CORRESPONDENCE.

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 38, 27 February 1930, Page 12

CORRESPONDENCE.

BE GEAB ISLANT>

Sir, —The recent decision of the Hutt River Board to reject the tender of the Wellington Aero Club for,a lease of a portipn of Gear Island containing approximately" only 43 acre& for a period of ten years, and its acceptance of the five year tenders of the Shandon Golf Club and Mr. A. Lee for approximately 103 acres at a totalloss of £810 (exclusive of the estimated expenditure by the Aero Club of £1500 upon permanent improvements), is viewed with considerable perturbation by a large number of the ratepayers who contribute to the revenue of the Board.

The rejection of the joint tenders of the G-olf and Aero Climbs at a i-ental of £762 perj annum for the ten years .periods tendered for,' together with the estimated expenditure by the two Cluibs of £2500 upon impTov'ements which would ultimately belong to the ratepayers, shows a definite loss of £4120.

From the point of view of revenue—• a vital considerationj I submit —on what grounds, may I ask, are those members of the Board who voted for the' rejection of the Aero Club's tender justified in assuming, as is apparent, tSaat, at. the expiration of the existing leases, the revenue derived from! the renewals thereof will restore* -to the ratepayers the loss of £4120 involved in their recent decision?

Prprn press reports of the proceedings of the Board, it would appear that.t&e objection of some of the members of the Board to the Aero Club's tender ia the creation of imminent dangers and noises objectionable to thejresidents adjoining Gear island. It is a significant fact, that, during the whole of the negotiations by t»he Aero CJlmb, none of these residents have puiblicly voiced a«y objections on the3e grounds to the aeeeptance of the Aero Clulb's tender. The members', who sustain this objection have not, to the knowledge of the writer, any experience in aviation, nor do they appear to have received any expert advice as to the probability of the dangers to which they Tefer. On this important point, might I suggest that they confer with accredited experts and inthis connection I wojuld suggest Wing-Commander Grant-Dalton, t2xe Director of Air Services.

Z understand that.-the expert opinion' received by the Aero Club is unanimous that Gear Island is one of the most suitable localities for the establishment of an aerodrome and that the probabilities of dangeT (either to avia--tOT3 or to the public) ar.e much legs •than is the case with a number of other aerodromes in different parts of the Dominion. •. . ; I 3 j Ff^ When one confidently visualises the increasing utilisation of air trans-port throughout the whole of the Dominion in the very near ftrfrcTe, it is inconceivable' for the writer to imagine how those members of the Board, who refused the tender of the Aero Club on t&e grounds of danger, can base their decision, as the probabilities of danger to the residents adjoining Gear Island cannot be more real by the existence or non-existence of an aerodrome,thereon. Any possibility, of danger from those members of the Club'who may be receiving their instruction in the vicinity of Gear Island would, as tire-ma-chines , used for instructing intending •pilots are fitted wit-h the latest safety devices and are actually under the control of the Instructor (who is an expert pilot), be rendered, extremely remote. In view of the present efficiency of the modern aero engine combined with the slotted wing device and the other safety improvements and the better facilities existent on Gear Island, T understand that t&e Director of Air SOTviees does not consider, the establishment of emergency landing grounds necessary. From recent press Teports, it is evident that the Director of air serr vices is favourably impressed with .tJi© suitability of Gear Island as a training1 ground.for pilots.

Another objection to the granting of a lease to the Aero Club woildappear to be the leasing "of t»he island to a club "whose * members" aTe alleged to. be exclusive. I would point out that all classes of -the public are eligible as members and that the annual subscription is only £2/2-for a non-flying* member and £3/3/- for a flying member. Such a subscription should not debar any person from joining the Aero Club, as many of our tennjs and other sports

clubs impose subscriptions of similar, if not higieryamoumts. It is unfortunate that such an.opinion should have been created and persisted in by those members of the Board who put it forward as an objection to accepting the Aero Club's tender..

