Pioneering 1930s US aviator Amelia Earhart has been in the news lately, with searchers possibly having found the Lockheed Electra she was flying with navigator, Fred Noonan when they disappeared way back in 1937 somewhere between Papua New Guinea and Howland Island, 2500km to the east of our northern neighbour PNG. At the time of her disappearance it was big news, with plenty of speculation as to what fate may have befallen the 39-year-old American aviation record-setter and her companion Noonan. Some even speculated they had fallen into Japanese hands before the outbreak of WWII, while others wondered whether they'd ended up on the dinner menu of savage cannibals!
But while the authenticity of the ditched plane has yet to be confirmed, we can at least confirm pretty confidently the mystery of the whereabouts of her 1935 Packard Super 8 three-window '2-4' Coupe, which was apparently gifted to her by the President of Packard, is solved. And the backstory to the Packard is almost as intriguing as Earhart's record-setting aviation career, with current owner, Qld-based Ross Marshall, filling in a few gaps for us during our photoshoot.
I first spied the dark-blue classic streamlined Packard at the Gold Coast Motor Museum (the video and story can be found on YouTube) a couple of years ago, and speaking with curator Carl Amor, I came to understand what a significant car it was and, equally, how intriguing its history was. When I finally caught up with sprightly 86-year-old Ross Marshall recently, the plot definitely thickened, as did his own backstory... and that of Earhart's actual fate.
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