G-AUFR  de Havilland D.H.60 Moth                            (c/n  351)

                                 
                              
                                    Another Qantas image (above) from the Phil Vabre collection.  The registration looks a little touched
                                    up.  Below are two shots from the Frank Walters collection showing it a little more realistic. Top one
                                    at Longreach, lower at Archerfield.             Any idea as to what the titling is saying on the lower one?
                                    -UFR was imported by Qantas in 1927, and was one of many sold to the Civil Air Branch of the Dept
                                    of  Defence for loaning out the the Australian Aero Clubs.     This one went to the Queensland Section.  
                                    On 11 February 1934 -UFR crashed on the roof of a house in Jurgens Street, South Brisbane. .    The
                                    image at the bottom of the page was unearthed by Graeme Parsons from the next day's Courier Mail. 
                                    The aircraft apparently spun in from some 3000 ft.      Fortunately the old roof gave way, cushioning the
                                    impact and neither the pilot nor his passenger, nor the inhabitants of the house were seriously injured.
                                    Despite the fact that the newspaper report indicates that the Moth was "totally destroyed" it was, in fact
                                    repaired and by June of 1936 was registered to Skyways Australia Ltd.   I believe they may have done
                                    skywriting.    Photo No 4, also from the Walters collection, shows it now as VH- at Archerfield, circa
                                    1936.  I am not sure if it was owned by Skyways at the time, but, in any case, can somebody advise the
                                    meaning of the cryptic letters as seen on the enlargement of the rudder, in photo No. 5?   VH-UFR was
                                    finally destroyed by fire whilst undergoing overhaul by Qantas at Archerfield
                                    in 1939.