AUSTRALIA’S AIR PORTS

Hokitika Guardian, 24 November 1928, Page 6

AUSTRALIA’S AIR PORTS

LIVELY INTEREST iN AVIATION SYDNEY, November 16.

. With its own Aero Club, landing ground, and the prospect ol sea ’planes as well as land ’planes, with talk now of a. daily service of flying boats linking it up with Sydney and with Brisbane, and with the proposals of Air-Marshal Sir John Salmond, the great northern city of Newcastle, proudly termed Australia’s Birmingham, is destined to play quite a big part in air development in the Commonwealth.

That it is not a big air port to-da.v is a tardy act of justice to Newcastle*, and a commentary on Australia’s air policy, especially since it is possible to get to it by air in an hour from Sydney. However, if Sir John Salmond is listened to, there are going to be some very drastic changes in Australia' air communications, alike lor war and the conquests of peace. 1 nder Sir John Salmond’s scheme Australia’s coastal reconnaissance flights will be at Point Cook and at Lake Macquarie. Hie latter covers both Sydney and Newcastle, which will also be along the line of one of Australia’s most important strategic air routes, from Perth through the coastal cities to Brisbane. Australia appears at last to be awakening from its slumbers so far as air matters are concerned. The strong fear that it would not he represented at the great air conference at Washington next month has now been dissipated bv the appointment, as Australia’s delegates, of the Controller of Civil Aviation (Colonel Brinsmead) and the president of the New South Wales Aero Club (Captain Geoffrey Hughes), the latter of whom has done more for the aero club movement in the Commonwealth than any other man.