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My book, Erebus and the Dragonfly is now available in bookshops in NZ as well as at Craigs Design and Print at Invercargill.

The Book “Erebus and the Dragonfly” is now available from Craig’s of Invercargill.

Wow it's great to see her still looking so good. My mum and dad swapped our house for her in 1994 and we lived on her for 5 years and I did my schooling by correspondence. It's brought back so many great memories.

Has anyone checked the plane wheel that was on the door at the puysegur landing shed.

Look for the other aircraft at 13.0 onwards crossing in front of and just below Alpha Zulu (Tim Rayward’s aircraft). Remembering how close it was (less than one mile and 1,000 feet) and then trying to identify that aircraft. This has always made me sceptical of so many witness reports in the hunt for The Dragonfly of Brian Chadwick. I still think this is one of the best films of a flight over the highest parts of the Southern Alps, with the excellent commentary from Tim Rayward and his ever inquiring mind of his right hand seat passenger, Simon Reeve. The editing to show the object being commentated on by Rayward has to be one of the most professional of any of the New Zealand film-makers, showing the Siuthern Alps.

Why does your video look like it has some kind of brown filter?

Interesting video there are two key pieces of evidence here both need to be studied a lot more to rule them in or out!

Can I repeat my thanks to the Reeve family for their help in cleaning up what was a very poor quality film scan of the record of my own experiences with Captain Brian Chadwick. This film has in turn enabled me to make contact with knowledgable aviation enthusiasts and experts who have been involved in a number of subsequent aviation events. The flight of Chadwick with his passengers on 12th February 1962 was more significant than it would at first appear. It concentrated my own thoughts as to the investigation process in New Zealand of aviation accidents and searches for missing aircraft. The significant factor was that young airforce pilots were involved in the search not just in the dense New Zealand bush country but in the snow and ice capped mountains where what later was recognised as “white-out” conditions prevailed. Two of those young pilots played pivotal roles in the tragedy at Mount Erebus in Antarctica on 28th November 1979. On 7th November of that year, Roger Dalziell was the pilot in charge of the sightseeing trip to Antarctica but had to divert due to bad weather. Jim Collins was the pilot in charge just three weeks later and due to a series of tragic catastrophic links, his flight known as TE901 hit Mount Erebus and all 257 passengers and crew were instantly killed. Like Dalziell, another pilot from the RNZAF search party became one of the lead investigators who searched for the truth as to the cause of the Mt Erebus tragedy - Capt. Peter Rhodes. With the coincidence of my filmed trip with Chadwick (as screened again in this TH-cam posting) I was the recipient of so much information and data about the Erebus tragedy and other air crash investigations, that I was persuaded by the Rev. Dr. Richard Waugh that I had to gather all this information and publish it in a book. As I write, the manuscript has been finalised and a book designer is completing what I hope is a reasonable book showing how important the Loss of the Dragonfly became in the link of a number of aviation tragedies, not least being the circumstances of the search for the truth of what were the causes of these accidents. Some of my film originally posted on TH-cam in 2021 has been re screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation together with other precious film and photographs made by the Reeve family, Gavin Grimmer and Lew Bone. My book is entitled “Erebus and the Dragonfly” which I hope to be made available as soon as the logistics of printing and transportation have been solved. Watch this space if you are interested in the Dragonfly and the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Erebus disaster. (Mahon Inquiry and the subsequent NZ Appeal Court and Privy Council judicial reviews). Assistance and contributions have been received in the writing of the book from virtually everyone still alive involved in the Mahon inquiry. The importance of the Dragonfly saga cannot be overlooked.

Good to see someone called it by it's English name and not going woke !!.❤️🇳🇿

That's a bit clever... obviously future proofing for a rise in sea leaves and the river flooring in the future!!.❤️🇳🇿

Nice "FIXER UPPER OPPORTUNITY" their for someone who's a bit handy around the house!!!.🤣🤣

Well done to all the flyer staff ❤

Thank you, I remember this and the story has always fascinated me! Especially now after an encounter of with a wonderful chap who has recently reignited my curiosity of the Mystery of this Rosary.

Very cool, as a truck driver I saw it regularly from the cab of my truck, but this is great. I did get sent up to pick up a customer when the roads weren't open at night, it was an eerie feeling being the only vehicle on SH1 at night.

At the refuelling stop, the refueller has now been identified as Owen Aitken. The pilots were Don Nairn and his outrigger Dick Hutchison who was the fisheries officer. Any relatives of these please contact clementine.

