Branch - Catalina

From the Secretary:

The AGM was to be held in 2020, but the ‘Covid-19 lockdown’ that year forced its cancellation.

 We are planning on arranging a date for the AGM further down the track. We will keep you informed......

1. Wreath Laying and Pilgrimage.

Our Pilgrimage at the Shrine will not be our usual program as the Shrine is not open.

The Shrine staff will hold a service on our behalf as The Shrine will be closed to the public. Our Shrine Pilgrimage is scheduled for 23 August at 1430. (Please note the time as we usually start at 1400.)

You can view the service on Facebook.

There are 2 ways to view the service:.........

Philip Cooke shares a story from one of the detailed logbooks his father, 20 SQN 1st Engineer Allan George Cooke, kept during his WWII service as member of a Catalina flying boat crew.

Part 2 of our story from the logbooks of Allan Cooke, Catalina Flying Boat Engineer, during WWII.

In a recent event hosted by AFA Victoria’s Catalina Branch, guest speaker Clive Carmichael spoke about his experiences as a young lad at Rathmines in the 1950s, together with his recent adventure in a Grumman Mallard. Here is his story…

The weekend of March 17 - 19 saw the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Lake Boga No 1 Flying Boat Repair Depot (1941 – 1947). Member Jennifer Newton attended and presented this report.

Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum with a static display of Catalina A24-30 inside. The event was conducted most admirably by the Lions Club of Lake Boga who have proudly taken this entire project as their responsibility. They are to be congratulated for their continued resolve towards creating what is now a complete visitor experience in their area, and to be highly recommended. It was a fully involved community event, with multiple food stalls provided by amongst others the local school, Rotary and CFA. Many other organisations were proudly representing their projects.

It was most unfortunate that the weather in the NSW area precluded the departure of our only flying Catalina to arrive at the event. The flying program for the day included a visit by the PC-3 Orion from Edinburgh SA, the Roulettes who did an amazing aerobatics display, a T-28 Trojan Grumman Avenger, Wolf Pitts and a local aerobatic display from a group of 3 Pitts specials, which was spectacular.

Allan Arvidson and Jennifer Newton represented the RAAFA Catalina Branch at the Remembrance Day Service in the grounds of the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital (Austin Health) on Friday 11 November 2016. More than 600 were in attendance, including children from Ivanhoe Primary School and the Austin Hospital crèche.