Date:	Tuesday 27 January 1931
Time:	c. 14:10 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH.60 Moth
Owner/operator:	W Rhodes & J W Paulden
Registration:	VH-UPP
MSN:	355
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Belmont Commons Airport, Geelong, VIC -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Ballan, Victoria
Destination airport:	Belmont Commons Airport, Geelong, Victoria

Narrative:
DH.60 [Cirrus II] registered as G-EBPP [C of R 1322] 1.12.26 to The De Havilland Aircraft Co Ltd, Stag Lane. No UK C of A issued; shipped to Australia for use as demonstrator. Taken by Major Hereward de Havilland from England 21.12.26 on his journey to open a DH assembly and building factory in Australia.

Arrived Perth 7.2.27; erected and departed 24.2.27 for Melbourne, arriving 28.2.27 after following the route of Trans Continental Railway. UK registration cancelled Feb 1928. Re-registered G-AUPP [C of R 156] 19.5.27 to The De Havilland Aircraft Co Ltd, Melbourne. Re-registered (in July 1927) to Golden Aircraft Co, Mascot; named "The Golden Moth". Registered Jan 1929 to L F Pratt, Geelong. Re-registered VH-UPP 30.10.29. Re-registered 15.12.30 to W Rhodes & J W Paulden, Ballan, Victoria

Written off when crashed at Belmont Commons Airport, Geelong, Victoria 27.1.31. Witnesses state that the engine seemed to have failed at about 1,000 feet on descent into Belmont Commons Airport at Geelong. The aircraft lost airspeed and altitude, and evidently stalled into the ground from some 200 feet. Pilot Jack W Paulden and passenger Eric Ainslie Morris (popularly known as 'Exide Eric', due to his battery business) were both killed. C.D. Pratt, tutor of J W Paulden and Eric Morris was flying another Moth some 30 feet above them when the accident happened. As reported in a contemporary local newspaper (The Herald (Melbourne, Vic) Tuesday 27 January 1931 Page 1 - see link #1)

"TWO AIRMEN KILLED
Geelong Crash
PLANE FALLS 1000 FEET
GEELONG, Tuesday.
Two young aviators, Eric A. Morris, of Geelong, and Jack Paulden, of Morrisons, near Elaine, were killed this afternoon when a Moth plane crashed at the Geelong Acrodrome.

Paulden, an "A" class pilot, had recently purchased the Moth and today took to the air about 2 p.m. to fly over his father's property at Morrisons. He had Eric Morris, also an "A" class pilot, in charge of the dual control as a precaution.

When at a height of about 1000 feet the plane suddenly seemed to take a nose dive. The aviators, however, seemed for a moment to regain control. The machine was gradually being brought to a horizontal position for landing, when it crashed. The machine was smashed to pieces"

Registration VH-UPP cancelled 17.2.31

1. The Herald (Melbourne, Vic) Tuesday 27 January 1931 Page 1 TWO AIRMEN KILLED: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/242876000
2. Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) Wednesday 28 January 1931 Page 3 PLANE CRASHES AT GEELONG: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46595901
3. The Northern Miner (Charters Towers, Qld.) Wednesday 28 January 1931 Page 4 TWO KILLED. PLANE CRASH AT GEELONG: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/80607819
4. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-EBPP.pdf
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p003.html
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-U1.html
7. As G-EBPP: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-great-bitain-registers-g-eb/g-eb-part-2?highlight=WyJnLWVicHAiXQ==
8. As G-AUPP: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/g-au?highlight=WyJnLWVicHAiXQ==
9. As VH-APP: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/vh-un-uz?highlight=WyJnLWVicHAiXQ==
10. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p003.html
11. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/VH-UPP.html
12. https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/tragedy/display/120411-eric-morris/
13. https://billiongraves.com/grave/Eric-Ainslie-Morris/9297795
14. https://www.facebook.com/groups/632709627165786/permalink/1770744370028967/
15. https://geelongaeroclub.com.au/history/ .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
10-Jan-2014 21:57	Dr. John Smith	Added
07-Apr-2014 21:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
09-Jun-2022 20:43	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
26-Nov-2023 18:10	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Category]
27-Nov-2023 16:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]