Rotorua Aerodrome 1920s to 1970s
Rotorua’s
first airport was known variously as the Rotorua Aero Club Aerodrome, the
Municipal Aerodrome, Whakarewarewa Aerodrome and the Rotorua Airfield.
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Whites Aviation Limited. 1933. Rotorua Airfield, 14-6633. Walsh Memorial Library, The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). No known copyright restrictions. |
Planes
landing in Rotorua however started c1919 and used the Arawa Park Racetrack and
Vaughans Farm on Te Ngae Road. Two young
Rotorua lads trained at the Walsh Flying School, Kohimarama near Auckland
c1918, Mr. Eric Roe and Mr. P. A. Kusabs.
(Stafford, 1983)
In 1922 an
aeroplane piloted by Captain Brake was taking passengers on short flights from
the racecourse, on one such flight Captain Brake had to make an emergency
landing on the narrow beach at the back of the Postmaster Bath. No further
damage to the aeroplane occurred and his two passengers were not injured. (New Zealand Herald, 1922)
In 1929 the
Auckland Star reported that:
A De Haviland Moth aeroplane piloted by Captain T. W. White,
with Mr G.W. Stead as passenger arrived at Arawa Park at 9.00am from Hastings,
after a flight of 1 hour and 40 minutes. (Auckland Star, 1929).
During the
1920s planes were also conducting short passenger rides from Vaughans Farm, Te
Ngae Road. Hamilton Airways Ltd.
operated 3 Gypsy Moths c.1929-1930. (Stafford, 1983)
When the
first Rotorua Aero Club formed in c1930, members were responsible for
constructing a landing strip on land that was part of the State Forestry block.
Rotorua Aero club later initiated an amalgamation
with others in the Bay of Plenty. Rotorua and Bay of Plenty Aero Club was duly formed
in 1938 with Mayor T. Jackson as its president, at this time Mr. S.J. Blackmore,
of Hamilton, had agreed to act as an instructor, he also owned the aircraft, a
Sports Avian, which was used until the club were able to purchase one. They then set about planning an Air Pageant
for Easter even though the club did not own any aeroplanes as yet.
About the
same time Rotorua Airways Ltd. was formed with mostly Aero Club members, some
20 men were listed as the owners. It was however a short lived venture and they
amalgamated with the Waikato Airways company in September of 1930, but had ceased
business by March 1934. (Stafford, 1983)
Pilot
training began and it was acknowledged that Blackmore had trained ‘a record
number’. (Rotorua Morning Post, 1941). Their
first fully qualified pilot was Mr Basil Smith (New Zealand Herald, 1939)
In 1931 a
plane crash was recorded in the newspapers. The plane owned and piloted by
Captain Money hit an air pocket on take-off from the Rotorua Aerodrome and
crashed into the garden of a house opposite.
His passengers, Mr J Fortune and Mr W.G. Setchell, were unharmed.
(Horowhenua Chronicle, 1931). This was
however not the first plane to crash at or near the aerodrome, others were
recorded by the news media of the day prior to this one and quite a lot more in
the next decade.
Stafford
tells of the first ever airmail delivery arrived which in Rotorua on the 10th
December 1931:
Two sizeable bags of mail were handed off for Rotorua and the
Postmaster, Mr G. Nelson, handed a bag of over 300 letters as Rotorua’s
contribution to the venture.
Some
facilities were provided by the Borough Council in the form of a hangar. Also
around this time a new east-west runway of 680 yards was completed, under the
supervision of the Borough engineer. (Stafford, 1983)
Famous
aviators visited Rotorua, flying in and landing either at Vaughans Farm or
Copeland Smith’s farm. The most notable was Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who
flew his “Southern Cross” in January 1933.
While in Rotorua he took intrepid adventurers up in the plane for
joyrides. (Stafford, 1983)
In 1935 Stan Blackmore, (Previously of Hamilton Airways Ltd c1929 and Waikato Aviation c.1930) applied for permission to conduct his business from the Municipal Aerodrome. He was granted one year’s full use for free because he was a licenced instructor. Stan Blackmore, known locally as ‘Blackie’, was also the first to make a mercy flight picking up a seriously ill person and flying the person to the Rotorua Hospital. Waikato Aviation was changed to Blackmores Air Services Ltd. in 1947 and operated in Rotorua until 1977. Blackmore's was sold to James Aviation in 1951 after Stan Blackmore retired. (Daily Post, 1983)
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| Rotorua Post. (1948, September 29). Advertisement. Rotorua Post. |
Work is almost completed on the new hangar at the Borough Aerodrome for which £600 was included in the last estimates of the Rotorua Borough Council. Comprehensive plans were provided by the Public Works Dept. to provide for future needs and extensions at the aerodrome. (New Zealand Herald, 1941).
