Another sad event that occurred in the Tanami Desert was the loss of the Kookaburra. In April 1929 famous aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his navigator Charles Ulm became lost while flying their plane, the Southern Cross in the Kimberley area. Fellow aviators Keith Anderson and Bob Hitchcock flew their plane the Kookaburra up to Central Australia to join the search. The plane developed engine trouble en route and they made a forced landing at Algebuckina, south of Oodnadatta. Hitchcock repaired the tappet with a chisel and the end of a corkscrew. On 10 April the plane took off from Alice Springs loaded with fuel, but hopelessly short of tools. They only had three litres of water and some sandwiches and cake to eat. Halfway into the flight the unimagin(e)able happened; the tappet started playing up and they were forced to land in thick scrub in the middle of the Tanami Desert.
With no tools to clear a runway, they tried clearing the scrub with a penknife, then they tried burning it, but it was hopeless. A message scribbled on the tail fabric dated 12 April indicates they were alive and records that in their desperation they were drinking urine mixed with petrol, methylated spirits and oil. On this same day a DeHavilland search plane spotted Kingsford Smith and Ulm beside the Southern Cross and radioed the message, Found, found, all safe. Sadly not for the crew of the Kookaburra. A Qantas search plane located the plane on 21 April and a ground crew reached the site on 29 April. Both pilots had perished.
With no tools to clear a runway, they tried clearing the scrub with a penknife, then they tried burning it, but it was hopeless. A message scribbled on the tail fabric dated 12 April indicates they were alive and records that in their desperation they were drinking urine mixed with petrol, methylated spirits and oil. On this same day a DeHavilland search plane spotted Kingsford Smith and Ulm beside the Southern Cross and radioed the message, Found, found, all safe. Sadly not for the crew of the Kookaburra. A Qantas search plane located the plane on 21 April and a ground crew reached the site on 29 April. Both pilots had perished.
