1980s SEAPLANES

A selection of my photographs of floatplanes and amphibians

Air Whitsunday's two Grumman G.73 Mallards at home base Shute Harbour, near Airlie Beach Qld in November 1983
Original P&W R-1340 Wasp powered VH-LAW in foreground, with G.73T Turbo Mallard VH-JAW with PT-6As.
Both Mallards were purchased from Air BC at Vancouver and ferried from Canada to Australia in early 1983

                                               Air Whitsunday Grumman Turbo Mallard VH-JAW passes Hinchinbrook Island
                                              in far north Queensland, on a scheduled service from Townsville to Orpheus Island

VH-JAW moored off the jetty at Orpheus Island Resort in November 1983.  Both Mallards could carry 13 passengers

                                                 Departing Orpheus Island across Hinchinbrook Island on the Great Barrier Reef

Air Whitsunday founder Kevin Bowe (left) and partner Peter Bull at the helm of Turbo Mallard VH-JAW

                  VH-JAW Frigate Bird back at home base Shute Harbour near Airlie Beach Qld in November 1983

            VH-JAW about to depart Shute Harbour on its next service

  The piston Mallard VH-LAW Tropic Bird at Shute Harbour in November 1983.
The cockpit side windows had been enlarged to allow improved photography for its first owner, The New York Daily News,
which took delivery of this Mallard from Grumman in May 1947 and operated it for the next 16 years

Air Whitsunday's Lake Buccaneers lined up at the Shute Harbour passenger terminal in November 1983, waiting to take
tourists to various Great Barrier Reef island resorts

            VH-AWZ, one of the Air Whitsunday Buccaneer fleet, taken from VH-AWY over the reef in October 1982

Lake Buccaneer VH-TZU water-taxying across the lagoon at Hayman Island to pick up its passengers in October 1982

Privately owned Buccaneer VH-KBS was at Shute Harbour in November 1983, in for maintenance by Air Whitsunday

During 1987 a new operation took over at Shute Harbour, Seair Pacific t/a Reef World Airlines
   VH-LAW in its new markings visited the October 1988 Bicentenary Air Show at RAAF Richmond NSW

Seair replaced the two Mallards with floatplane DHC-2 Beavers fitted with passenger cabins and extra windows
Here's a Beaver line-up at the Shute Harbour terminal early morning in September 1990

Seair Beavers were painted in various promotional schemes to attract Japanese tourists. VH-HQE in September 1990

            VH-SSG in September 1990.  Shute Harbour airfield had by now been renamed Whitsunday Airport


                                  Aquatic Airways Beaver VH-HAQ at Palm Beach, north of Sydney in September 1984

           Cessna A185F VH-SFS of Cooltown Air Harbour was at Cairns Qld in April 1984

Cessna A185F VH-TCK at Townsville Qld in November 1983

Cessna U206G VH-SBA owned by Cairns Seaplanes was at Townsville Qld in November 1983

Cessna A185F VH-SCH at Albany on the south coast of WA in September 1986. It was owned by John Bell, an experienced
fish spotting operator who had earlier flown whale-spotting operations for the Cheynes Beach Whaling Co at Albany

In a lighter category was home-built Volmer VJ-22 Sportman VH-TUB, seen landing on the Swan River, Perth in February 1987

             VH-TUB on the shore of Swan River with its owner-builder John "Tubby"Brown, who was visiting from Latrobe Valley Vic

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