{"id":32851,"date":"2025-10-09T13:12:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T05:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=32851"},"modified":"2025-10-13T16:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T08:42:11","slug":"amelia-earhart-one-more-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=32851","title":{"rendered":"Amelia Earhart, one more time."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recently, I was in Taiping with two Dutch friends. They loved the Lake Gardens and enjoyed the food. I also showed them the impressive mural of Amelia Earhart, the famous American aviator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, I am standing in front of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I pointed out the text on the mural:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amelia Mary Earhart, the first woman to fly solo around the world stopped to refuel at the Taiping Aerodrome in Tekah on 20th June 1937.<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I told him that Amelia Earhart actually never landed in Taiping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, Mathew was surprised. I gave him the link to my blog, Did Amelia Earhart land in Taiping?<\/a>, written three years ago. In that blog I had demonstrated convincingly that she had never landed in Taiping and had not even the intention to do so. Although there was some publicity in the press, no action was taken by the relevant authorities to correct the mistake and I decided to let it go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mathew was intrigued and, back in the Netherlands, he searched in Delpher<\/a>. a Dutch newspaper archive for more information about Amelia Earhart. He found many clippings, in Dutch language of course. I will describe them in the appendix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Singapore also has a newspaper archive, NewspaperSG<\/a>. I had used it often to find information about the history of Taiping. But I never searched for information about Amelia Earhart. Now I did! Here is a direct link to the June 1937<\/a> database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost immediately I found what I was looking for. In the Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle of 21 June. Here it is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On 20June 1937 Amelia Earhart left Bangkok for her flight to to Singapore. The aerodromes of Penang and Alor Star made preparations in case she decided to land at either of them. At 2:35pm a message from Alor STar said that she had passed over. In Penang there was hope she might land there, but after about 45 minutes <\/strong> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

… a message was received from Taiping to say that Miss Earhart’s machine had passed over that State.<\/strong> <\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should end the controversy. Will the relevant authorities take action this time and modify the text on the mural?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

____________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

APPENDIX<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amelia Earhart’s solo flight around the world was global news. Even more so in the Netherlands, for several reasons. In 1934, the KLM had won the prestigious handicap race, London-Melbourne. The flight of the “Uiver” caused a lot of enthusiasm. In those early decades of aviation, Fokker, a Dutch company, dominated the civil aircraft industry. And Amelia Earhart’s flight plan included Bandung in the Dutch East Indies. a Dutch colony (now Indonesia).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few newspaper clippings collected by Mathew. I have added the English translation (in blue italics) and some comments of my own<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sumatra-bode, 19 June 1937<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amelia Earhart’s Flight<\/em><\/strong>
Akyab, June 18 (Aneta). Amelia Earhart arrived from Calcutta and departed for Bangkok at 6:4 GMT, but after battling the monsoon for two hours and failing to establish radio contact with the bearing stations in Rangoon and Akyab, she returned. The return trip occurred during a heavy thunderstorm. Amelia Earhart encountered dense cloud cover, while visibility was poor over the desolate coastline, one of the most treacherous factors on long-distance flights.
Earhart will continue her world flight on June 19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original plan was to fly from Calcutta to Bangkok with a refueling stop in Akyab. But she had to battle the monsoon weather and was forced to return to Akyab. The visibility was so bad that she didn’t dare to fly over land where suddenly a hill might appear. Instead, she followed the “desolate” coastline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

+++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Algemeen handelsblad voor Nederlandsch-Indie\u00a8, 21 juni 1937<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amelia’s World Flight.<\/strong>
Arrived in Rangoon.<\/strong>
Rangoon, June 19 (Own service). \u2014Amelia Earhart arrived in Rangoon on Saturday morning.She took off from Akyab three times. After the first takeoff, she turned back.After this, she tried again, but again, due to bad weather, she turned back. Finally, the third time, she succeeded. Upon her arrival in Rangoon, the round-the-world flyer declared that the Akyab-Rangoon leg was the worst of the entire trip.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, the weather was even worse. No way of reaching Bangkok. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she managed to land in Rangoon and stay overnight there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

