MUSICK SITE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 88, 15 April 1939, Page 7

MUSICK SITE.

RADIO MEMORIAL.

AUCKLAND STATION.

GOVERNMENT DECIDES.

PLANS NOW BEING PREPARED. ! A site for a Mustek memorial radio station for Auckland, has been selected on Tamaki Point, on the eastern side of the Tamaki Estuary, and the construction of buildings and the installation of the necessary equipment will he immediately pushed ahead by the Government. It Ts expected the station will be completed and in full operation next year. Meanwhile provision will bo made for the guidance of ocean aircraft which will be using Auckland as a terminal diuing the latter part of this year. "No better site could have been chosen," said Mr. Harold Gatty, Auckland representative of Pan-American Airways, this morning. "Tamaki Point is ideally situated for the purpose, and a station erected there should be of very great value for the navigation of aeroplanes or flying boats to New Zealand from cither America or Australia. A most desirable feature is that the locality is free from interference by power lines or telegraph lines and is well away from hills or high buildings." Advantages of Site.

There was unanimous agreement among radio experts, he added, in deciding on the site. The terrain of the surrounding land, and the location, at the' head of a' narrow tongiie of land, enclosed on three sides by extensive stretches of water, satisfied all the requirements of an aerial direction station. He indicated that the site had been under consideration since early last year, following the flight to New Zealand of

the late Captain Edwin Musiek and his crew in a Pan-American Airways clipper. For the purposes of that flight and of the tragic venture, a few weeks later a radio shack on the cliff at St. Helier's was in use, but this was purely a temporary arrangement. Numerous sites had been inspected before deciding on that at Tamaki Point. A question which had held up the scheme related to the availability of the necessary land, but the Government had now removed that difficulty.

Preparation of Plans. Inquiries from other sources revealed that the Public Works Department was engaged on the preparation of plans for the buildings and the formation of an access road to link up with the highway at Buckland's Beach. The radio experts of the Post and Telegraph Department, and the Defence Department and civil aviation authorities were co-operating in the scheme. PanAmerican Airways had been consulted as to the benefits which would result to their proposed trans-Pacific service from the operation of the station.

Already a small building has been erected, and it is expected that two further buildings will be included in the scheme. One, which will be the central feature of the memorial project, will be in a commanding position, easily visible by aircraft and shipping approaching Auckland. It will be a conspicuous landmark in clear weather and Avill be a safety beacon in storms and fogs. The type of equipment will be of a most modern type, and probably the receiving and transmitting apparatus will be in separate buildings.

Although a radio station of this kind would have been essential quite apart from its memorial purpose, the fact that it will be dedicated to the memory of Captain Musick and his crew is of special interest, a* the Station will form a

permanent reminder of the pioneering efforts to establish a commercial air route to this Dominion. Meteorological Data. Besides sending oiit direction signals it is expected the station will also provide a weather service for the information of incoming aircraft. A considerable amount of data relating to New Zealand storms and seasonal conditions has been compiled by Pan-American Airways during the past 18 months, and the Government's meteorological office established in Auckland i« also specially designed to serve the needs of future air services.

No dato has yet been fixed for the inauguration of either the Tasman or the trans-Pacific services, but definite advice is expected soon. There are still questions relating to the route from San Francisco to Auckland to-be decided by the Pan-American Company, and exhaustive tests are being carried out with the giant new flying ships which will be used. On the Australia-New Zealand route, to be operated as a part of the Imperial Airways network, it is expected regular flights will be started shortly after the testing of the flying boats now completed or nearing completion.