This Site is dedicated to all those families of the people that have tragically disappeared on flights in and around New Zealand. I  only hope that from all the effort in building this site and from all the effort of those taking part in this venture, that it will bear fruit in bringing ‘closure’ to their memories!
Gavin Grimmer

1. How long he thought he was at Martins Bay before flown out of Martin Bay by Russell Baker.
 1 night & next afternoon - 2pm

2. Did it snow that day that he was at his hut before he & after he saw plane & before he was went out by Jet boat.
 2 snowfalls. – 2000’ – Heavy snow fall Friday
 2 nights at Hut on Alabaster – FRIDAY before leaving in Jet boat.
Contact Minister of Civil Aviation. – SANDER. Day & half.

Class 3 search not been called off

1). One night and next afternoon until 2pm when Russell Baker bought him back to Te Anau.

2) Both nights whilst at Hut on Alabaster & snow fall on Friday whilst in before leaving in Jet boat.

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I've always found that the most accurate information is from the hand notes such as these as they are taken at the time – Pity there wasn’t more of them in the files.
Hand notes are later summarized to try to make it simpler and clearer, and in so doing, lose a lot of their meaning.
You'll note that Kevin just thought it was Jules Tapper doing his normal flying back and forth from the Lodges he owned in those days, and I guess Jules also flew a lot of hunters in as well, so it would not be unusual for him to be seen up Lake Alabaster. Kevin had no need to believe that it was anyone other than Jules.

According to Ross McDowell in an interview with Ron Chippindale (Accident Investigator), Jules was at Big Bay that day, so there is no reason to believe that it could not have been Jules, although I'm sure Jules would have corrected them if it was, seeing that he was involved with the searching also....but then again, they may have never mentioned it to him due to all the "secrecy" SAR and the Police used to have in those days! 

According to Ross McDowell’s  statement, there was a total of four other aircraft that were flying in Big Bay that day, and it could have been any of these.

Personally, I think that Kevin did see ZK-BMP flying in there, but I believe it was simply Father Crosbie on his earlier trip in the afternoon looking for a way through.
Kevin never made any mention of any other aeroplanes flying there that day, yet according to information on the files, we know that Father Crosbie was flying in there sometime after 2pm.

The claim is that he flew in there via Jamestown and Lake McKerrow, yet there were  surveyors in the Lake McKerrow area who claimed they never heard any planes that day.  This means that on his earlier flight, he must have flown from Big Bay, down the Pyke, past Alabaster, and then returned back to Big Bay that way.
I cannot find anywhere in the files where Father Crosbie said to anyone what course he took checking it out - only what is probably the presumptions of other people!


I do have serious doubts also to Kevin's memory when it comes to times.
His story (or at least the people telling it) changes from account to account.

This would mean that Father Crosbie had flown 75 n.miles in between both observation times. This would have taken him down the Hollyford to the area of Te Anau Downs and back!