About the Author
Joanna Beresford grew up in the Wairarapa and graduated from Victoria University in 1999, double majoring in English and History.
She spent several years living in Australia before returning to Masterton, where she now lives with her husband and three young children, and is currently undertaking a graduate diploma in teaching (secondary).Overview
It is 1927, and great advances are being made in aviation around the globe. George Hood knows his talent for flying is languishing away in his rural New Zealand hometown Masterton. When Air Force Territorial John ‘Scotty’ Moncrieff announces his intention to buy a plane and be the first to fly over the Tasman, George is determined to co-pilot on the trip. The two men refuse to let the many obstacles that stand in their way deter them.
George’s wife Cissie is equally intent on not losing her second husband to a mission that can best be described as fool hardy, and at worst suicidal. It is his fault she has been uprooted from her life in London to come and live in the Wairarapa.
Her insecurities ignite with the constant presence of George’s first love Doris, who is kind, gentle, and strikingly beautiful, everything Cissie feels she is not.
Although George does his best to placate his wife, his stubbornness about flying and knack for attracting admiration from many quarters threatens their tumultuous existence.
Cissie must concede defeat and let go of her husband as he leaves for Australia with a small crew to prepare to make their dangerous journey. Success will bring fame and prestige to the dominion.
Failure cannot be considered.
George Hood
George Hood was born in the Wairarapa in 1893. He was the sixth of seven children. Always adventurous, in 1914 he enlisted in the war as a sergeant in the 9th Squadron, Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Surviving the Gallipoli campaign, his desire was always to fly and in 1916 he got his chance when he was drafted into the Royal Air Force. He completed his course but unfortunately, during a test flight he crashed, leaving him with injuries which required an amputation below the knee. He recovered with the help of a prosthetic limb and gained his wings in the Royal Flying Corps.
When the war was over he returned to New Zealand along with his new English wife, Laura Hood, who was known as ‘Cissie’ by her friends and family. They settled back in Masterton on Renall Street and George worked as a salesman for Ford Motors. He continued to fly whenever he found the opportunity, as a founding member of the New Zealand Territorials Air Force. This is where he met John Robert Moncrieff, known as ‘Scotty’ by most.
John ‘Scotty’ Moncrieff
Scotty Moncrieff was five years George’s junior. He had emigrated from the Shetland Isles at 16 and wasn’t old enough to enlist in the war until 1917. He trained to fly at Sockburn Aerodrome before leaving for England where he undertook further training. He gained his wings shortly before the Armistice and returned to New Zealand in 1920.
Moncrieff worked as the second in charge mechanic for the ABC garage, originally located on Lambton Quay. He and his wife Dorothy lived on Brooklyn Road. He was also a member of the New Zealand Territorials, and took part in the annual Refresher course at Wigram Aerodrome near Christchurch. Scotty was the instigator behind the planned trip to cross the Tasman in a Ryan monoplane.
