Date:	Friday 6 January 1950
Time:	day
Type:	de Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Air-Griculture Control Pty Ltd
Registration:	VH-AKF
MSN:	DHA.445/T123
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	W. O'Brien Farm, 3 miles from Cowwar, Shire of Wellington, Victoria -   Australia
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Nambrok, Victoria
Destination airport:	Cowwar, Shire of Wellington, Victoria

Narrative:
DH.82A Tiger Moth VH-AKF, Air-Griculture Control Pty Ltd: Written off (destroyed) when struck HT wires while crop-spraying and crashed at W. O'Brien's Farm, 3 miles from Cowwar, Shire of Wellington, near Sale, Victoria 6.1.50; pilot Graeme Tamblyn killed. As reported at the time in a contemporary local newspaper (The West Australian (Perth, WA) Saturday 7 January 1950 Page 1):

PLANE HITS WIRES - Pilot Fatally Injured
MELBOURNE, Jan. 6:
Graham Tamblyn (26), of Tamworth (N.S.W.), was fatally injured when his Tiger Moth plane crashed after hitting high-tension wires near Cowwarr, Gippsland, late to-day. Mr. Tamblyn was visiting Victoria with his wife and two children, who are staying at Kew. He offered to spray crops for, a farmer, Mr. W. O'Brien, of Cowwarr.

The police were told that his plane was coming in low over the farm about three miles from the town when it struck the high-tension wires. The machine crashed in a field and overturned, pinning Mr. Tamblyn in the cockpit. Mr. O'Brien and a friend, Mr. Higgins, of Cowwarr, took Mr. Tamblyn from the wreckage. An ambulance rushed him to the Sale hospital, but he died half an hour after admission".

Note that some press reports spell the pilot's name as "Graham" and others as "Graeme". The offical name recorded on the death certificate was "Ronald Graham Tamblyn" (1924-1950). He was buried at Box Hill Cemetery, Box Hill, Whitehorse City, Victoria, Australia.

Cowwarr is a town in Victoria, Australia, 27 kilometres north-east of Traralgon, 174 kilometres east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington.

1. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
2. The West Australian (Perth, WA) Saturday 7 January 1950 Page 1 PLANE HITS WIRES: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47821683
3. Sunraysia Daily (Mildura, Vic.) Saturday 7 January 1950 Page 1: Air Crash on Farm: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/280910668
4. The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld.) Saturday 7 January 1950 Page 1 Crop sprayer pilot killed: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49699071
5. https://www.austairdata.com.au/component/rsdirectory/entry/view/9842:vh-akf-2
6. https://edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa/vh-akf.html
7. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a17b.htm
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus4.html
9. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123938112/ronald-graham-tamblyn
10. Inquest into death of pilot, Heyfield, Victoria 13.1.50: https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/F72AF47C-F1B6-11E9-AE98-15183BBE2DEA
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowwarr,_Victoria

c/no. DHA.445: Taken on charge as A17-401 at 2 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Richmond, NSW 21.6.41. To 10 EFTS RAAF Temora, NSW 11.8.41. To De Havilland Australia at Mascot, Sydney, NSW 29.6.43 for overhaul (DHA No T123). Upon completion, returned to 10 EFTS RAAF Temora, NSW 11.9.43. Withdrawn from service to storage reserve 20.8.45. Transferred to Care & Maintenance Unit 12.3.46 for long-term storage pending disposal; put up for sale 7.6.46.

Struck off charge when sold 6.9.46 for £100 to Association of Australian Aero Clubs, Sydney, NSW; issued to them 21.9.46. Registrered as VH-AKF (C of R 1200) 6.3.47 to Robert J Carter, t/a Dubbo Aero Club, Dubbo, NSW. Registration cancelled 21.10.48. Registration VH-AKF restored 9.5.49 to East-West Airlines Ltd, Tamworth, NSW. Re-registered to Air-Griculture Control Pty Ltd.

Written off (destroyed) when struck HT wires while crop-spraying and crashed at W. O\\'Brien\\'s Farm, 3 miles from Cowwar, near Sale, Victoria, 6.1.50 as per the above; pilot Graeme Tamblyn killed.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-May-2025 06:50	Dr. John Smith	Added
03-May-2025 14:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Source, ]