TRANS-TASMAN AIRWAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 47, 24 August 1939, Page 8

TRANS-TASMAN AIRWAY

WELLINGTON'S CLAIMS

ALTERNATIVE BASE

HARBOUR BOARD ACTION

The necessity of an alternative base . for the trans-Tasman air service and i the suitability of Wellington Harbour. .. for the purpose were stressed by mem-| : bers of the Wellington Harbour Board j i at the meeting of the board last even- j , ing, and it was decided to draw the j . attention of the Government to the ( advantages Port Nicholson offers. In ■ the course .of discussion, the chairman of the board...(Mr. M. A. Eliott) said that taking fog and wind into account, Auckland had 35 more hazardous days 1 each year than Wellington. Both ports (' ; were suitable as bases, and one should ' not be left. V ; The matter was raised by Mr, T. :R. Barrer, who asked wnether any • reply had been received from the) '. authorities regarding the establishment ! ; of the flying-boat terminal. \ The chairman said no reply had been \ received. The position was being in- ' vestigated, and the evidence placed before the authorities by a deputation ; from the Wellington City Council, the ! Harbour Board, and the Chamber of 'Commerce was being examined. ROUGH AT AUCKLAND. Mr. C. H. Chapman, M.P., said that one was led to believe that Auckland I Harbour was always placid and calm, J compared with Wellington Harbour. He read a report of an accident at Auck« [land involving H.M.S. Achilles andi JH.M.S. Leander, the cause of the acciJ dent, being "a strong wind and choppy sea." (Loud laughter.) "I thought it, was worth while reminding the board i that Wellington has not got a mono- j poly of strong winds and choppy seas." j i said Mr. Chapman. I j Mr. Barrer said that it was not a case of making invidious distinctions ■ I between Auckland and Wellington but two incidents had happened which ; indicated that the statements made by authorities about the tranquillity of the Waitemata could not be borne j out in fact. Not only had they heard of vessels suffering from strong winds, but the harbour had been blanketed in fog, and launches had had difficulty in finding vessels in Rangitoto channel. A Government official had pointed out that an airship could not remain aloft if the wind was so strong that it could not land, but the same argument was applicable in the case of fog such as had been described in recent newspaper reports. Wellington could give alternative bases in the Sounds or Nelson, if necessary, but | Auckland's alternative base, as suggested by Aucklanders, was the Bay of Islands. In view of all the circumstances, and particularly in view of the unsettled state of Europe, it was desirable that there should be 'an alternative base. As far as the ratio of landing chances was • concerned, Wellington was superior to Auckland. . "CONFOUNDED THE CRITICS." Mr. W. Appleton said that they had been told by so-called experts that Rongotai would never be an aerodrome, but the City Council . went ahead and developed Rongotai, which was now handling practically as much traffic as all the other aerodromes in j New Zealand put together. Rongotai \ j had absolutely confounded the critics. Sometimes aircraft had had to return to Rongotai because they could not land elsewhere. The development of Evans Bay as a base for flying-boats j must be placed in the same category as Rongotai. He thought the board should take the initiative and impress on the Government the necessity of making an alternative base at Wellington. The extra cost in handling mails from Auckland was over £30,000 a year, compared with a Wellington • base. It had been suggested that ' when the Exhibition was finished it would be necessary to remove dwell- , ings and take a strip of land be- | tween Rongotai and Evans Bay, and j the suggestion had been made that | the Exhibition buildings and the Exhibition Hotel could be used temporarily to house the people. "We j should not let the matter rest," he j said. "The time will be open to go on with Evans Bay when the Exhibition is finished." Mr. G. London said the point Was, was there a sufficient margin of safety on Wellington Harbour? FOG IN AUCKLAND. Mr. Eliott said that evidence had been placed before the authorities regarding the number of days on which the harbours could be used. It was not .a question of Auckland versus Wellington, for both places were suitable. One should not be picked out and the other left. The evidence had' shown that. Wellington had 57 days of gales compared with Auckland's 31, but on the other hand the days of fog and poor visibility in Wellington were 16, and in Auckland 77. Taking the two factors together, Auckland had 35 days which were more hazardous than Wellington had. The figures dealt with gales from all directions, but a great many of Wellington's gales were southerlies and did not. affect Evans Bay. Wellington was much better situated for the distribution of mails and passengers, half the population of New Zealand being within 200 miles of the city. Aircraft had developed, and were not affected by the weather as they had been. The Aotearoa was a much superior craft than the Centaurus Dealing with alternative landings, he [said that the Sydney-Auckland route ! was 1130 miles, with 30 miles over land, and the Sydney-Wellington 1070 [ miles, with 130 miles in Cook Strait. In the Cook Strait area there were several landing places. Mr. Barrer moved that steps be taken to put the board's views before the Government. This was seconded by Mr. J. O. { Johnson and carried. '