Hi Guys,
The collection of Harold Thomas is considered one of two pioneering historic aircraft collections in Australia (the other being the Moorabin collection near Melbourne).
Harold started off as a your apprentice working for Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in the early thirties and trust me, this old bloke knows more about vintage aero engines than anyone in this country. Back in the seventies he still held CAA LAME Licenses for the Bristol Hercules, Centaurus and RR Merlin engines.
The collection of rare types is impressing but a few hours in conversation with Harold will highlight the gems which he unfirtunately failed to secure and save in his quest. The B29 at Tocumwal which he secured for 2,000 quid, but then found he couldn't afford the cost of disassembly and transportation. The Kittyhawk at Wagga which he so desperatly wanted, but the scrap merchant was trying to be opportunistic and wanted a fortune for it (it finally went to the furnaces) or the Sea Otter at Awaba that he haggled over for years only to find that the owners finally sent it to a scrap yard in Newcastle. He raced there, but by the time he arrived all that was left was the engine pod and the cockpit section (now in the FAA Museum at Nowra).
Harold was a true visionary. When most agencies in this country were scrapping airframes during the fifties he was quietly collecting them with a view to one day displaying them in a museum. In the early sixties he secured a lease on a hangar at Camden airport on the western fringe of Sydney. He remained there until he was forced to move to a purpose built hangar he erected on the edge of the nearby town of Narrellan.
The museum was not just one of old airframes gathering dust in a hangar. Back at it's peak in the sixties, seventies & eighties, aircraft would regularly be towed out of the building and run-up. These included the Sea Fury, Wirraway & Vengeance. Unfortunately Narrellan is now not a small town, but a suburb of the ever expanding Sydney metrpolitan area and these type of activities have now ceased. The last time I remember the Vengeance running up was in about 1988. The noise of the big R2600 echoing through the streets of the town was incredible.
Over the years the Thomas' have actively assisted in the preservation of many of Australia's important aircraft. The Albatros in the Australian War Memorial being a prime example. Verna Thomas, who unfortunately passed away last year, claimed the screen printing of the camouflage pattern on the fabric was one of the most difficult jobs she had ever attempted.
I guess, in retrospect, many successful people in aviation in Australia today had there first exposure to warbirds while they kicked around the hangar at Camden as teenagers. At my place of work both the Senior Maintenance Manager and myself (Fleet Manager) were many years ago young volunteers working for, and learning from Harold.
Today, Verna has passed on, Harold (now in his early 90's) is I believe in a nursing home, and Alan continues the work of keeping this historic collection together. The Mosquito currently under restoration is a fine example of Alan's work.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. If you ever get to Sydney try & get out to Stewart Street, Narrellan. I believe the museum is now only open on Sundays.
Check out my pics of the Vengeance running up on my Webshots pages.
Cheers
Browny
http://community.webshots.com/user/wabrown33
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