We drove along that coast three weeks before the 'quake and also in April 2023. The reconstruction of the highway as evidenced in these videos was an awesome effort. Driving through there in April it is amazing how the land is healing the scars of the 'quake.

This airplane was shown in a *Hercule Poirot* episode.

Expat who missed all this. As a surfer who regularly travelled to Mangamaunu and other places from Christchurch in the 1960's along this road, I'm amazed at the sheer destruction. Also just as amazing is having visited the area after most of the incredible restoration work had been done.......

I hope the cause of the fire will be examined so that there is not a repetition. The closest I came to having a fire was due to a shaving mirror with a convex side. We had just had double glazing put in our bathroom that faced south (we are in the northern hemisphere) and the glazing installers fixed the mirror to the edge. The convex side of the mirror faced the sun and in the first morning, there was a black scorch mark across the plastic window frame just like those meteorological cards that indicate sunshine hours! The double glazers had the measurements and immediately replaced the frame. BUT, beware of convex mirrors and the sun. Just wondered if this was the cause of your fire at Kairaki.

Farewell Tiger, what a lovely life - your pal Vinni

This must have been the route through the high peaks that Brian Chadwick was attempting in 1962 with the Dragonfly. Always a mystery as to which route he did attempt but it shows the scenery he was intending for his passengers. At one stage, another aircraft flashes pass at about a mile away and it illustrates how difficult it must have been for observers in 1962 to be confident in their reports that they “saw” or heard the Dragonfly ZK-AFB. Reliance on so many of these reports may have been misplaced. That is why the John Patrick Gordon report recently received is so important.

Reminds me of the same type of operation when Ballingdon Hall on the Essex Suffolk border was moved from the bottom to the top of Ballingdon Hill to make way for a new housing estate. The main road through the estate was then called “Robins Way”by the builder!

Both this and the Black Billy Boys versions are missing a verse. Perhaps the Tanza record was cut due to the time limitations of recording a 45. Here is the missing verse - see "Black Billy Tea" by Joe Charles. ……The grass don't grow no more. Now Mr Jones both outfits owns And no matter what Jim feels He pulls out with a laugh and a shout And shows us a clean pair of heels. As we kindle our fire he piles his higher And rolls off down the track He grins to his ears, he laughs and jeers, And waves a rope's end back. With a murderous frown, ……….

is there a copyright on that video?

Unreal footage, hard to believe that it's open again. What a job

Great camera work again Simon. No helicopters about!

Do you have any video of the completed project? I'm a civil engineer and am interested in what was implemented. Ta!

Hi there, I’ve just stumbled across this video. My grandfather was the skipper of the Tuhoe. He is the man speaking at 23 seconds on this video saying “have a look out for broken branches”. He has just recently passed away and I miss him dearly. I’m wondering if you have any more footage of him or even an extended version of that scene? Thank you.

If a mid sized bus can't make the turn how are the delivery trucks getting through? What about truck and trailer units? How much did the roundabout cost? Is the engineer AND road designer getting fired for INCOMPETANCE? Why should we rate payers have to pay for this blunder?

This must have been designed by the same idiots the designed the roundabouts on the Taupo (New Zealand) SH1 bypass. BOTH!!! round abouts were too narrow to fit a wide load!!!. It was almost fully built before any desicion maker listened to the "dumb truckies" when they said it was to narrow. Oops.

Nice music 👍🏿🌝

քʀօʍօֆʍ 😠

I actually live near the river queen

Excellent clip.

Beautiful, thanks for the footage!

Recovering vehicles from the sea in NZ reminds me of the time a friend left her car in the public car park at Bosham, Chichester Harbour not realising the car park was subject to high tides. Her car was written off when she came back from lunch to find it was under 4 foot of water. Actually that spot was where in 1017, the then English king Canute was surrounded by sycophants, and he demonstrated that he was not all powerful, and could not control the tides. He put his throne on the edge of the water, commanded the tide not to come in, but still the throne was inundated. Thereafter his court no longer contained the yes men and hangers on that Canute could not abide. I wonder whether Simon and Adam Reeve would have been able to recover that throne for Canute had they been around!

Did any of these particular locos eventually get recovered?

welcome to plate tectonics

All ready for the next one 😉👍

Beautiful video and music.

Incredible..Stunning..The music fits perfect!!!

Home sweet home

Fantastic way to provide pilotage services! Very innovative. The Waimak bar looks difficult at sea level but I expect many yachtsmen will now invest in drones instead of charts! Nice one Simon.

