A Celebration of a Flight to a Lady

[old man emu]

When a man fears that he will lose the woman he loves, he will take on a horde of demons to prevent that happening. Arthur Butler was a man who battled and defeated the demons Time, Distance and Uncertain Weather to secure the hand in marriage of his special woman. Cramped alone in an open aeroplane cockpit, over nine days he sat for hours as his tiny Swallow crossed oceans, deserts, jungles, and the great Outback to bring him to the front steps of the Garling’s Store in Tooraweenah where his real prize awaited him.

 

Ignoring the fact that the trip set a yet unbeaten record, ninety years on, the Arthur Butler Society of Tooraweenah is making plans to celebrate that “Flight to a Lady” over the weekend of the 12^th and 13^th of November this year. The Society is working to provide all the facilities at Tooraweenah Aerodrome to create a magnet that will draw in people and aeroplanes from across inland New South Wales where the success of that Flight to a Lady eventually lead Arthur Butler to develop a network of passenger and freight air routes to service the people of rural communities.

 

A feature of the weekend’s activities will be the unveiling of the Society’s plans for the establishment of a museum dedicated to preserving the history of Arthur Bulter’s contribution to the people of New South Wales, and the development of Tooraweenah Aerodrome as an important stimulus to tourism in the Warrumbungles and surrounding shires. The Society is asking for the community’s help in collecting and preserving Butler Air Transport memorabilia. Of particular importance are photographs or even 8mm home movie material that can expand the story of Butler Air Transport and Tooraweenah Aerodrome. The Society would like to borrow photographic material for copying and return.

 

The Society can be contacted by email at: [email protected]