscitation efforts were made, but it was soon apparent that the unfortunate man had passed beyond human aid.
Drs. Burkitt and Dawson pronounced life extinct. A fractured skull and badly injured body showed that death must have been almost instantaneous. Harold Miller, of Kiama, was one of the gallant band of men who risked his life in an attempt to save others. He was in a thoroughly exhausted condition when he reached shore. The surf was very rough, and none but powerful swimmers could go out beyond the break.
G. Herford, of Kiama, was also amongst the number who assisted in carrying out the life-line".
Registration VH-UHF cancelled 16.12.29.
Seven Mile Beach is a long beach with strong historical reference just south of Gerringong in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales, Australia. Not to be confused with the "other" Seven Mile Beach, just north of Lennox Head, NSW.
Sources:
1. The Nowra Leader (Nowra NSW) Friday 22 November 1929 Page 4: The Aeroplane Crash at Seven Mile Beach: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/213794411
2. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-AU.html
3. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60-moth-gerringong-2-killed
4. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/G-AUHF.html
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p004.html
6. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
7. http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/OldAccs/Nov29.html
8. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/g-au?highlight=WyJnLWF1aGYiXQ==
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mile_Beach_(New_South_Wales)
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Jan-2014 23:03 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-Aug-2017 19:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Jan-2019 11:39 | Sergey L. | Updated [Source] |
| 12-Dec-2023 18:54 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 13-Dec-2023 18:53 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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