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An interview with Captain Euan Dickson who recounts how he made the first flight over Cook Strait on 25 August 1920.
After flying in World War I he became chief pilot with the Canterbury Aviation company at Christchurch. He recalls the other pilots were Captain Douglas Gray, Les Brake and Hawker.
Euan Dickson describes how he read about one of the Walsh Brother's seaplanes flying from Auckland to Wellington so he decided to get permission from Sir Henry Wigram to fly from [Sockburn] Christchurch to Wellington.
C.H. Hewlett volunteered as co-pilot and J.E. Moore volunteered as mechanic. He flew in clear weather as far as Amberley when he ran into low cloud. He was flying an Avro which had only two hours of petrol, so he needed to refuel. He came down from the cloud and found a paddock to land on Mr Bullen's property [Kahautara Flats].He supplied Dickson with petrol and he then flew on to Kaikoura, where signal fires were burning and he refuelled. the same procedure was followed at Blenheim.
From Blenheim he flew to Trentham. Total flying time was four hours 52 minutes, but the full journey took seven hours 10 minutes. As he flew over Wellington he 'stunted' over Government House [sic. Parliament] which was reported in the newspapers, as some Members came out to see him and sent messages of congratulation to him.