REGARDING ABANDONMENT OF AIR PORT—IS IT A TRAGEDY?

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 22 April 1935, Page 6

REGARDING ABANDONMENT OF AIR PORT—IS IT A TRAGEDY?

(To the Editor.) Sir, —We have read your leader on the above subject with some alarm, and wo trust you will give us the opportunity of replying to some of your illogical remarks. We are alarmed at the prospect of the public of Hawera thinking the officials of the Hawera Aero Club are, as you appear to make them, such unwise people and fools at that. It is evident that you have not had the true facts before you when you wrote your leader and/or ignored the already published statements of the aero club in your own newspaper. The Hawera Aero Club hah for some months endeavoured to tell the Hawera Borough Council that commercial aviation is definitely coming to New Zealand. A few days ago a one-hour service started between Napier and Gisborne; on the same day SquadronLeader McGregor left for London to purchase passenger machines for the Union Air Lines service from Palmerston North to Dunedin, and last Monday six passenger machines left Los Angeles for a New Zealand commercial service. Yet somp people still look at aviation with gaping incredulity. We admit frankly that New Zealand is 10 years behind the wmrld in aviation, but wo deplore the inference that public opinion in Hawera is 10 years behind that. Surely not, Mr. Editor! If commercial air traffic is coming through Hawera is it not reasonable to make provision for it? It certainly will not stop should there be no facilities. Other towns besides New Plymouth and Wanganui are striving every nerve to provide air ports and get ready in time, and borough councils are expending large sums of money to this end. Why should we not do so as well? One of us was heartbro'ken the other day. Now we are crying at your fatuous remarks; particularly as they contradict your leader of December. 18 last. After months of negotiations, the Hawera Aero Club makes a definite offer to the Hawera Borough -Council five or six weeks ago. The council was told that the land under consideration could not remain under offer indefinitely and the borough council apparently did not wish to face up to the situation. The Hawera Aero Club is financially one of the strongest aero clubs in New Zealand, and it is not likely to enter into any engagement that it cannot carry out. Its financial record should indicate that, even to the most critical. Tlic club claims that its scheme (details of which you published months ago) was sound. The club’s recorcT surely entitles its views on aviation to be regarded with respect. The club has asked the borough council plainly and without any technical or academic reservations if it were prepared to assist in a plan to promote an air port for Hawera. The borough council has evaded the issue. It lias done everything except get down to practical consideration of the fact that unless Hawera seized the opportunity it wmuld slip into a back-water as far as aviation is concerned. The Hawera Aero Club exists to train pilots—not to provide a municipal air port, Because of its financial strength and public spiritedness it offered to do both. It prepared its scheme m the light of advice given by men well qualified, firstly to advise on aviation, and secondly the practical farming of the area in order to provide the necessary income to meet its obligations. In spite of these things, all of which the borough council well knew, the council persisted in its hesitant timidity The essence of the affair, as far as the aero club is concerned, was to save the local bodies a very laTgc expenditure of money. What does it matter whether the proposed air port did not pay for itself out of revenue derived from air traffic for some time to come? The aero club’s scheme provided for that and up to 10 years and beyond had. provided for the success and gradual development of the air port. Are you so dense that you cannot appreciate that? The aero club well knows, a's everyone else know*, that commercial aircraft will not call here unless Hawera has a first-class landing ground, and the land in ques-

tion provides for this as well as having the advantage of being very near to the town. So -why labour the question any more? This club has spent many, many months in endeavouring to see that Hawera has a landing ground at least equal to Stratford, Wanganui and New Plymouth, and our civic pride would make it even better than these. It is no fault of ours that the borough council should not see the matter in the same light. We have done all wo know to put Hawera on the aviation map of New Zealand, but in view' of the weakness of the borough council we feel that no good purpose will be served by pursuing the subject further. If Haw'era finds later on it needs an air port that w'ill be a matter for the borough council. The Hawera Aero Club has been prepared to sink all its assets, some four times the amount asked from ‘the borough council (and the council’s contribution w'as to be spread over 10 years at that) and so we feel "we have done our best. We cannot and ’ will not spend another moment’s thought on the matter. In point of fact we have been heartbroken over the attitude of the council, w r e have cried over your obviously one-sided leader, and now we are going to join in with the Alpine Club and toboggan quietly out of the scene.—• We are, etc., ■ THE HAWESA AERO CLUB (Inc.). W. F. BUIST, President! [This letter is the subject of editorial reference to-day.}