By the refusal of the Board to accept <t*he tender of the Aero Club, the Hutt Valley has been deprived of the establishment, free of cost to the ratepayers, of an aerodrome, the necessity for which is being recognised throughout the Dominion as a matter of vital impknrtance to the progress of transport. Every municipality in New Zealand has recently been authorised by the State to establish, aerodromes and to expend moneys thereon, and in this connection the- apparent indifference of our otherwise progressive Borough. Councillors is. .'ft matter, of no little surprise to me The importance of Commercial Aviation in New Zealand has been stressed by the Minister of Transport, t&e Honourable W. A. Veitch, who recently stated: "I am of the opinion that Commercial Aviation must develop into an important branch of the world's transport and this form of transport should develop *-«ry rapidly in New Zealand. It behoves avery progressive district to provide landing grounds etc., and thoi* t&at do not will soon realise that they are not only behind the times, but are losing business, No Government can afford to ignore the modern form of transport, which include aviation.'' I submit, therefore, that the above expression of opinion by the Minister for Transport should be weighed very carefully by tke members of the Board particularly, in view of the fact that the Valley has its officially recognised industrial area, providing facilities for the encouragement of manufactories, and that the establishment of an aerodrome accessible to the industrial area is of great importance to t2ie Valley as an industrial centre. It was recently reported that General Motors had assumed control of a large aviation factory in America and it is understood that within a veiy short time the local factory will be assembling planes to be used in the establishment of commercial air-ways in New Zealand.

Owing, perhaps, to New Zealand's distance from the world's centres, it.is not such a difficult matter to understand tthe apparent lack of appreciation of the importance of aviation as an essential service to the community. In a recent issue of "The New Zealand Herald" the views of SiT Alan Cobham are expressed as follows: **I have come to the conclusion that until every town and village in the British Isles has it 3 oiwn aerodrome and it is possible for one to fly from anywhere to anywhere in a straight line, aviation could' not prove its utility." It is obvious that in the past, the want of interest in, and the want of facilities for civil

aviation are responsible for New Zealand's lack of progress in the air.

• It -would appear that in'•the' past, certain members of the Eiver Board Jtave regarded aviation purelyas the sport of young gentlemen "with.. more money and daring than sense and have failed to realise the seriousness of the problem. ■ ' .

When one considers' that a borough like Blenheim has been able to esta'b-

lish. and maintain an aerodrome, tlie Hutt Valley wthich^ has been looked upon as one of the most progressive districts in New Zealand, oiitsdde the four main cities, certainly appears to be taking a re-actionary and retrograde *tcp in refusing to Teeognise the necessity for an aerodrome. The. matter is ©lie of considerable moment, particularly in view of the fact that the.only suitable and convenient ground available in the Hutt Valley is Gear Inland under the control of the Biver Board. If the members of ttae Board do not allow i;he establishment of an aerodrome in the Hutt Valley by tying up G-eax Island in leases to: a Golf Club And a farmer, and thereby f«ree tl* Aero Cluib to look elseiwhere for suitalble grounds (as it was pointed out i» the "Dominion" on the 20th" instant/ the Eongotai will not always serve Wellington's needs), Hhe Hutt Valley will be years behind many of the other municipalities in the establishment of aerodromes, and as th« Minister, of Transport significantly points out "w« will then- realise that we are not only behind the times, but we are losing business.."

The last objection to tfce Aero Club's tender to which I shall refer is that some memibers of the River Board iroiiid seem to consider that the Aero Cluib desires to monopolise Gear Island;. How this idea ever became current and can be persisted in is beyond the comprehension of t-he writer, as the Aero Cl<u!b tendered for 43 acres only, leaving: by far the greater portion of Gear Island available for the use of other sports clubs, none of which, it is pertinent to podnt out, have in the recent past, to the knowledge of the writer, ever put in a tender for Gear Island. Surely, therefore, if tihere has been no tangible-tiemand for Gear Island from the other sports bodies, the members of the River Board, apart' altogether-' from the question of the importance of establishing a'civil aerodrome and the matter of the rental to be obtained from the Aero Climb's lease as a contribution towards a decrease in,the rates, should favourably consider" assisting a club which is not only- not a money making concern but also one whose objects have the Government's recognition in terms of national defence.—l

am etc.,

O. R, BARRETT, LoweT Hutt, February 21, 1930.