In 1941
Prime Minister Fraser opens the new hangar and a new Aero Club rooms:
The new hangar is described as “of modern design, is capable of housing four planes…while the club-house adjacent is equipped with all facilities”. (Rotorua Morning Post, 1941)
Also in 1941
a Moth bi-plane belonging to the Aero club had to make a forced landing on a
vacant plot across the road from the Aerodrome as the engine cut out. The pilot
Mr. H. Boucher was unharmed and passenger Mr. E. Shaw received minor injuries,
however the “plane’s undercarriage was wrenched off, and would be out of
commission for some time” (Rotorua Morning Post, 1941)
Rotorua
Aerodrome was taken over by the RNZAF from 1 Aug 1942 and young recruits were
stationed in Rotorua for their initial training. Stan Blackmore was allowed to store his
aircraft in the existing hangar because he had just paid for a 3 year
lease. (Stafford, 1983)
After the
war in 1947, the Rotorua Aero Club, reformed and resumed flying instruction for
budding aviators and a nurse, Marie Watt, was one of their first pupils, and
the first of her class to make a solo flight.
Commercial use of the aerodrome resumed and NAC announced their first regular service was to begin on 27 Sept 1948, with a ‘Lockheed Electra’ named the ‘Kuaka’ which could accommodate up to 10 passengers and 2 crew. (Rotorua Post, 1948).
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| Building of Blackmore's Air Services, Rotorua. Whites Aviation Ltd: Photographs. Ref: WA-19820-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22837762 |
By 1950 the
era of agricultural top-dressers begins and by 1954 James Aviation is offering
a regular daily passenger flight ‘Rotorua – Kawerau – Kinleith – Mangere’ (Rotorua
Post, 1954). Helicopters made their
debut at the aerodrome on 12th April 1955, about 6000 people went to
see it and paid for a short ride. The first passenger was the Mayoress Mrs A.
M. Linton. (Rotorua Post, 1955)
In 1951,
James Aviation bought Blackmores’s Air Services when Stan Blackmore retired and
by 1959 James Aviation Rotorua Ltd. is formed, and becomes a fixture at the
Rotorua Aerodrome. (Stafford, 1983)
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| James Aviation Fleet - Fenton Street Aerodrome, photograph by John Scott (b.1934, d.2000) Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa (CP-2213) |
In December of 1956 NAC were forced to cease flights into the Fenton Street airport after retiring their smaller Domonie aircraft. A new Heron aircraft had crashed while attempting to take off in September of 1955, apparently the nose wheel ploughed an 11ft furrow in the field slid along the runway for another 36ft and then digging in again and coming to a stop. (Rotorua Post, 1955)
Our most
notable visitor at this time was the newly crowned Queen and the Duke of
Edinburgh. They were flown from the
Rotorua Aerodrome to Gisborne in one of the new NAC Heron aircraft. (Stafford, 1983).
