BEACONS TO BE MAIN 'DROME FOR NAPIER

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 147, 9 July 1937, Page 13

BEACONS TO BE MAIN 'DROME FOR NAPIER

Board's Decision B0R0UGH CRITICISM RESENTED Money "Wasted" 011 Embanfement Area "COUNCIL SPENT IT" The development as the main aerodrome for Napier of the Beations, or emergency landing-fleld, was decided ttpon hy a special meeting of the Napier Airport Board last evening. The board decided to request the Napier Borough Oouncil to provide the Uecessary finance to have hangars and other equipment shifted from the Napier aerodronie to the Beacons site at Westshore aiid aflso for a complete survey of ihe area and the prepatation Of a lay-OUt for an up-to-date airport. Immediate negotiations will be entered intO with the Napier Harbour Board and the Small Fanns Board for the acquisition of a lease or the freehold of the Beacons area. Members of the board expressed resentment at the attitude adopted by the council at the last meeting in criticising the delay in the choice of a site for Napier 's airport and the waste of money in the development of an aerodrome that is now not likely to be the main one for the town. Sitting in camera at the end of the meeting, the board discussed whether it would bo advisable to fiiaintain two aetodromes. At the meeting Mr T. W. Hercock presided over Messrs C. 0. Morse, T. t\ Husheer, A. Wright, £. E. Corrington, N. F. Harston, and F. J. Annan. ' ' The idea of this meeting, ' ' said the chairnlan, "is to clear up the little dust-up and the remarks made about the town, and to get down to tin-tacks. At the last meeting Mr Moi'se gave notice of motion that we should give definite adviee to the council that the Beacons aerodrome should be approved as the main aerodrome for the Napier airport. I think we coul-l deal with that now and clear the matter up.;; In moving tlia motion, Mr Morse conunented: "From observations, and from the fact that the people uslng the 'drome say that the site is ideal, conditions prevail there that leave one course open to us, and we are baeked in that by the Ooehrane report." On the Beacons site, he added, an aerodrome tfi service all classes of maehines could be established. There provision could be made for proper i ilways that were possibly not avaiia.j'e at the Embankment aerOcfrome. The motion was seeonded by Mr Annan and carried unanimously. To the resolution was added a request to arrange for a lease or a freeiiold, as desired, of the area known as the Beacons aerodrome. It was deeided that the board should meet the finance eommittee of the council to piace before it all facts relevant to the matter.

Council Bouglit the .Dromo "As my board has been taken to task to a Certain extent, I am iaking this opportunity of putting the ease as it appears to me,'' said Mr Hercock. "Mention was made of the fact that an error of judgment is apparfent in tho selection of a site for the aerodrome and, while admitting this to bii th case, may I ask were eoUnCillOrs aware that the Beacons ofi'fered the facilities at the time the main aerodrome was fii'st considered Or, in fact, weie they aware that such a piece of land was actually in existence? Assuming that they did, will they offer an explanation as to why they agreed to a lehse being obtained from the Harbour Board? Give them the benefit of the doubt, and I may be pardoned for asking why» now that they know of the existence of a better property, they wish to perpetuate the error by holding a property as „ an aerodrome when something better is available. "Xt is all very fine Und sounds like business to put the blame on sOxhoone's shoulders," he added, "but -just let me point out that the aerodrome was in existence before an Airport Board was formed, so let thein be fair and admit that after taking Ovfer U aead conftern, fium a financial point of view, they were only too pleased to pass on to the Airport Board the burden belonging to the council. "The Airport Board ddes not Own the leaso of the property, nor does it own the buildings; these are the prqperty of tho Borough Council, to which body Ihe AirpOrt Board has to appeal— in fact, beg — fbr any moneys cxpended beyond the littlo roVeUue reeoived frdm East Goast Aifways. The whole matter has been sidestepped c\er since it was apphrent that money was wanted; "Btich reqtteats as ua indieation from a certaih depaftment of its pOssible use of the drome, an estimate of the cost of something else which is not obtainable and an estimate of the f uture income of the Airpot Board were made. Will sdme brainy person tell me where I can obtain an estimate? Even the users refuse to Commxt themselves. They should know if an.vone doCs. ■

"Althongh provision has been made in the regulations for the ways and raeans of obtaining money by the raiBiag c.f a loan, let it be understood that the Borough Council raises that loan, not the Airport Board. In ahy ease, tbe council has not been asked to raise a loan, .so why bring that argumbnt int«x existence 3 Cdttncil Speiit the Money "It was remarked that all tho board laul doiie Avas to spcnil sonio £li0()0. but ! IiiMo agaia 1 (lill'er. Tho council spont most of Ihe money aud passed Ihe onus on to tke board, It has Bees

