Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1943-01-22
Australia-Land
of Tomorrow
(WNU Feature-Through special arrangement
with Golfers Weekly
By William, c. Courtney

(WNU Feature-Through special arrangement
with Golfers Weekly
Out there in Australia, certain
novelties of aviation greatly interest
Yank fighting birdmen who roost
down between their walloping flights
against the no-longer-so-cocky jap
pies.
One of the first observations a
Yank airman is likely to make at
cocktail parties is that Aussie wom-
en- are universally air-minded; per-
haps more so than their menfolk.
While at Aussie fields, probably the
first unusual thing to catch his eye
is the omnipresent Aussie version Of
WAAFs. Here they add an "a" for
aviation: meaning Women's Auxil-
larry Australian Air force. What the
famous Australian accent does to
the Wtriple-a-fs is beyond me to
reproduce Theoretically.
The WAAAFs work right up in
the advanced combat zones. They've
had casualties. Their commander is
Wing Officer Clare Stevenson, a
charming 36-year-old feminist cham
pion. WAAAFs practically run the
whole ground show-clerking, serv-
ing messes, cooking, driving cars
and trucks, tailoring, folding chutes,
administering, handling all tele-
phone, cipher and radio commune
cations, and even manning" radio
location detectors, and making en-
CINE and plane repairs. They live
and mess exactly on the same basis
as soldiers; are permitted but one
concession to their sex-hairdress.
ers. They wear Air Force Blue uni.
forms off duty; blue overalls and
berets on duty.
Stork Travels by Air.
The harshness and loneliness Of
Australia's frontier life is empha-
sized to interested Yanks by a serv-
ice that is unique to Australia-the
renowned Australian Aerial Medical
service; popularity, the Flying Doc
tors. They have six bases in the
more than two million square miles
of bush, or outback, as it's variously
called. Some $50 principal home
steads have radio sets for which
power is generated by a contraption
like bicycle pedal. When a doctor
is needed, a messenger may ride
horseback as much as 100 miles to
homestead with radio. From
here, call is sent to the nearest
Flying Doctor station, perhaps an
other 600 miles away.
Doc climbs into his plane with his
pilot-or flies himself if the pilot isn't
handy-as matter-of-factly as our
country doctors used to climb into
their buggies and whip up their
horses. The planes are single-motor
jobs, with a stretcher in the cabin.
The doctor lands as close as
possible to the ailing one. He is
prepared to operate, deliver, or treat
on the scene, if necessary; or fly
the patient to civilization and a hos
pital. Truly, the stork travels by
air in Australia. Last year, these
little-sung medical heroes flew near
ly 100000 mercy miles.
Country With a Future.
For their nightly bull session at
fields outside Port Darwin, Towns
vile, or a dozen secret rookeries
outback, thoughtful young Ameri-
cans find boundless subjects for dis
cuSSion in the special air-tranSpor-
tation chances that Australia poses.
The Big Dipper has seen more of
mankind's purposeful comings and
goings than the Southern Cross. So
this island continent, sidetracked
from ancient, historic trade and ex-
pansion routes of the Northern hemi-
sphere, will loom in the postwar
world as a challenge to the poten-
tialities of air transport.
With fewer inhabitants now than
the state of New York or the city of
London, in an area as large as the
whole United States, Australia can
be drawn closely by airway netting
into the international web of good
neighbors. Then watch her grow!
So imaginative Yank fiers say rub
bling their hands, planning splendid
tomorrowS-and perceiving with awe
for the first time the true capacity
of the airplane as a gourmand Of
INSTANCES.
With peace, the Yank airmen see
Australia only two or three days
from home by plane, instead of 10,
as by fastest prewar steamers. AL
ready the route has been flown by
our Generals Brett and Arnold in
30-odd hours.
Today Australia is a five-city ma
ton.
Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne,
Adelaide and Perth, each is in its
way a nostalgia bit of England.
Behind them lies the strange, wild
continent - largely unknown, un-
tanned, unrealized, unsettled. More
than half the total Populations urban.
Man has scarcely got beyond the
beaches of Australia; registering no
more impression upon it than that
made upon polo field by half a
dozen colonies of ants in the grass
on its border. Rail and highway
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