ESSENDON, MELBOURNE’S AIRPORT, GREW SLOWLY

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27397, 9 July 1954, Page 6

ESSENDON, MELBOURNE’S AIRPORT, GREW SLOWLY

Esesendon airport, less than eight miles from the centre of Melbourne is well-known to New Zealanders who have flown between Christchurch and Melbourne in the last three years. The open fire that burns in the cosy waiting room of its overseas terminal has cheered many of them Today Essendon has two runways 5600 feet and 5000 feet long and navigational facilities almost identical with its more important neighbour, Kingsford Smith airport at Mascot, Sydney, but the story of its development has been a chequered one.

Formal notice of the purchase by the Commonwealth of 91 acres of land at North Essendon, known locally as St. Johns, was published in the Commonwealth Gazette on August 11, 1921. This notice ended a controversy on whether the site for Melbourne’s airport should be Essendon or at Fishermen’s Bend on the lower reaches of the Yarra river.

Just how gradual was Essendon’s development in the early days has lately been unearthed by Mr Douglas N. Gillison, public relations officer of the Australian Department of Civil Aviation in Melbourne. In 1922 the then Controller of Civil Aviation, Colonel Horace Brinsmead, recommended the expenditure of £5OO “as numerous complaints had been received .... regarding the difficulty of (ground) access during the wet weather.” In that year too there was a formal requisition for £6 for “destruction of a wery considerable growth of thistles” on the aerodrome. There were also complaints from the first users of the aerodrome, notably the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company, about the handicaps they were under due to lack of light and power and the increasing difficulty of keeping “curious people” off the aerodrome. Tight Budget Such was the civil aviation budget of those days that a monthly charge of £2O for the provision of power and light by the Electricity Commissioners of Victoria was regarded as excessive. Approval was given for the installation of a plant equipped with a small petrol engine until the electric mains

came within a reasonable distance of the aerodrome.

In anticipation of a demonstration by D.H. 53’s in September, 1924 action was taken to fill in holes “where water has collected,” cut thistles and erect a wind indicator. In 1926 the surface of the aerodrome was officially reported to be “too uneven for the operation of Moth machines.” A four-horse team and driver was hired at the rate of £2 10s for an eight-hour day to make the position good. Pioneers of aviation like Sir Alan Cobham, Miss Amy Johnson and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith all used the grassed, wind-swept old aerodrome. Their navigation and landing aids were few. But as the aviation industry expanded so did Essendon aerodrome In 1935 another 91 acres of ground was acquired. By 1938 there were eight hangars on the airport, but it was not until that year that the construction of modern runways began. On February 14, 1950, the Federal Cabinet formally declared Melbourne an international airport in anticipation of the inauguration of the MelbourneChristchurch service on June 28, 1951. Close on 200 double-crossings of the Tasman between Christchurch and Melbourne have since been made by aircraft either operated by or under charter to Tasman Empire Airways Limited. Busy Airport Last year 52,339 aircraft movements were handled by air traffic control at Essendon—only 757 fewer than Sydney. Flying on regular air services 48,331 aircraft either arrived at Essendon or took off from the airport during the same period. Navigational facilities are identical with those at Sydney except that there is no twin locator approach system. There is a visual-aural range, a Homer or non-directional beacon, a responder beacon, and tower area and approach control. A localiser system is in operation on the instrument runway. The Calvert cross-bar high intensity approach lighting system is now in full operation.