Tasmanian Airways Pty. Ltd. was a Hobart, Tasmania-based company registered on 10 December 1926 with the intention of operating aerial services between Tasmania and Victoria.

History

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Its main proprietor was F. F. De Mey, who was also the proprietor of Tasmanian Motor Service Co. Pty. Ltd. and President of the Commercial Motor Users Association of Tasmania.[1] Two years later, it proposed opening a Bass Strait service using a three-engine floatplane (possibly an Avro 618 Ten).[2] However, it failed to attract sufficient capital. In 1929, it chartered a De Havilland Gipsy Moth for a promotional flight from Adelaide to Brisbane.[3] Early in 1934, it acquired a De Havilland Hawk Moth VH-UNW from the Hart Aircraft Service[4] renaming it City of Hobart. Initially used for joy flights out of Brighton, Tasmania, the aircraft began operating a regular passenger service between Brighton and Launceston, Tasmania in August 1934, connecting with Tasmanian Aerial Service's Launceston-Bass Strait Islands-Melbourne services. These services ceased on 10 January 1935, after a piston-rod failure damaged City of Hobart 's engine beyond repair and resulted in a forced landing at Brighton. The engineless aircraft was sold in mid-1936, and the company was later liquidated.[5]

Fleet

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Mercury, 31 December 1926
  2. ^ The Mercury, 23 October 1928
  3. ^ Brisbane Courier, 19 September 1928, The Mercury, 23 October 1928
  4. ^ "Strait Air Service". The Herald. 20 March 1934.
  5. ^ The Mercury, 12 January 1935, The Examiner, 1 August 1934, 28 November 1936.