VH-ULM  de Havilland D.H.60M  Moth               (c/n  1403)

                                

                                    The nice shot above, from the Brian Baker collection, was taken by Peter Rickerts at Bankstown in
                                    1962 and shows the Metal Moth still in fairly authentic de Havilland livery.   This aircraft was first
                                    registered in December 1930 to the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of Defence as one of
                                    the machines loaned out to form the nucleus of the Australian Aero Club.   VH-ULM along with its
                                    sister VH-ULN were the first two aircraft belonging to the Tasmanian Section formed at Western
                                    Junction Airport (my old haunt) in Launceston, Tasmania.    It was not impressed into service during
                                    WW II and in 1944 went to the Royal Victorian Aero Club, then based at Essendon.  Beginning in
                                    1946 it had a long succession of owners in NSW and Victoria before being withdrawn from active
                                    use in 1977 and winding up with the Joe Drage's Air World collection at Wangaratta, Victoria.
                                    Geoff Goodall's color shot (below) shows it at Berwick in February 1975, flown by Joe Drage
                                    when visiting from Wodonga.    Dr. Michael Redmond of Brisbane, Qld acquired -ULM in 2005
                                    and it was completely restored again ten years later.  The nice ground-to-air shot a the foot of the
                                    page is by Graham Potts (via Lindsay Millar) and was taken at Caboolture in July 2015..