VH-ABJ  (2)   Cessna 140 Float                         (c/n  8157)

                                      

                                         The second iteration of the registration VH-ABJ was never taken up.  This Cessna 140 Float was
                                         imported by American-born Reverend Charles J. Patrick of Papitali Mission of Manus Island, New
                                         Guinea.  The aircraft was US registered as N89149.   He applied to have the aircraft registered in
                                         Australia (like all the other missionary machines) in August 1949 but ran into problems with official-
                                         dom because it was a new type on the register.  DCA stalled by asking the Reverend to furnish the
                                         name and licence number of the engineer who had assembled the Cessna.    After two years of
                                         correspondence, DCA finally allocated the mark VH-ABJ to the Cessna on 7 December 1951.
                                         However, the following year the mission advised that, due to the long delay in registration the Cessna
                                         was no longer airworthy and they were ordering parts from the US.  Nothing more was heard of it
                                         and it is almost certain that it was never painted up as VH-ABJ.   The image above, from the Geoff
                                         Goodall collection, shows the Cessna at Manus Island, circa 1949.
                                         In July 2015 I received the pictures below from Greg Mouat, who took them in the War Section of
                                         the National Museum of PNG.   They were destined to be moved to the main museum at the PNG
                                         Parliament building.  Hopefully that has now been done.