NEW AERODROME

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 129, 17 June 1937, Page 8

NEW AERODROME

-Prrti Aasoci&tion.)

. Land to be Taken from Five Owners PREPARATORY WORK

(Bt Telttrrapb-

PALMERSTON, N„ This Pay. j* Ky® owners of land at Ohakea fcove been waitod upon and inform- • «d that it is the intention of the Publlc Works Department to take over ihe wholo or portion of their properties for the purpose of con■tructing a Royal Kew ZeaKmd Air For ea station on an area covering 486 acres. The owners eoneern&d ara: — : Acres Mr, F. O, Batley ........ 166 Miss J. Bailey .. .. 45 Mr. A. C. Vile .. .. .. .. 103 VI1V. so Mrs. D, M , Graham 82 ■ Yofcal , . .. 4, .. .. 480 Jhiring tho next or six weeks surWyors will bo engaged in making a oeaprehonsivo inspeetion of the land in order that the autho'rities can be placed fn powession of information that will •nable thean to draw up detajled .plans. f4 the proposed eatablishment. Mr. E. v/. Lee, a Public Works Department jengineer who has been eonnected with the project for some time, is at present jat Sanson making further arrangamentsJfor the putting in hancl of the scheme. Yesterday he told a reporter that it hvould not be possible , to . give any jdetaals of what was intended- until this preUminary work had been completed. JPh* previous survey was not thorough •nough to fulfil what was now wanted. The present intention was to ascertain •wlat operations would be involved in levelling, and it is understood that *, the jwork will most probably be let by coaJfcaet. K is expected that about three yeara pill be occupied in developing the frmdertelring to its full extent and that jeventually there will be a settlement of p 00 persons, mee, women and children, eonnected with the aerodrome. Two big jfeangars will be built for the housing of jthe machinei and about 32 houses erectformmg a small township. The reasons for pxeference for the lOhakea site as against that at Camarpron have not been clisclosed, but it is (nnderstood that the authorities are con* pineed that less draining will be Tejquired on the chosen area than would pave been the case at Carnarvon, thu» peducing formation costs considerably. The xole that the new military aerojflrome will play in the defence of New JJealand lias not been stated definit©ly# fcut when the Minister of Defence, Hon, fc*. Jones, mentioned the equipment of pew defence aerodromes in the course statement on air force expansion past MaTch he said it would be necesjsary to prepare and equip now aero* jdromes for three squadrons, and the iWork of providing the accommodation iwould take from 18 months to two years. Hobsonville, which in the past had filled the dual Tole of oporational itation and repair base, would be organised as a repair centre, and Wigram would be developed as a flying school' to train pilots. From this it can be assumed that the kew station will be of first xate importimce, eclipsing as a fighting nnit the ieostly establishment developed at Hob* •onville on the shores of the Waitemata harbour a few miles from Auckland. 1 I