VH-AMA (2)   Piper PA-20 Pacer                        (c/n  20-1103)

                             

                                  This Pacer had come in from Dutch New Guinea* in 1959 where it had been registered JZ-PTB.  It
                                  was one of the many aircraft on the asset register of the Missionary Aviation Fellowship and had been
                                  imported from the US, ex N8133C.  The above shot is by Neil Follett and was taken at Moorabbin in
                                  November 1959.   Colors were standard Piper blue and white.  Intended to be taken up by Aerial
                                  Missions of Melbourne (hence the -AMA) it was sold instead to E. B. Rees of Merimbula who fitted
                                  it with floats and  used it as a fish spotter.  The shot below, from the Geoff Goodall collection shows it
                                  at Lakes Entrance, Victoria in 1960. . In April 1962 it was purchased by Kraft Foods Ltd at Merimbula
                                  for the same task.    It was retired and deleted from the Register in April 1965, only to be rebuilt as float-
                                  plane VH-TPH.    It is still current as such and registered to an owner in Deniliquin, NSW.

                                  *  A bit of history:   When Indonesia became independent in 1949 the Dutch retained sovereignty over
                                      western New Guinea and intended to make it a separate country (fat chance, so far as Indonesia was
                                      concerned).   In December 1961 in response to elections which had been held in New Guinea and
                                      which sought to emplace local officials in their embryo government, Indonesia invaded the territory.
                                      Following skirmishes an agreement was reached and the area was transferred to Indonesia in 1963.
                                      Irian Jaya (as the country was called) was formally annexed by Indonesia in 1969, and all the re-
                                      maining JZ- aircraft were re-registered PK-.