Rotorua
services to Auckland did not resume until Bay of Plenty Airways commenced a
service to Auckland with a seven seater Aero Commander Airliner on 2 September
1959 and in the same year service to Wellington which was used extensively by
Rotorua MP Harry Lapwood from 1960. The
service came to a tragic end when the plane crashed on Mt Ruapehu with all
lives lost, 21 November 1961. NAC
arranged James Aviation to provide a feeder service from Rotorua to Tauranga
and Hamilton which continued until a new aerodrome could be built in Rotorua. (Davis,
2003)
A new era in
the life of air services to and from Rotorua begins:
New Rotokawa airport negotiations had begun in 1957 and by September that year Mayor Linton announces that “quite definitely that the site will be Rotokawa” although Civil Aviation said the ‘soil tests were not as good as they might be’. (Rotorua Post, 1957)
On the 11th
of November 1963 the following article was published on the first day of
business at the airport:
Rotorua, the centre of New Zealand’s tourist industry,
rejoined the national airways network this morning – just a year after work
began on the £350,000 airport at Rotokawa. The seven year break ended when
a South Pacific Airways of New Zealand Viewmaster touched down…
A special N.A.C. inaugural flight carrying 26 mayors and deputy mayors from around the north island along with Guide Rangi were flown to Wellington where they were greeted by the Mayor of Wellington and Managers of N.A.C. (Daily Post, 1963)
The official opening of the airport took place on the 3rd October 1964 at 2.00pm., by Sir Keith Holyoake, Prime Minister of New Zealand. An air pageant took place from 10. 35am., with 5 RNZA Vampire Jets arriving in formation from Ohakea. The first NAC Friendship aircraft to touch down in Rotorua arrived at 11.30am with the Prime Minister on board. (Daily Post, 1964) |
Rotorua
Printers (1964). Rotorua Airport official
opening: Saturday, 3rd October, 1964. Rotorua Printers. |
Mayor Linton on opening the Parade of
Homes at Fenton Park, remarked that:
Up until today, confirmed sales have amounted to £289,000, just £1000 short of the half-way mark… when sales were
complete, Rotorua would have achieved a new airport at virtually no cost to the
district, something few, if any other centres could boast. (Daily Post, 1967)
 |
Rotorua Photo
News. (1967, April 7). [Roving camera]. Rotorua Photo News. Rotorua Heritage Collection. Rotorua Library. |
In the years that follow:
First for
the Rotorua area in 1967 a tourist flight company began operating from the
Rotorua Airport ‘Helicopter Service & Safaris’ financed by Don Wishart and
managed by Hank Whitfield with an additional pilot George Johnson. (Stafford,
1983)
1971 Rotorua
Aero Club purchase a seven seater Cessna in order to launch their new tourist
flights service which was named Volcanic
‘Wunderflites’ and begins officially on 2 May 1971 with Capt. Fred Ladd as its
pilot. (Stafford, 1983)
Civil
Aviation announce that a permanent control tower has becomes necessary on 4th
June 1971. Opens 14 November 1974. (Stafford, 1983)
23 March
1975, NAC opens its new building in Amohau Street, after outgrowing the Eruera
Street office which had opened c.1963.
The new purpose built, modern with a touch of luxury and thermal
heating. The exterior was designed by
Rotorua architect Mr. C. Deacon and the interior by NAC staff of Wellington. (Daily
Post, 1975)
References:
Stafford,
D.M. (1983). Flying the thermal skies. Thermalart
Productions.
Gavin, B.
(2003). To and from the Bay: by Speedy Aero Commander. In R. Waugh, Taking off: pioneering small airlines of New
Zealand 1945-1970. (pp.142-157). Kynaston Charitable Trust.
Rotorua
Printers (1964). Rotorua Airport official
opening: Saturday, 3rd October, 1964. Rotorua Printers.
Articles:
New Zealand Herald. (1922, March 27).
Aeroplane at Rotorua: a forced landing. New
Zealand Herald.
Auckland Star. (1929, 20 May).
Hastings-Rotorua flight: journey in 100 minutes. Auckland Star.
Horowhenua Chronicle. (1931, September 15). Three seater plane crashes at Rotorua. Horowhenua Chronicle.
New Zealand Herald. (1941, March 26).
Rotorua Aerodrome. New Zealand Herald.
Rotorua Morning Post. (1938, November
17). Aero Club: formed in Rotorua. Rotorua
Morning Post
Rotorua
Morning Post. (1941, April 23). New hangar and clubroom: Rotorua’s aviation
facilities. Rotorua Morning Post.
Rotorua Morning Post. (1941, October
20). Plane’s forced landing: Rotorua Aerodrome. Rotorua Morning Post.
Rotorua Morning Post. (1947, September
23). Solo aero flight. Rotorua Morning
Post.
Rotorua Morning Post. (1948, December
16). Air traffic: Auckland direct: Rotorua service to begin Monday. Rotorua Morning Post.
Rotorua Post. (1954, December 16). Daily
air service starts Monday: Rotorua-Kawerau-Kinleith link with Mangere. Rotorua Post.
Rotorua Post. (1957, September 20).
Rotorua’s Aerodrome will be sited at Rotokawa, says Mayor. Rotorua Post.
Daily Post. (1963, November 11).
Isolation ends – tourists welcome air travel. Daily Post.
Daily Post. (1964, October 3). Jets
‘christen’ new city airport. Daily Post.
Daily Post. (1964, October 5). Govt. to
pay for airport facilities. Daily Post.
Daily Post. (1967, March 18). Fenton
Park sales near halfway. Daily Post.
Daily Post. (1975, March 22). Opening of
new aircentre. Daily Post
