VH-CLT  de Havilland  (Riley) D.H.114 Heron 2E                          (c/n  14071)

                                

                                      VH-CLT was another ex Indian Airlines machine, having been delivered in 1955 as VT-DHI.
                                      It was sold to Connellan Airways in 1963.  Immediately below (shot # 2) is a photo by Greg
                                      Banfield of it at Bankstown on 9 July 1963 just after it had arrived from India.     In 1969 it,
                                      along with several other Herons, was converted to Riley Heron standard by replacing the the
                                      original D.H. Gipsy Queen engines with Lycoming IO-540s with three bladed props.
                                      Connellans did this work themselves at their Alice Springs base.  It is seen above at Alice
                                      Springs in July 1973 sporting the new yellow livery in this nice shot by Roger McDonald.
                               .      Roger had photographed the same machine at Bankstown in May 1967 (below, # 3) in the
                                      original Connellan livery and before this conversion had taken place.     In July 1970, the
                                      indefatigable McDonald waited all day at Mt. Isa, Queensland for the delayed service to
                                      arrive, and just before dusk was rewarded by the Heron appearing in the trial color scheme
                                      seen below in image No.4.  Shortly after this the yellow livery was standardized upon.. This
                                      Heron survived the hurricane 'Tracy' which hit Darwin on Christmas Eve, 1974.  For more
                                      on this see Ron Cuskelly's report on this link.   In 1981 it was sold to a short-lived SA local
                                      service carrier named Southern Airlines, not to be confused with a Victorian company of the
                                      same name who operated out of Essendon in the 1950s (also with Herons).   Photo # 5, by
                                      Nigel Daw depicts -CLT at Parafield, in October 1981 in Southern's colors.  Finally, in 1984
                                      the Heron went to Airlines of Tasmania as seen in another of Roger McDonald's color images
                                      (photo # 6, below).  AoT had, by then, standardized on Lycoming Herons for their network
                                      of services within Tasmania, to the Bass Strait islands and also to Melbourne.   When finally
                                      withdrawn from use it was removed to the hunting property of Mark and Geeorgina Cornelius                                                                                                         located in the hills west of Woodbury, Tasmania where its fuselage was used for several years                                  
                                      as a 'Hunting Lodge' (and nicknamed the 'Woodbury Bomber').  .Hunter coordinator of the
                                      property, Gerard Brereton, advises that it is now used only as a storage hut, since a larger
                                      building has been erected for the Hunting Lodge.  The remains of the Heron can be seen in
                                      Gerard's photo below (# 7)

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