The Disappearance of the Southern Cloud - Unraveling an Decade Long Aviation Mystery

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Southern Cloud taking off. — The *Southern Cloud* pictured during take off. Circa 1930. Source: Courtesy of the City of Coffs Harbour

The Disappearance of the Southern Cloud

On March 21, 1931, an Australian National Airways Fokker Tri-Motor was scheduled to undertake a routine flight from Sydney to Melbourne. However, it would never make it, disappearing in rainy and stormy conditions enroute. The wreck would remain hidden for over 20 years in dense mountain terrain. This is the story of the Southern Cloud - the first airliner in history to seemingly just vanish without a trace.

Australian National Airways

Australian National Airways Ltd began operations in January 1930, founded by the famous aviator duo Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm. The airline aimed to provide an air link along the east coast of Australia from Brisbane to Hobart. It operated five Avro Ten trimotors, which were Fokker F. VIII.3m aircraft built under license in Britain by Avro. The Fokker F.VIII had been the model Kingsford Smith and Ulm had flown for their record-breaking flight across the pacific in 1928. The fleet was further fine-tuned to include the fitting of more modern instruments, such as updated turn indicators, improved compasses, and a redundant instrument lighting system, all designed to help pilots fly on instruments. Additionally, pilots of Australian National Airways had been taught personally by Kingsford Smith in the art of the American needle-ball-airspeed system of low-visibility flying, to allow for operations in less-than-ideal weather. This type of flying was very new for the time with many still sceptical of the new method.

The Fateful Flight

On the morning of March 21, 1931, VH-UMF Southern Cloud of Australian National Airways, was scheduled to fly from Sydney to Melbourne. The pilot was Captain Travis Shortridge, a man who was described in newspapers after the disaster as “one of the most popular fliers in Australia.” A skilled aviator, he had flown during the First World War before in 1929 turning to commercial aviation. Shortridge had been responsible for flying one of the trimotors underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge before the arch was closed and, in another instance, had placed a bet with famous female aviator Amy Johnson that he could make her sick in the back of an aircraft. After much trying, Shortridge was unsuccessful.

His co-pilot for the trip was Charles Dunell and they carried with them six passengers: Elsie May Glasgow, Clyde Hood, Hubert Farall, Julian Margules, William O’Reilly, and Claire Stokes.

The weather at Mascot Aerodrome on March 21 was hardly anything for concern. Light breezes and overcast conditions. Australian National Airways had built a strong relationship with Sydney Weather Bureau who would issue weather forecasts at 10:45am, six days of the week for weather on the route between Brisbane-Sydney and Sydney-Melbourne. However, as the Southern Cloud departed before 10:30am, the crew had to consult the Sydney Morning Heralds forecast from the evening before. The report from the evening of March 20 for the following day did promise unsettled weather containing wind, rain and a “squally southerly change” working its way up the state, but did not indicate conditions serve enough to justify cancelling the trip. Mr Ulm would later tell the inquiry into the disappearance:

“There was nothing in the report Shortridge received to justify his not starting. In fact it

would indicate rather favourable conditions.”

At 8:10am Captain Shortridge piloted the Southern Cloud down the runway at Mascot aerodrome and into the air, bound for Melbourne.

Left: Captain T.W Shortridge (Source: National Library of Australia)

Right: Co pilot Charles Dunell (Source: National Museum)

The Storm

At 10:30am, the meteorologists at the Sydney Weather Bureau received the 9am weather reports from Melbourne. The weather was much worse than first believed. Melbourne right through to Southern New South Wales was facing driving rain, hail, strong winds and poor visibility. At 11am the Sydney Weather Bureau issued a special advice for all air services warning them of the conditions. It read:

“Cyclone over Southeastern Australia. Very disturbed weather with strong boisterous

West to Southerly winds to gales reaching up to 60 miles or over in upper air between

Melbourne and Sydney with rain and snow conditions. Similar conditions also around

Tasmania and also likely to have unsettled rainy weather with strong southerly winds

between Sydney and Brisbane to-morrow.”

The situation was serious enough that Charles Ulm personally received a telephone call from the Bureau to warn of the weather. However, the Southern Cloud was well on its way by then and with no radio equipment onboard (very common for the time in Australia) there was no way to warn the pilots. The aircraft was already in the air and heading directly into treacherous conditions.

Initially, when the Southern Cloud did not arrive at Essendon Airport as planned, there was little concern. Some assumed Shortridge had landed to refuel and wait the storm out. However, as the afternoon turned into the evening with no word about the whereabouts of the aircraft, concerns grew.

The following day, a large-scale search for the missing aircraft was initiated. Australian National Airways suspended all flights to free up pilots and machines for the search, while the Royal Australian Air Force and volunteer pilots also joined the effort. The Air Force would participate in the search for 18 days, while Australian National Airways continued for several more weeks thereafter, but no trace of the aircraft could be found.

Some 383 reported sightings of the Southern Cloud came in from the public, placing the machine in all various places. It was seen down Geelong way, Victoria, others had seen it in Bathurst, New South Wales. Kingsford told the inquiry that he believed that the aircraft had made it to Bass Strait and crashed there. Yet, the Southern Cloud had seemingly vanished and disappeared.

VH-UMF Southern cloud in flight — VH-UMF *Southern Cloud* inflight. Source: Mitchell, Library, State Library of New South Wales.

