“Every wind is fair when you are flying from misfortune…”
Sophocles
Melissa and I have spent the past week chasing impressionist art across Victoria. We actually encountered more than we bargained for. Just outside Swan Hill we saw signs for a Flying Boat Museum. I was excited, Melissa was indulgent. Lake Boga is a nearly circular lake, a couple of miles wide. During the initial bombing of Darwin in WW2, the Allies lost significant numbers of their flying boats. These so called Black Cats, PBY Catalinas, were vital in the waters of the Pacific. The threat of long range Japanese air attack meant finding a body of water for a Catalina training and repair base, well inland but still able to reach Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The museum now located at the old Lake Boga No.1 Flying Boat base is very impressive, complete with a fully restored Catalina. Melissa mentioned to the guide that she thought her late uncle John had flown Catalinas during WW2. A few minutes on the museum computers and we had a record of his service. #ofcourseIboughtamodel #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 
I too have visited the Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum to see a Catalina Flying Boat & learn more of the history. My mother’s brother – Clem Haydon – was the captain of a Catalina aircraft during WW2. Tragically, he was killed in the Gulf of Carpentaria with all his crew of 11 when his plane caught fire & went down. There were reports that some Catalinas may have been sabotaged & as there was no report of engagement with the enemy, I think this might have been the cause.
This occurred in April 1943 about 2 months after I was born so I never met him.
My wife & I have been to the various sites where Clem received his training & where he was based during the war, Basic Training was done at Point Cook in Victoria. His training for piloting a Catalina occurred at Rathmines on the edge of Lake Macquarie NSW where there is a memorial to the WW2 Catalina crews.
During the war, he was based in PNG & Bowen. I have been to PNG many years ago but I did not realise that he had been stationed there at the time.
Bowen has a memorial to the Catalina crews near the beach & there is a diorama at the airport.
We received a pleasant surprise at the Lake Boga museum as there was a photo of Clem there & my wife who was a history teacher found records of the crews that flew Catalinas there. The RAAF used the Lake as a repair & servicing centre for the aircraft as it was well out of the range of the Japanese Zero fighter planes.
Interestingly, in a log there was a report of Clem Haydon flying a Catalina there from Bowen for repair. My parents never spoke about this probably because the base would have been top secret.
The Lake Boga is a very interesting museum & there are also RAAF museums at Point Cook, Rathmines, Townsville & the local Bowen Museum also has some information for people who are interested.
LikeLike