CITY AIRPORT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 223, 20 September 1935, Page 9

CITY AIRPORT.

QUESTION OF SITE.

POINT ENGLAND FAVOURED

SURVEY TO BE MADE,

After having all data and particulars of the work to be done, together with estimates of the approximate cost of at least 19 different sites in and around Auckland considered suitable for. the establishment of a municipal airport the finance committee recommended in a report submitted to the City Council last evening that the city engineer be instructed to prepare a detailed contour survey of the entire site at Point England, Tamaki. An estimate of the cost of making the ground suitable, with the provision of the equipment necessary for the establishment of an aerodrome for commercial purposes is also to be supplied by the city engineer. When this information is made available the question of calling together the local bodies and her interested parties in the metropolitan area and securing their cooperation could be gone into. Advice of Experts. The finance committee's report mentioned that to make sure of the ground independent expert advice on the subject was obtained. The authorities consulted were Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, the noted aviator, Mr. HJlrold Gattv, the round-the-world flyer. Wing Commander Grant Dalton, the former Director of Air Services, Wing Commander T. M. ~ Wilkes, the Controller of Civil Aviation, and Mr. E. A. Gibson, aviation engineer for the Public Works Department. Without exception these gentlemen had given it as their opinion that the Point England site was suitable for the establishment of an A class aerodrome. The evidence gathered convinced the committee of the advisability of a city possessing at least two fields, the smaller one for the training of pilots and for club purposes and the larger one for commercial use, so that in emergency either may be used. Training and club ground was already in existence in Auckland. It was clear to the committee that from the economic aspect of the tentative estimates submitted the Point England site was considerably less costly than the others and it possessed most of the essential features required for an A class area. Comparative Costs. The approximate costs for the provision %f initial landing surfaces, exclusive of equipment charges, for the four main prospective sites were supplied by the engineer as follows:—Point England £06,000, Pollen Island £180,000, Meola Creek £220,000, Shoal Bay £444,001). The time required to bring the areas to the first stage of development was estimated at Point England two years, Pollen Island six years, Meola Creek eight years, Shoal Bay IS years.