Date:	Tuesday 17 June 1947
Time:	10:00 LT
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Royal Aero Club of New South Wales
Registration:	VH-AGK
MSN:	DHA.975
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Tweedmouth Avenue, Rosebery, near Sydney, NSW -   Australia
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Goulburn Airport, Goulburn, NSW (GUL/YGLB)
Destination airport:	Mascot Airport, Sydney, NSW (SYD/YSSY)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AGK, Royal Aero Club of New South Wales: Written off (destroyed) 17.6.47 when crashed into the garden between two houses at Tweedmouth Avenue, Rosebery, Sydney, NSW. Of the two persons on board, one (the passenger) was killed and the other (the pilot) sustained severe injuries.

As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper (The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW) Wednesday 18 June 1947 Page 4):

TIGER MOTH CRASH - Fight To Save Pilot's Life
Sydney June 18
Doctors last night were fighting to save the life of Norman Cecil Ireland, pilot of the Tiger Moth plane which crashed between two houses at Rosebery yesterday. The passenger was killed. The victims were:

Dead: John Tulloch, 20, of Queen Street, Concord West.
Critically injured: Norman Cecil Ireland, 23, of Bruce Street, Stanmore.

Both were qualified pilots. Ireland was at the controls when the plane was turning over Rosebery to land at Mascot aerodrome. It is believed the engine cut out, causing the plane to lose speed and go into a spin.

The plane was one of five in which 10 members of the Royal Aero Club of New South Wales flew to Goulburn for the holiday weekend. When they left Goulburn to fly back to Sydney, Tulloch was in the front seat of the cockpit and Ireland was piloting the plane behind him.

MAKING FOR PARK
When the plane got into a spin it is believed Ireland attempted to steer it to Rosebery Park, but 200 yards before it was over the park. Cecil Arrighi, of Gardeners Road, saw it nose-dive towards houses in Tweedmouth Avenue. It just missed electric cables and landed between houses occupied by Mr. J. Savage and Mr. E. Johnson.

Mrs. E. Johnson, who was sitting at a back window drying her hair, ran screaming to the front of the house when she heard the crash. The port wing tore down a panel of fencing, missing Mrs. M. Griffith, daughter of Mr. Savage, and her daughter, Annabelle, aged two, by less than three feet.

"I heard the plane coming as I was pegging out clothes," said Mrs. Griffith. "When I looked up and saw it crashing almost on top of us I instinctively covered my head with my hands and shouted.

PICKED UP CHILD
"Annabelle was playing with her toys on the lawn. The plane hit the motor drive in Mr. Johnson's place, burying its nose in the lawn in the centre of the drive and scattering portions of the fence. I picked up Annabelle and ran into the house. I thought the petrol tank would explode, but luckily there was no fire."

Neighbours ran from nearby houses and smashed the lattice gate to reach the plane. They included Jack Coghlan and Harry Laycock. "Only Mr. Ireland was visible among the wreckage," said Mr. Coghlan. "His flying-harness and parts of the plane, however, were pinning him down. A gas company's lorry was passing and on it were a block and tackle, hacksaws, and other tools. We used these to get Mr. Ireland out of the back seat."

Mr. Laycock said he had to cut away parts of the plane with snippers before the block and tackle could be used to lift portions of the smashed engine from Mr. Tulloch.

Central District Ambulance rushed both men to Royal South Sydney Hospital, where Mr. Tulloch died 45 minutes later.

OWNED BY PROFESSOR
The president of the Royal N.S.W. Aero Club, Mr. H. D. Arnott, said last night that the club's investigation committee would inspect the wrecked Tiger Moth with Civil Aviation officials to-day. Although used by the Aero Club at the time of the accident, the plane is owned by Dr. G. A. M. Heydon, professor of tropical diseases at Sydney University, and the oldest active glider pilot in Australia.

Although he is 66, Dr. Heydon flies his Slingsby sailplane as relaxation. He used the Tiger Moth to tow his glider into the air when the Aero Club was not using it.

During the war Dr. Heydon lost another plane, a Gipsy Moth, when a R.A.A.F. Vultee Vengeance crashed on to it at Mascot while it was being refuelled. Two members of the dive bomber's crew were killed".

Rosebery is an inner southern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 6 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government areas of the City of Sydney and the Bayside Council.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW) Wednesday 18 June 1947 Page 4): TIGER MOTH CRASH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18030962
3. The West Australian (Perth, WA) Wednesday 18 June 1947 Page 8 MOTH PLANE CRASHES: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/46319623
4. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (Newcastle NSW) Wednesday 18 June 1947 Page 3 Man Killed In Rosebery Plane Crash: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140305204
5. Daily Mirror (Sydney, NSW) Tuesday 17 June 1947 Page 1: MAN DIES, PILOT BADLY HURT IN PLANE CRASH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/273039874
6. The Sun (Sydney, NSW) Tue 17 Jun 1947 Page 1 PLANE CRASHES INTO BACKYARD: MAN DIES, PILOT HURT: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231546140
7.Glen Innes Examiner (Glen Innes, NSW) Tuesday 17 June 1947 Page 1: Passenger Killed In 'Plane Crash: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/184632259
8. The Canberra Times (Canberra ACT) Tuesday 12 August 1947 Page 4 PILOT COULD NOT EXPLAIN CRASH: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2722424 (Report of inquest into crash and passenger fatality)
9. Border Morning Mail (Albury, NSW) Tuesday 12 August 1947 Page 4: Pilot Had No Recollection of Crash: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/263538845 (Report of inquest into crash and passenger fatality)
10. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/9442:vh-agk-1
11. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17a.htm
12. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus9.html
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosebery,_New_South_Wales

c/no. DHA.975: Taken on charge as A17-540 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 20.6.42. To 1 AOS Cootamundra, NSW 13.7.42. To 8 EFTS RAAF Narrandera, NSW 6.9.42. To De Havilland Australia at Mascot, Sydney, NSW 14.11.44 for overhaul. Upon completion, to 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 6.3.45. To 1 AOS RAAF Evans Head, NSW 8.3.45 for long-term storage pending disposal.

Issued 10.9.45 to Dr G.A.M Heydon, Mascot, Sydney, NSW in settlement of his claim for his DH.60G VH-UWB which was destroyed when struck by RAAF Vultee Vengeance A27-409 at Mascot, Sydney, NSW 28.2.44. Formally Struck off charge 24.9.45. Registered as VH-AGK (C of R 839) 17.9.45 to Dr George A.M Heydon, Rose Bay; operated by Royal Aero Club of NSW.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed into houses following engine failure Rosebery, near Sydney, NSW 17.6.47 as per the above; passenger killed, pilot severely injured

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
13-Apr-2025 01:40	Dr. John Smith	Added