"Wirraway-Challenge" Day at Kununurra Museum

On March 20th annually, we commemorate the events that followed that day in 1942, and to the memory of those involved in a story of survival and rescue in the far north-east corner of Western Australia, when war came to the Kimberley in March 1942. 

Kununurra Museum's fB Photo Album

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3957120307648778&type=3

In 2023, we commemorate the events of  81 years ago with this new page (on our new web platform - for a week now) and will be adding some new photographs into the faceBook Photo "Album" about RAAF 12 Squadron CAC Wirraway A20-62, their stories and associated histories. (121 Images to 20th March 2023 - New photos yet to be added. :^)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3957120307648778&type=3

As well as this page, another new page with all of Kununurra Museum's digital videos embedded on a single page. See https://www.kununurra.org.au/social/kununurra-museum-on-youtube 

Earlier in 2023 I created a fascinating new "fB Photos - Album" on the "CAC Wirraway friends" fB Group,  from fantastic photographs taken by Pix Magazine photographers, digitised and made freely available by the Mitchell Library - SLNSW courtesy of ACP (Aust. Consolidated Press?) - At KHS we downloaded all high resolution as a new archive,  then to make them more accessible to all, have created this album - See -  

 All Digital Videos are embedded on this page (below) OR you can see ALL of Kununurra Museum's DVs embedded in a single page Kununurra Museum - Wirraway-Challenge DVS with ALL KHS DVs

https://www.kununurra.org.au/social/kununurra-museum-on-youtube.

  It was today (March 20th) in 2005 that we got Lew Dwyer over from his home at Taylor's Beach in Queensland, to open the Wirraway-Challenge Display at the Kununurra Museum. It was on the same date in 1942, just weeks after Darwin was bombed, that Pilots, Lew Dwyer and Warwick Carmody on a mission to salvage parts from a Wirraway that had clipped a tree on take-off at Pago - Drysdale River Mission. [1 - See footnote at end]

 On that day Carmody and Dwyer of RAAF 12 Squadron, left their base at Batchelor, NT (code-named 'Spinster' on a WWII Secret NT map), in RAAF Wirraway A20-62 (the 60th Australian built Wirraway) on a flight-path to flying over Port Keats, and on to Wyndham, where they were to re-fuel.

Wirraway means Challenge

 They were out over the Timor sea, in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, when their engine suddenly lost power and oil spread out over the windscreen, which Lew found was hot on his face, when he opened the canopy to clean the windscreen. Carmody was able to take control with the twinned rear training controls of the Wirraway, while Lew cleared the oil from his face, having already headed the aircraft to port, south, towards Australia! It was still around 10 km to land, but with their altitude, the stricken plane just managed the distance to the coastline. They glided in over one of the widest stretches of saltmarsh, where it is about 40 km from sea to bush, with a dead flat saltmarsh between.

 The Wirraway managed to glide in for about another 15km from the coastline, with the engine still turning,  Lew said "it was just wind-milling," he said it had lost all its oil in the last 10 minutes of its flight, but had lost all power.  Lew said that if they had have hit the saltmarsh with power, the propeller blades would have bent forward, but as the engine had lost all its oil, it had no power, so the blades bent back.

 At this point about 10km from the sea, they were just 5km inside WA from the WA-NT border (129 degrees east Longitude) and still out in the middle of the widest stretch of East Kimberley saltmarsh. The landing was "as smooth as you like," as Lew described it, but had they been alone on that flight, they would have almost certainly perished out in this rugged and remote part of the East Kimberley.  It was fortunate they were flying in pairs, with their Squadron Leader, Brian 'Blackjack' Walker, who was flying an Army Major (Intelligence officer - KANA Operator Major Dawe?) to Broome.  

They had witnessed the forced landing of Wirraway A20-62, saw that they were OK then flew on into Wyndham, to organise a search party. 

