Two young pilots who died serving Morobe

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Q: Where did Trist Avenue and Drayton Street in Lae get their names from?

Pioneer Morobe pilots Les Trist (left) and Frank Drayton. ~Picture courtesy of MICHAEL WATERHOUSE

A: From pioneer Morobe pilots Les Trist (left) and Frank Drayton.

Les Trist died in an air crash near the Wampit Gap in May 1931 and Drayton at the bottom of Wau drome in 1932.

Trist has left his mark for posterity in that Lake Trist between Garaina and Wau is named after him.

Lake Trist between Garaina and Wau in Morobe. It is named after pioneer pilot Les Trist who discovered it in 1930 while flying from Wau to Garaina to pick up explorer Michael Leahy. Trist died in a single-engine Junker plane crash in 1931 while bringing in a load of cargo from Lae to Wau.

Trist Avenue and Drayton Street in Lae are named after our two Morobe pioneer pilots who died here at a very young age.

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