The Mystery Endures

As the weeks turned into months, then into years, then decades, the Southern Cloud remained lost. The Air Accident Investigations Committee launched an inquiry into the disappearance. While they could not determine what occurred they did recommend for all commercial aircraft in Australia to be fitted with radios. Interestingly by 1932, most American airliners had radios, but it would not be until 1934 that Australian airliners could use them.

In 1934, an Australian film titled Secret of the Skies was released loosely based on the events of the Southern Cloud. The movie, about a man who robbed 10,000 pounds from a bank and then hijacked and crashed a passenger plane, was not overly successful, but it did fuel myths that the Southern Cloud may have been carrying money or gold onboard.

The Wreck is Found

In 1949, construction began on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, an extremely complex infrastructure. The project would eventually result in the building of seven power stations, sixteen dams, eighty kilometres of aqueducts, 145km of tunnels and 1,600 kilometres of roads and railways tracks through the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales. The project was extremely complex and involved over some 100,000 workers and was not completed until 1978.

One of the workers that worked on the scheme was a carpenter by the name of Tom Sonter. On Sunday October 26,1958, he decided to take a hike from the campsite out into the dense bushland in current day Kosciuszko National Park. On his journey back to camp he took a more scenic route, and in doing so a piece of steel sticking through the bushland caught his eye. Originally believing it was a mineshaft, Sonter quickly discovered it was not. Instead Sonter realized he was looking at the wreckage of an aircraft. Being unaware of the mystery of the Southern Cloud, Sonter did not realise straight away that he had discovered the wreck of the aircraft that had vanished some 27 years earlier.

It did not take long before authorities arrived on site, but so did scavenger hunters. As word quickly spread around the camp of the discovery, and remembering the folklore tales of hidden gold, an army of workers a part of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme descended onto the site trying to get their hands on souvenirs and perhaps even some gold. While no gold was discovered, various pieces of the wreck were taken away and carted back to camp.

Senior Inspector of Air Safety, Mr A.H. Green was sent to the wreck to confirm if it was indeed the Southern Cloud. He was unable to launch a proper investigation into the crash as the then Director of Air Safety Investigations, CA J Lum, had ordered that there was to be no investigation. Green’s job was to confirm that it was the Southern Cloud and that was it. A series of plates were recovered that helped to identify the machine including one that clearly stated A.V. Roe. Some instruments were found, as were some human remains and a wristwatch that had stopped at 1:15.

Additionally, Green was able to conclude that the aircraft struck the mountain in a steep right bank, facing a north-easterly direction. This was interesting as the north-east direction was the reciprocal to the one the Southern Cloud was meant to be flying on.

What Happened?

It is hard to properly conclude what exactly occurred. The most likely scenario is that the Southern Cloud ran into terrible weather and wind, where the wind blew it off course and over the Snowy Mountains. The pilots tried to get back on course, and believing they were away from the mountains decided to descend. However, the wind meant they were still over the mountains and so they proceeded to fly into Deep Creek Gorge. After seeing terrain ahead no doubt Shortridge would have been forced to turn to avoid, however there was insufficient room for a turn and the aircraft went into the side of the northern ridge of the gorge where it would have crashed. Other theories that cannot be ruled out include the aircraft breaking up mid-flight or the plane entering a spin or a spiral.

Debate continues over whether there was a post-crash fire. The area of the crash site had been affected with at least two bushfires in the years between the aircrafts disappearance and discovery making it is hard to judge if the aircraft caught fire. Additionally it is debated if all onboard were killed instantly upon impact. While the official report declared that there were no survivors, more contemporary analysis of the crash suggests that at least some passengers may have initially survived the crash. It is argued the position of certain objects around the crash site could have only been capable of being placed there by humans.

Southern Cloud Avro Ten aircraft refueling — Avro Ten, *Southern Cloud*, refueling at Coffs Harbour. Source: Mitchell, Library, State Library of New South Wales.

Legacy of the Southern Cloud

The crash site is located on the south-western slope of the Toolong Range which overlooks the Tooma Gorge in regional New South Wales. This area is considered some of the densest and most challenging mountainous terrain in Australia. As such it is quite hard to navigate to and it is believed that if it were not for the construction of the roads in relation to the Snowy Hydro-Scheme there would be a good chance the aircraft would never have been found.

Furthermore, Southern Cloud is remembered through various memorials. Not too far from the crash site in the town of Cooma, there is a memorial pavilion which contains numerous pieces from the wreckage. The human remains found at the wreck are also buried in Cooma. The Tumbarumba Historical Society holds what is believed to be the largest collection of parts from the aircraft. Further wreckage can be found in numerous museums around Australia. Artefacts from the wreck are still popping up all over the country because of many souvenirs being taken from the wreck upon its discovery. There is a roadside lookout just outside of the town of Cooma that looks out over the ranges where the crash site is located while it is possible to hike to the wreck.

For Australian National Airways, they ceased operations the following year in June 1931. They did seem to attempt to revitalize the airline in 1931, carrying airmail to England, however in late November 1931, their effort came to a halt when VH-UNA Southern Sun crashed in Malaya. The details around the company are a little hazy with few reliable sources that provide depth, but it seems that by 1933 Australian National Airways ceased to exist.

The Southern Cloud disaster was Australia’s first major aviation tragedy and the first recorded case of an airliner vanishing without a trace.