In 1931, solo yachting legend and aviator, Sir Francis Chichester landed his Gypsy Moth float plane on the Lord Howe lagoon en route to completing the first east-west flight crossing of the Tasman.
It's hard to imagine the skill - or luck! - involved in this exercise: he navigated with a sextant and a notepad strapped to his leg and even half a degree misjudgement would have seen him miss the island entirely. On his approach to the island, he was caught in a fierce storm and only a glimpse of Ball's Pyramid through a break in the clouds enabled him to navigate safely to land on the lagoon.
The storm continued and next day Sir Francis found his plane had flipped: only the tail was visible above the water. The Lord Howe islanders offered to help him rebuild the plane - despite never having seen one before - and he took off three months later to land safely in Sydney.
Photos courtesy of Lord Howe Island Museum and the Royal Australian Air Force.
Chichester Memorial
Lord Howe celebrates Chichester's epic voyage
April 3, 2006 marked the 75th anniversary of Chichester's remarkable achievement. and the whole island community was involved in celebrations between April 3 and 7, which included a series of activities around the island to commemorate one of the island's most colourful historical events. Below we commemorate Chichester achievements online with some historical photos, photos taken during the celebrations, and a museum display of his epic voyage.
Museum display of Chichester's flight
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Chichester's plane, Gypsy Moth, on Lord Howe Lagoon
Chichester's plane on Lord Howe Lagoon in 1931
Chichester repairing wings, 1931 
Chichester's upturned plane, 1931
Chichester's upturned plane, 1931