+++++++++++++++++<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nieuwe Apeldoornsche courant, 21 juni 1937<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amelia Earhart to Bandung<\/em><\/strong>
Won the Rangoon-Singapore route of the “Ibis” and an English plane.<\/strong>
Amelia Earhart, coming from Rangoon, landed in Singapore. She arrived ten minutes ahead of the KLM plane, the “Ibis.” The two KLM and Imperial Airways airliners took off from Bangkok at the same time as Amelia Earhart. The brave pilot said she had made a bet with the airline pilots that she would cover the distance from Bangkok to Singapore the fastest. Laughing, she took a picture of the “Ibis” as the plane landed at the airport after her. To continue her flight around the world, Amelia Earhart left for Bandung, in the Dutch East Indies, last night.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 20 June the weather improves and Amelia Earhart reaches Singapore, after a refueling stop in Bangkok. A bit earlier than the Ibis and the English plane, but the story about a bet is fake news and will be corrected later. Notice how this newspaper, based in the Netherlands, writes that she left for Bandung “last night”. Amelia avoided flying at night, she left Singapore early morning on 21 June, Different time zones… \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indie\u00a8, 21 juni 1937<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHERE WAS AMELIA EARHART\u2026?
Last Saturday, wild rumors circulated in a small circle in Bandung that the daring American ocean aviator Amelia Earhart, who was on a round-the-world flight over the British East Indies, would be honoring Bandung with a visit. The Royal Netherlands Air Force (KNIL) agency here had received word that Lady “Lindy” would most likely land in Andir on Sunday, or yesterday during the day. However, it was not to be.
An Aneta report,distributed via the Nirom, informed the public yesterday morning that Lady “Lindy” had only arrived in Rangoon last Saturday afternoon, after having taken off from Akyab three times previously; however, the exceptionally bad weather forced her to return to Akyab an equal number of times.
Last night we received a telephone message from the KNIL agent here, Mr. L. Mees, in Bandung, stating that Miss Amelia Earhart is expected in Andir Monday morning (today) between 8 and 10 a.m.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A nice article from a newspaper in the Dutch East Indies, where people are anxiously waiting in Bandung for her arrival on 20 June, until they are notified about the delay in Burma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dagblad nieuwe Hoornsche courant, 21J une 1937<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amelia Earhart in Bandung.
BANDUNG, JUNE 21 (Aneta\u2014A.N.P.).
Amelia Earhart arrived in Bandung at 1:56 p.m. local time.
Further information.
BANDUNG, June 21 (Aneta\u2014A.N.P.).
The aviator Amelia Earhart landed in Bandung this morning at 10:56 a.m. on her round-the-world flight. She circled above the airfield for fifteen minutes, presumably because the various signs on the ground were obscured by the low-hanging clouds. Then several aircraft from the aviation department took off and landed to show Amelia how to land. There was great interest at the airfield. The “Bandung Vooruit” association offered flowers. Miss Earhart will stay here for three days, as KLM has the only equipment in Bandung where it can have the instruments of its modern aircraft thoroughly overhauled.
Miss Earhart will visit the Tangkoeban Pra-hoe this evening.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 21 June, Amelia Earhart lands in Bandung. Notice that the arrival time is given twice, with a strange difference of three hours. The report contains one interesting detail, which I have not found elsewhere, that local aviators took off to help her land because low-hanging clouds obscured the landing signs on the runway. Amelia stayed three nights here, so the KLM workshop could thoroughly inspect her plane. Therefore, she had time to be a tourist and visit the Tangkoeban Pra-hoe , a famous volcano near Bandung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dagblad nieuwe Hoornsche courant, 21J une 1937<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No Bet
BATAVIA, June 21 (Aneta\u2014A.N.P.).
The commander of the “Ibis,” Mr. Stork, reported that Amelia Earhart, after taking off from the airport in Singapore, returned there due to engine trouble. She was still there when the “Ibis” took off. Regarding reports of a so-called friendly competition between Amelia Earhart and the KLM “Ibis,” he stated that competitions are never held with KLM aircraft, and moreover, the Rangoon-Singapore route for the “Ibis” was completely different from that for the American aviator. The “Ibis” made stopovers in Bangkok, Penang, and Medan, where delays occurred for refueling, food, mail, and loading, while Amelia Earhart\u2014except for a stopover in Bangkok\u2014flew directly to Singapore. It should also be noted that the “Ibis” had a speed of 270 km\/h, while Amelia Earhart, with her Wasp Junior engines, had a speed of 237 km\/h. The entire betting story must therefore be considered completely false.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same newspaper, a correction of the “bet” story. The pilot of the “Ibis” explains that there has never been a bet. The Ibis was a commercial airliner; it had to make two intermediate landings, in Penang and Medan. In a direct competition, the Ibis would have won, because the machine was faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My blog post will end here. Amelia Earhart stayed in the Dutch East Indies longer than planned (repairs, sickness), then continued to Australia and New Guinea. On 2 July, she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, started for the long flight (about 20 hours, more than 4000km) to Howland Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where they never arrived. Most plausible explanation is that the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. But there are other possibilities<\/a>, including several conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, I was in Taiping with two Dutch friends. They loved the Lake Gardens and enjoyed the food. I also showed them the impressive mural of Amelia Earhart, the famous American aviator. Here, I am standing in front of it. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[68,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-taiping"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Maleisie--scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2LqIR-8xR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32851"}],"version-history":[{"count":86,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32958,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32851\/revisions\/32958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}