PETER SHUTE
by Peter Shute
| I joined Adastra
in February 1968, having heard of their existence from a "friend
of a friend". I phoned up to ask about employment as a camera
operator and was told that there was a list of several people with
the same idea but that my name and details would be added. Being an aircraft buff, on my next day off I decided to call in at the hangar to check out the Hudsons. I met Mike Wood and Sid Thompson who gave me a guided tour of the hangar, the film labs and the mapping plotters. I mentioned that I was a keen photographer and had obtained a Private Pilots Licence when in the Cadet Corps at school in the U.K. Within the week I received a telephone call from Mike Wood offering me a position as camera operator and I started a couple of weeks later. Sid Thompson gave me instruction on the Wild RC9 and I went for a test fly with Brian Costello in Cessna 206 VH-DGD. I then spent nearly a month doing very little except getting to know the finer points of the camera and practising loading and unloading film in the dark room. During this time Hudson VH-AGX was ready for a test flight and I went for the ride. Nobody had told me that Lionel Van Praag had the habit of cutting an engine on take-off and I was a bit perturbed to hear an engine cut and see the runway below at an unusual angle. The next day the same thing happened but I was prepared for it. In the beginning of March 1968, Brian Costello, Jack Batho and I were off in DGD to Cloncurry - a bit of a culture shock for someone who had only come from working in London one year before and had spent all the time in Sydney. Later in 1968 I retrained as a navigator. By June 1973 I had a wife and a five month old baby. The writing was on the wall with the East-West take-over and I decided it was time to give up the life of a gypsy. The following is a resume of my time with Adastra: |
| DATE | AIRCRAFT | REMARKS |
| 1968 | ||
| Camera Operator | ||
| MAR-AUG | VH-DGD | Cloncurry, Roma, Rockhampton, Cairns & Brisbane with Brian Costello and Jack Batho. |
| AUG | VH-DGD | Nowra. Ikara missile trials. |
| Navigator | ||
| AUG-SEP | VH-DGD | Roma, Rockhampton, Cairns with Brian Costello and Geoff Dunn. |
| NOV | VH-AGJ | Griffith with Rick Geary and ?. |
| DEC | VH-AGU | Halls Creek. Magnetometer with Dave Brennan and ?. Replacing John Messenger who had been hit on the head by a falling ceiling fan at the Halls Creek pub. |
| 1969 | ||
| FEB-MAR | VH-AGX | Mt. Isa. APR. |
| APR | VH-DGD | Brisbane with Bruce Beale and ?. Photography. |
| APR | VH-AGX | Brisbane with Brian Costello and Geoff Dunn. Photography. |
| APR | VH-AGJ | Darwin with Rick Geary and Vic Petersen. Photography. |
| MAY-SEP | VH-AGX | Townsville with Brian Costello and Ian James. Photography of Barrier Reef. Navigation with Shoran. |
| SEP-DEC | VH-AGX | Weipa with Brian Costello and Fred Ellis. Photography. |
| 1970 | ||
| FEB | VH-AGX | Sydney with Brian Costello. Photography of "Orsova" for P&O. |
| FEB | VH-AGU | Nowra with Lionel Van Praag. Ikara trials. |
| MAR | VH-AGA | Sydney with Lionel Van Praag. |
| APR | VH-AGE | Sydney with John Collins. Ikara trials. |
| APR-JUN | VH-AGS | Roper Bar with Brian Costello, Geoff Dunn and Roger Knight. Photography. |
| JUN-AUG | VH-AGS | Coen with Brian Costello, Geoff Dunn and Roger Knight. Photography. |
| AUG | VH-AGJ | Roma with Ron Pearce and Reg Nelson. APR. |
| SEP-DEC | VH-AGS | Carnegie Homestead and Katherine with Brian Costello, Geoff Dunn and Roger Knight. Photography. |
| DEC | VH-AGS | Esperance with John Hampshire and Geoff Dunn. Photography. (through to ...) |
| 1971 | ||
| JAN | VH-AGS | Esperance with John Hampshire and Geoff Dunn. Photography. |
| FEB | VH-AGS | Leigh Creek with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| MAR | VH-AGS & VH-AGJ | Oodnadatta with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| APR | VH-AGS | Oodnadatta with John Hampshire and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| APR | VH-AGJ | Oodnadatta and Leigh Creek with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| APR-MAY | VH-AGJ | Tibooburra with Ron Pearce and Reg Nelson. APR. |
| JUN | VH-AGJ | Sydney with John Hampshire and ?. Photography. |
| JUL | VH-AGJ | Halls Creek with John Hampshire and ?. Photography. |
| SEP-NOV | VH-AGJ | Mt. Isa and Longreach with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| DEC | VH-AGX | Longreach with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| 1972 | ||
| JAN-FEB | VH-AGX | Quilpie with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| APR-JUN | VH-AGJ | Carnegie Homestead and Leonora with Ron Pearce and Sid Thompson. APR. |
| JUL | VH-AGE | Sydney with Lionel Van Praag. Photography. |
| AUG | VH-DGD | Broken Hill with Jock Head and Brian Lees. (through to ...) |
| 1973 | ||
| MAR | VH-DGD | Broken Hill with Jock Head and Brian Lees. |
| APR-JUN | VH-DGD | Emerald and Rockhampton with Jock Head and Peter Cowan. |