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Ivan rose, embarrassed but pleased, from his seat at the rear of the auditorium. The patrons around him clapped and insisted: ‘Speech, speech.’ Brigadier General Lloyd from the Richmond Aerodrome Base had accompanied him and now sat on his right nodding encouragingly.
They had come to the Tivoli Theatre straight after the Motor Traders’ dinner at the Wentworth Hotel. Ivan had been invited to the prior event as a special guest. At a quarter past eight, hundreds of his fellow diners had waited expectantly as he was invited to rise and announce the success of the flight. According to most recent radio broadcasts, Lieutenant Moncrieff and Captain Hood had become the first brave men to fly successfully across the Tasman. There had been sightings of the plane right up and down the coast.
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