ao question of a decision. That, howover, if not in the stereotoped form at present, will be immediately remedied. "Here is the point again: While dec.'ding the matter at issue, the Airport Board has no power to arrange a lease or tc purchase, even if it had the money, these being solely matters for the council. "To be perfeetly frank," Mr Hercock declared, "the members of tLe AirpOrt Board have an almost impossible task before them. Practically everything to be done can be done only with the permission of the council and that permission, while not being refused, has been withheld, or the issue has been sidestepped. "Some members of the council may not be aware of the suggested useS td be make of the Embankment area should the Beacons be taken over, but X assure them that the person offering the suggestions — it was not myself— seemed to have the interests of Napier at heart. The proposais would have made the property at least s'elf-support-mg, so that bugbear to the council would have been overcome. I wotfld suggest that a few inquirie3 be made bei'orehand in the event of the coun* cil wishing to pursue the matter. Wliat Has atill to be Done "The members can be aSSUfed of en« lighienmnt and an fexplanation which may — in fact, will— alter their opinions somewhat, even if their memories fail to remind them that about £3000 is re; quired to Temove overhead wires on the Embankment, and that there is stil] no hangar accommodation. " Mr Annan: Why did Mr Barnard write to the paper? The chairman: I don't know; I haven't seen Mr Barnard. " We've kept well out of this thing so far," said Mr Morse, "and let'a keep out of it. We have a definite plan for progress, so let us get ahead with it. " Mr Hercock replied that he felt that, as one side of the question had been ventilated, the other should also find expression. "I think there is something wrong somewhere with all this stirring-up for what we have not done," aaid Mr Annan. "Why should We nded someone to stir us up? I think there is something behind this that we cannot understand. ' ' Mr Morse: As there appears to be an attempt to clear the air, has any member of the board been in communication with Mr Barnard? Mr Wright said that he had been advised by Mr Barnard that he had written a letter that refleeted on him as a member of the board. He had wished to point out that the board was proceeding slowly.

Failure to Notify Council. 1 ' We 've slipped in our failure to notify the council that we intend to go ahead with the Beacons,* ' commented the chairman. "That*® all.'* Minutes of the meeting of March 18 were read, showing that a motion by Messrs Wright and Husheer to have the council advised that the area should be kept was lost because Mr Morse desired a delay in order to confer with the Napier Harbour Board. Mr Morse requested that his explanation should be taken in eommittee. On the suggestion of Mr Morse, names meniaoned in Mr Hercock 's remarks were excised. "The Napier Aero Club aldne is responsible for the fact that Napier has an airport to-day," said Mr Husheer, "Without its foresight and continuous work, I am afraid, Napier would certainly not have had the first licensed air service in New Zealand. "The members raised and epent over £2000, making Napier air-minded and establishing an up-to-date airport for the town, including a large hangar and workshops. We are pleased to say that We had tho complete confidence and gobdwill of the Napier business people and residents behind us. "Without any fmancial support from the Government or any loCal body, this

was accomplished in just three years. The aerodrome site was chosen by recognised experts, Such as Bir Charlcs Kingsford-Smith, Mr IJlm, and mauy others. Teohnioai Advlce. "The ciub," he said, "whenever difficult positions aroSe, referred technical and special problema to those able to jndge and decide them. When the aerodrome was completed the club handed over the whole concern to tho people of Napier, to be oontrolled and further developed by the Napier Airport Board, which body was brought into existence for the purpose by the club, which believed that with the rapid growth of commercial aviation such a board would be abie to deVelop the commercial airport in a niuch shorter tione and in a naore efficient manner. Whether the club was riglit in its assumption or not it is perhaps a little too eariy to judge. "On the Airport Board taking over, the Government decided to improve the surface of the whoie ai'ea, and it was on the expert advice lnade available by the Government that this was done. During this stage an emergency landing-ground had to be provided for the air service, then already well established, and the airline pilots, together with the members of the Aero Club, fouiid & suitable position not pteviously considered on accoUnt of its distance from town. ''Ovdrtures for the iise ef this area were again successfully set in tnotiotl by the c/lub members, an emergency licence Was duly granted, and the air service carried on without interruption. All pilots reported it to be a very satisfactory ground — one, in fact, so safe and good that it was realised that Napier was the possessor of two very hne landing-grounds, each having its own merits. "As had been the custom with the Aero Club, so the board also asked for the highest expert advice the Government could make available as to the suitability of one or both fields. This report of Wing-Commander Cochrane has been in the hands of the board for several months now and has also been published. The commercial valuo of the Beacons aerodrome has been realised, and for that it has been recommended as most suitable. This is borne out by the pilots of the passenger 'planes." No FOgs at Beacons Fog, the most dreaded danger to all pilots, the speaker continued, did not cause difficulty at the Beacons' aerodrome, even when the surrounding countryside was so obscured as to make landing a> most dangerous undertaking. A decision to adopt the Beacons as Napier' s commercial airport would ensure safety and convenience, combined with efficiency. When th© club received Wing-Gom-mander Coclirane's report, now several months old, its repfesentativds on the board had asked for a definite move in the directidii of acquirihg the site, withodt resuits, he said. Reference td the minutes of the time, which had unfortunately not been published,, would' feVeal how the efforts of some of the club members tt> expedita the progress of the board's trust to the people had been ffustrated. "Before closing," Mr Husheer said, "I Would like to mention the thoughtless utterances made at a meeting recently by one who was evidently not conversant with the true facts. They were certainly not inspired to maintain the goodwill and confidence of the public, which the club had created for the board. While on the subject of publicity, I would like to ask Mr Morse how he arrived at the figure of £5000 as published in the papers." At this stage the board Wdnt intd eommittee to discuss the advisability of retaining control of the Embankment aerodronie for the use of smaller maehines in case of a further development of aviation iin the district, The Napier Borough Council, which holds the leaae, is to bo advised of the board's intentions. The question of obtaining an estimate df the coSt of erocting adequate liangars and buildings at the BeaOons was also discussed.