Wyndham had suffered it's first air-raid on March 3rd and would be bombed as they were being rescued.  Blackjack Walker postponed his flight to Broome.  In fact their forced-landing may have been a "blessing in disguise,"  as had Wirraway A20-62 continued on their original mission to Drysdale, and Blackjack Walker had flown on to Broome, after refuelling at Wyndham, on that day, they may well have come across the enemy, as March 20th 1942 was the day the Japanese attacked Broome and Derby, so a good thing their paths never crossed.

With assistance from Carlton Manager, Percy Pretlove, they contacted Carlton Hill Station by pedal radio, where Percy's brother Charlie Pretlove, the Manager of Legune station, next-door to Ningbing and Carlton first over the border from the NT coast, between the Keep and Victoria River mouths. 

Percy told Charlie over the pedal radio to tell the Aboriginal Stockman to go out where Waddi (the head stockman) had broken his leg, seven years before, so they knew then the airmen were out near Cleanskin Bore. 

Charlie and four Aboriginal stockmen, Carlton Head Stockman, Waddi Boyoi, Joe (Waddi's brother), Grant Ngabidj and George Carlton, got horses, pack-horses and mules together and headed out to search for the airmen.  Descendants of these men came to the 2004 Opening of the Wirraway-Challenge Display (which can be seen on video on this page below), so Lew got to meet them.

[The passages above were written on the day, March 20th, 2016 then added here.  It was updated ion March 18th 2023]

You can see the full story in eight parts to hear Lew tell his full story on the Kununurra Museum - YouTube Channel, from here on this page.

Kununurra Museum - YouTube Channel

KHS Wirraway-Challenge DV  Information

This Digital Video (DV) set in 8 parts, was originally created in 2005 as a DVD for the Kununurra Museum - "Wirraway-Challenge" Display. Wirraway means Challenge. It is also now 10 years since the opening of the display on March 20th 2005 by Wirraway A20-62 pilots (in March 1942), Lew Dwyer (in person) and Warwick Carmody (was present by phone). The forced-landing site was first located and filmed, then salvaged by Andrew, Mario and Marieke in September and October 2004 and then to March 20th 2005 creating these DVs and the "Wirraway-Challenge" display for the Kununurra Museum. Many parts which were salvaged in September and October 2004 are now on permanent display at the Kununurra Museum. The pilot of the Wirraway, Lew Dwyer phoned me a few weeks ago, and has regularly since 2004, Lew turned 94 a few weeks ago in October 2015. Andrew Barker (President) for Kununurra Historical Society - November 6th 2015.

The YouTube Videos were put online just before Lex Cameron 'Lew' Dwyer passed away, Lew turned 94 in October 2015 and passed away in November 2015. The digital videos were only recently put online as mentioned, however I created all of these for the display DVD in 2005 and had given Lew a copy then, so he did get to share this with family and friends for many years. [AB 20 III 2016]

[All Wirraway DVs are shown below - OR see along with All of Kununurra Museum's other videos, embedded in a single page on this site from here.   - Hope you enjoy! :^] 

Wirraway-Challenge Videos

Part 1 of 8 - Wirraway Challenge DVs

Finding the A20-62 Forced Landing Site (1 of 8 Parts)

(9 min. 41 sec.)

Part 2 of 8 - Wirraway Challenge DVs

CAC Wirraway Factory Slide Show (Photos) - Fisherman's Bend

(9 min. 55 sec.)

Part 3 of 8 - Wirraway Challenge DVs

"Australia has Wings" (1939 Film) 

CAC Wirraway - Fisherman's Bend

(10 min.)

Part 4 of 8 - Wirraway Challenge DVs

"Wirraway A20-62 - Site-Salvage" (2004) 

(22 min.) [Read more about Mario and his wife, the doctor, both from Holland, and the Blue Healer dog they took back there (in the "drop-down" section  :^) 

"RAAF 12 Squadron CAC Wirraway A20-62 forced-landing (March 20th 1942) - "Site Salvage" (22 min.)

Part 5 of 8 - Wirraway Challenge DVs

"Wirraway A20-62 Forced-Landing" (2004)

An illustrated history, the story in Lew Dwyer's own words 

[This is the one to watch to get their story]

(29 min.)