TRANS-TASMAN AIR SERVICE TERMINUS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 42, 13 November 1936, Page 10

TRANS-TASMAN AIR SERVICE TERMINUS

Wellington Not Suitable

MINISTER GIVES OPINION

OF EXPERTS

"Wellington is not suitable for the purpose,' according Io the reports of tite experts. That is not your fault, but apparently you will have to accept the position. . . The expert advisers of the Government will be pleased to have any information you can put before them to prove that Wellington is the most suitable place for the terminal. . .

To the Government it is not a question of Auckland or Wellington or atty other place, but a question of which is the most suitable from the point of view of the service across the Tasman.” In these words the Postmaster-Gen-eral and Minister of Defence, Hon. F. Jones, replied to a deputation from the ■Wellington Chamber of Commerce, which wailed on him yesterday to urge that 'Wellington should be the New Zealand terminus of the air service across the Tasman Sea, instead of Auckland. The Minister said that advice seemed to show that aeronautically Wellington had disadvantages. Mr. J. T. Martin introduced the deputation, saying the chamber believed that it could show that there were good reasons why the service should run to ■Wellington. Captain S. Holm, saying that the chamber presumed the service would be run with flying boats, said that there were no good landfalls on the direct route to Auckland, but on the way to 'Welliugton the machines would pass south of, but close to, Mount Egmont, and within sight of other high mountains close to Wellington. Cook Strait had an entrance 100 miles wide, and there was land on either side, so that pilots would have an easy landfall. On the coast, especially in the Marlborough Sounds, there were bays aud sounds which could be used for emergency alighting. 'Wellington harbour, however, was large and sheltered, and there would be safe water for alighting in all stages of the weather. Ready to Help Government. Captain Holm asked that members' of the chamber might be allowed to confer with experts advising the Government, or to convey to them information at the disposal of the chamber, so that the business community might help the Government in deciding what was best for the whole of New Zealand. Mr. A. R. Hislop spoke of the advantages of having a central terminus for convenience in distributing mails and passengers. If the flying boats arrived at Wellington three hours would be saved in the distribution of mails' to Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill, compared with distribution from Auckland. He hoped that foreign interests would not influence the Government in establishing a terminus at a point not suitable from all points of view, simply because one centre was to be the terminus of another transocean service to New Zealand. The Government should consider the efficiency of tlic service across the Tasman and arrange so that it would be the best that could be arranged .for New Zealand. Mr. A. Ji Curtis described as safe and roomy the facilities at Wellington, There was no danger of anything untoward happening to the planes in such a large and sheltered harbour, he said. The Wellington Harbour Board, in interviews which had been conducted, had said that it would bo prepared to provide facilities for the reception and dispatch of flying boats. Opinions of Experts. The Minister commended the members of the deputation for their interets in the subject, and assured them that any information the chamber had that would be useful would be welcomed by the expert advisers of the Government. There was no doubt that from one point of view the chamber had made out a good case. Wellington as a distributing centre for mails and passengers would be almost ideal. Conversations with air experts, however, seemed to show that Wellington was not ideal in other ways as a flyiug j boat base. Wellington weather was not always like that of yesterday, and lie was advised that there ' would bo weather in which it would not be possible to use Evans Bay. which he understood was the terminus suggested at Wellington. 'Die surrounding high hills, _it seemed, created a dead area which had the effect of shortening the alighting space and also ere-, ated dangerous eddies and currents which reduced the suitability of the area for commercial flying. Members of the deputation knew the difficulties which had been experienced at Rongotai. They also knew of the money which had been spent there to make the area more suitable for commercial flying, and they also knew that it was proposed to take the top off a nearby hill to reduce the danger of air eddies. "Our experts will be only too pleased tc> receive any information which you think will show that Wellington is a better place for the terminus than Auckland.” said the Minister. “1 don't know that you will bo able to prove that. Seemingly, on the information given, you will not bo able io. Still, we shall l»" prepared 'to hear what you have to say.” The Government was not giving preference to Auckland. The Government was simply trying to make the terminus at the most suitable place. To the Government it did not matter whether the terminus was Auckland, Wellington, Lyttetlon or anywhere else, so long as it was the best place for a service to New Zealand. No Outside Private Influence. The Minister said tlie deputation could rest content that no outside private interests were going to decide for the Government where the terminus was/goin" to lie. 'The Government would decide, on the advice of its experts. He did not think, however. Hint the outside interests which members probably had iu mind would attempt to interfere or influence the Government.

The Government, of course, was seeking outside advice. but no from private sources. Wing Commander A. Hepburn, director of buildings and workshops for the Royal Australian Air Force, had recently been on a world tour in which he had inspected aerodromes and machines in many countries; and the information he had gathered had been made available while he made a tour of New Zealand. Wing Commander the Hon. R. A. Cochrane was at present in New Zealand accredited from the British Air Ministry to advise on aviation matters.

"Wellington is not suitable for the purpose, according to the reports,” said the Minister. "Thai is not your fault, but apparently you will have to accept the position. However, if you can give

any information that will add to your claims that you have put forward today our officers will be pleased to have it. J t seems that the natural surroundings are not suitable and that yon will have to accept that. 1 ain sure you will, if that is the position, for if there is any possible danger you would not want Wellington to be the terminus in spite of that and be preferred to other places which might be more suitable in the interests of the regular and reliable service to New Zealand.”

The Minister said that details of the service had not yet been concluded. Mr. F. G. L. Bertram, who had attended the air mail conference in Welling: ton for Great Britain, was now in London, and would be reporting to the British Government. The Australian and New Zealand Governments had considered reports made to them, and he expected that when the three reports had been considered a statemept would be made in the interests. of the three Governments. The question of where the terminus would be was one to be worked out in the future.

Mr. Hislop said that when the Transport Co-ordination Board was considering air services the experts had advised against Rongotai. Chamber of Commerce members had argued that their opinions were too pessimistic, a contention which had been borne out by the percentage of reliability achieved by the service across Cook Strait. The Minister pointed out that the experts had been speaking of use of the aerodrome by large machines such as those flying between Palmerston North and Dunedin, whereas the records referred to had been established by the smaller machines flying Cook Strait. “SAFEST PLACE IN WORLD" Comment on Minister’s Reply -It looks to me as if Wellington is going to be excluded from being the terminus for the trans-Tasman air service,” said Cr. R. McKeen, M.P., at a meeting of the City Council last night. Cr. McKeen asked the mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, whether he had read the Press reports of the deputation to the Postmaster-General, who apparently had stated that the experts did not consider Wellington a suitable terminal point for the proposed trans-Tasman service

The harbour board, said -Mr. McKeeu, had in its possession reports from experts showing that Evans Bay was the safest place in the. world. In view of the fact that Mr. F. G. D. Bertram was to report, to the British Government on the service, aud also in view of the fact that a report was Io be made to the Australian Government by an official who had visited New Zealand recently, he thought the whole matter was being prejudged. The mayor said that he knew the chamber of commerce was approaching the Postmaster-General, and he gathered from the report of the Minister’s reply that there had been some adverse comment on Evans Bay.

"I rather gathered, however, that the matter was being held over for consideration until Mr. Bertram’s report was presented to the British Government,” added Mr. Hislop. "Be that as it may, I quite agree with Cr. McKeon that we ought to press our own view as strongly as possible.”