Extract from ABC News
The upturned aircraft of Guy Menzies in a swamp on New Zealand's West Coast. (New Zealand History)
He was an adventurous young pilot with a secret midnight mission.
In the early hours of January 7, 1931, Guy Menzies set off from Mascot Aerodrome in Sydney in a single-engined Avro Avian biplane.
The 21-year-old was bound for New Zealand, and the record books.
He had no radio, no food and had told no one what he was planning.
What he did have was a spare collar, a razor, a toothbrush, and one heck of an ambition.
Young pilot Guy Menzies. (Virtual War Memorial Australia)
The lucky crashlanding
While flying over the Tasman, Menzies encountered rough weather and was driven off course, ending up much further south than he intended.
Menzies crash-landed just before 3pm near Harihari, a small rural settlement in the south-west of New Zealand's West Coast.
With fuel running out, he had been forced to make an emergency landing and, in his haste, mistook a swamp for flat ground.
His plane flipped upside down in the swampy ground, but Menzies walked away with just a few scratches.
Guy Menzies with the wreckage of his plane. (National Library of New Zealand)
And his luck hadn't yet run out.
Farmers who heard the crash rushed to help, and Menzies was rewarded with a home-cooked meal.
"They were relieved to see Menzies crawl out unhurt," the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time.
"Menzies had tea at a farmhouse and later was driven to Hokitika," the article explained.
Young pilot Guy Menzies flew solo across the Tasman Sea in 1931, but kept his destination a closely guarded secret. (Hawkesbury Valley Heritage Tours)
The newspaper also quoted Menzies as saying that he would not do the trip again, not even for £50,000, saying "the weather was bad all the way and it was very bumpy".
And there was no reason for him to repeat the journey, as the young pilot had already made history.
Despite the bad weather, Menzies completed the trip in a record-breaking 11 hours and 45 minutes.
He comfortably beat the time set by the illustrious Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in 1928, when they made the first flight across the Tasman.
Why the secret?
As the Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time, the daring flight was done completely under the radar.
"It was not known that Mr Menzies intended to attempt the long sea flight to New Zealand until he had actually left the aerodrome, his intention having been a jealously guarded secret kept even from relatives."
Guy Menzies made history after becoming the first person to fly solo across the Tasman in 1931. (Sydney Morning Herald Archives)
It was a risky strategy, especially as Menzies had no radio contact.
Menzies was apparently concerned that aviation authorities would prevent his flight. So, in order to get the fuel and ground support he needed to take-off, he pretended his destination was Perth.
"Menzies stepped into the cockpit and opened up the throttle — his secret still his own — preparatory to taking off," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
"Leaning outward he beckoned his brother Ian close to the plane and handed him several letters addressed to his parents, relatives and friends.
"The envelopes were endorsed with instructions that the letters were not to be opened until he had taken off."
A diagram of the Avro Avian biplane from a 1930 edition of 'The Aircaft Engineer and Airships'. (This Day In Aviation History )
Once authorities in New Zealand had been informed, after take-off, there was mounting anticipation.
"Excitement quickly spread in New Zealand when it became known that an aeroplane was on its way from Sydney. This excitement was made more intense by the mystery of the pilot's identity," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
"News flashed across the Tasman that he had landed at Hokitiki, crashed into a swamp and emerged from the ordeal unhurt."
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