A history of airport wrangles

Press, 25 October 1980, Page 15

A history of airport wrangles

By

JOHN WILSON

“It is high time” said the Mayor, "for the question of the future control of Harewood to be taken up with the Government.” Read “Christchurch Airport” for “Harewood” and the speaker could be Mr Hav in 1980. It was, in fact, Mr R. M. Macfarlane, speaking at a Christchurch City Council meeting in December, 1950. The rea* son for his annoyance was that, even though the Town Clerk had conferred with officials of the Civil Aviation Branch of the Air Department and written to the Minister, the Government had still not met the council’s request for a clear agreement on the future distribution of profits, sharing of losses and fixing of landing charges for the airport. There is nothing new about ill-feeling and hard words between Christchurch and Wellington over the airport and this is not the first generation of people in Christchurch who have felt aggrieved because of lack of interest, or worse, by the Government of the day towards the development at ■what was Harewood and is now Christchurch Airoort. The origins of Christchurch Airport go back to the mid-1930s when the Government, abruptly and with scant regard for Christchurch’s interests, some thought, decided that Wigram. then the city’s only proper Airfield,

should be reserved for military purposes. . This Government decision turned out to be, in the long run, a blessing in disguise. It forced the City Council to look elsewhere for a site for a new municipal airport, and the city engineer, Mr A. R. Galbraith, persuaded the council to buy land at Harewood from the Waimakariri River Trust. Some councillors wanted to develop the Estuary as a seaplane and flying boat base and others to' see a. new airfield built on sand dunes at Wainoni. When the airport was first designed, a grassed

area half a mile in diame- - ter was regarded as a first-class aerodrome anywhere in the world. By l ’September, 1939, the new airfield, with its singles to r e y administration building and radio masts, was ready for use. It was officially opened in May, 1940. , U U 1 The war which broke out as the airfield was completed gave it its first major boost. Between 1939 and 1945 the airport acquired hangars, barracks and other buildings, as a centre for training airmen. Two years after the war’s end, in July 1947, the representatives of 37 different bodies met and set up the Harewood Overseas Air Terminal Committee. This committee agitated for three years to persuade the

Government to designate Harewood the overseas air terminal for the South Island. The goal was achieved in December, 1950, when, at the time of the Canterbury Centenary, the Prime Minister, Mr (later Sir Sidney) Holland dedicated Harewood as an international airport. Work had begun in November, 1949, on levelling the extensions needed to allow the airport to accommodate international airliners. Over, the next three years the runways were sealed, provided with gravel over-runs •. and later with sealed taxi-ing strips. It was at - this time, prodded by the

council of the d'ay, that the Government agreed to - the 50/50 arrangement which governs Christchurch Airport’s financing and development to this day. The first- direct -commercial flights from overseas landed {at Harewood on December 18, 1950, in . time : for the dedication of the airport as an international terminal. (At this time, Wellington and Auckland were linked to Sydney by Solent flying boat services.) But immediately after the dedication, Christchurch had. for the time being, as “Tha

Press” observed somewhat tartly, an international airport without international services. “The Press’ urged that the Government, having at last redeemed its promise to press on with the development of the airport, should give Christchurch its link with Australia as soon as the runways were readv; This was in fact done. June, 1951. saw the inauguration of regular services between Christchurch , and Melbourne. For a' regular service to Sydney, Christchurch waited another three years, until June, 1954. (At that time, by the way, Auck-

land and San Francisco were separated by 26 flying hours ' and the quickest journey by air to London took “only” three davs and a quarter!) Still Christchurch had to push the interests of its airport: In- September, 1953. a deputation from Christchurch had to wait on the Minister in Charge of Civil Aviation to ask the Government to declare the extension of the runwavs a “work of national and local importance” and •to come to a quick agreement about how the work was to be financed. The developments and improvements necessary for the air race, towards

the end. of 1953, were completed on time. On the eve of the race, the Harewood Overseas Air Terminal Committee decided to disband, noting as it did so that there was still a need for improved terminal facilities.

Two vears later, in May, 1955, the City Council found it necessary to send ah emphatic protest to the Prime Minister and the Minister in Charge of Civil Aviation about the delays in erecting a proper terminal building. With the building of the terminal which became the nucleus of the present building (opened in February, 1960) and the extensions to the main runway in the early 1960 s so that the airport could accommodate jet aircraft. Christchurch Airport assumed an appearance familiar enough 20 years later, although the battles to secure permission from the Government for necessary improvements and developments were far from over.

Although it has been largely a matter of official delegations and protests, there have been some determined and resourceful individual efforts in the long struggle to ensure that Christchurch has an adequate airport. Thus.,, on the first commercial flight from Christchurch to Melbourne (on December 20, 1950) there was a Mr A. J. Scott, ac-

companied by his family. Three years earlier, Mr Scott, determined to demonstrate that Harewood was suitable for a transTasman service, tried to charter a plane from the Australian National Airwavs for a proving flight. He’was, typically, unable to obtain permission from Wellington for the flight. Nearlv 20 years later, in 1968. Wellington refused to grant an import licence for a baggage carousel at the Christchurch terminal. Tn a response which was described as “typical of the City Council’s our to’keep Christchurch airnort as up-to-date, and efficient as possible” a carousel was designed and built locally. It was a fitting gesture of defiance towards an unsympathetic government. When Mr Holland dedicated Harewood as an international airport tn December, 1950, he declared grandiloquently: “Todav we end the isolation of the South Island.” With Christchurch still having to battle to have the airport it feels it needs to maintain proper links with the outside world, Mr Holland was perhaps being a little premature. Perhaps, too, the members of. the Harewood Overseas Air Terminal Committee acted a little hastily in 1953 when they decided to disband, feeling that most of their work was done. |