Lousy video because there is no narration. I had to research where this video was taken. I thought it was in Hawaii? 🤔

That's why kiwis are the toughest ones.

how to level DJI FPV? i have problem about 5-10C degress on left drone does not take level. The problem is FPV has just 1 (single) axis gimbal.

Yet they did .

I now feel confident enough to post on this youtube site a number of observations relating to Brian Chadwick and his other aircraft that went missing - the Dragonfly ZK-AFB - on 12th Feb 1962. The searches that went on for the Dragonfly included young RNZAF pilots albeit criticised severely by Chadwicks erstwhile flying partner Brian Waugh. In particular pilots Peter Rhodes and Roger Dalziel. These pilots were at the very centre of the Erebus disaster. TE901 pilots Collins and Cassin were not trained to cope with Antarctica by Air New Zealand. But then the accident Chief Inspector Ron Chippendale/Chippindale had not been trained to cope with the type and size of disaster with the loss of 257 souls. The controversies stem from the Chief Accident Inspector as Mahon labelled “Chips” and his report. Much unpublished info has come my way including personnel from Lloyds Insurance and the other tragedy at Tenerife in 1980 when 146 souls were lost at the same airport that had the worst accident in 1977. The 1980 accident report was wrong and had to be corrected by the Insurance colleagues at that time. Regrettably Peter Martin did not pull in ANZ in time to avoid the aweful aftermath and controversies that split the NZ nation. What I have found and the kindness of the NZ people to me and that 13 year old in the film is amazing. The missing Dragonfly sits in the middle of New Zealand aviation history. It is not the number of souls lost but that it provides a link to so many other accidents. I strongly believe that Chadwick may have been affected by a combination of three things - carb icing probably a main causation of engine failure. Severe downdraft in a place unexpected. A form of white out - whether sector white out as with Erebus or a simple trapped in or above cloud and being unsure of exact position. I have been blessed particularly by Peter Rhodes who repeated much that Richard Waugh included in his book “Lost without Trace?” But Peter emphasised that some of the air charts were wrong and closed valleys were badly shown. Gavin Grimmer throughout his website and hypotheses hits the nail on the head - so many NZ valleys look the same in certain weather and visibility. But Chadwick was more knowledgeable than virtually any other pilot in the area and knew so many trucks of the trade that it is less likely that he would be caught out by that. Chadwick was a yachtsman and appreciated a lot more than the average pilot how important a magnetic compass is - even in the air as I know to my advantage when flying by myself in the UK when the DI went in the blink. And I was flying IMC. So the old mag compass for the Dragonfly may have been found in the office. But I am sure he will have carried another with him albeit not a certified compass for an aircraft. The compass he probably used was a marine compass. Was it “swung”. Doubtful but then the Dragonfly was made of wood like the Mosquito bomber used in the war. So I reckon it was reasonably accurate. Gavin Grimmer has a number of theories for all the missing aircraft “under the wing of his website”. Worth another look as he has just updated the ZK-AFB section. It is still vital that this aircraft is found as the potential lessons have to be learned. The digital age is more likely now to cause an accident as we are all digital and the internet allows more mistakes to multiply and be buried under the weight of figures. The thread of the Waugh family through NZ aviation history is legendary. I have studied 8 cases of crashes - all with various links with each other and often a Waugh has some connection. The common theme, central core or what have you comes back to the air accident inspectors and their training, knowledge and common sense. The best way to start would be to read “Turbulent Years” by Brian Waugh. He starts with the first encounter with an accident inspector in 1954 and he was wrongly convicted for poor flying. In fact he was caught out by an added ZERO! Icing levels for a flight was said to be 15000 feet. So flight planning at 8000 seemed ok. But there was a typo in the weather report which should have read 1500 feet. The DH89 iced up in early flight and the aircraft crashed. Hence the enquiry but without the piece of paper (which had burnt in the crash), there was no evidence supporting Brian Waugh - hence the first prosecution of a pilot for bad flying after the War. Compare this wrong digit with Erebus - the 164.48 with the 166.48 - the latter implicit in the loss of 257 lives as well as lack of pilot training for the various white out visions. Brian Waughs experience in 1967 should have provided lessons about air accident investigation. So it was a small case, one that even Chippendale should have been able to learn from. But his predecessors left it to the company to come forward with the information about their own negligent behaviour in engine maintenance. Just imagine Gemmill writing the Chippendale report! If there is any interest, I intend to issue podcasts or articles to go with this simple dress rehearsal of the missing Dragonfly flight so when you read this and thanks getting this far, please feel free to add comments or replies. Do not delay as I am getting ever older very quickly as I am no longer 13 !!! That was in 1962.