During the course of the
Second World War the Royal New Zealand Air Force regularly made use of the Tasman
Empire Airways flying-boats ZK-AMA Aotearoa
and ZK-AMC Awarua to make a number of
maritime patrol flights that searched for enemy surface raiders and checking
unidentified vessels. For these flights the civilian boats were armed with
500lb bombs.
On the 25th of November 1940 the German surface raiders the Orion and the Komet intercepted
the sighted and captured the steamer Holmwood
which was on passage between the Chatham Islands and the Port of Lyttelton.
The 29 crew and passengers were taken off, as well as several hundred live
sheep, after which the Holmwood was sunk by gunfire. When the ship failed to
arrive TEAL’s Short S30 Flying boat Awarua,
under command of Captain W. J. Craig was sent from Auckland to search west of
the Chathams. The aircraft sighted the Chathams but did not land or overfly
them.
In the Aviation
Historical Society of New Zealand Journal of December 2007 J W Best outlined
the development of the Air Force Base and the first visit of an aircraft to the
Chathams.
It could not have been long after this that preparations to get the
base established were started. A temporary jetty, a large motorised refuelling
barge, a launch, and kerosene flare floats, were provided. Two buoys were placed
in Waikato Bay, a small inlet off the lagoon. Petrol (20,000 gallons) and oil
(176 gallons) was stockpiled. Two sighting beacons were installed on land as
night mooring aids. The base was under the supervision of a local resident, Mr
Glennie.
Short S.30 Aotearoa (Capt. J. W. Burgess) left Auckland at 2:30 am on
29 April 1941 to undertake a reconnaissance flight around the Chathams. The
flying boat searched some 15,000 square miles without incident then landed in
Te Whanga lagoon at 11:19 am. Burgess was taken by launch to the refuelling
barge. Only 44 gallons of petrol were taken aboard the S.30 "in ...
accordance with instructions" Burgess reported. (This first visit by an
aircraft was probably made primarily to test the facilities and equipment at
the newly established mooring.) Burgess and his crew stayed less than 1 hour 30
minutes at the Chathams. The S.30 took off at 12:45 pm and arrived at Lyttelton
at 4:36 pm. They flew back to Auckland next day (30 April), arriving at 3:55
pm.
 |
| A war-time visitor, TEAL's Short S30 Empire ZK-AMA, Aotearoa, was the first aircraft to visit the Chatham Islands on the 29th of April 1941. |
Following
the Second World War the RNZAF made numerous flights to the Chathams and in
1949 the National Airways Corporation tried to establish an air service to the
Chathams using their Short Sunderland flying boats. The early hopes for the NAC’s
service did not eventuate and NAC’s early involvement in the Chathams ended early
in 1950 when it retired its Sunderlands.
In
1949 TEAL added four Mark IV Short S45A Solent flying boats to its fleet.
ZK-AML, Aotearoa II, arrived on the 7th of December 1949, ZK-AMM, Ararangi, on the 29th of September
1949, ZK-AMN, Awatere, on the 23rd of October 1949
and ZK-AMO, Aranui, on the 30th of November 1949.
A fifth Mark III Solent ZK-AMQ Aparima was
delivered a couple of years later on the 15th of September 1951. The
Flight International magazine issue
for the 29th of September 1949 described the Solents as having passenger accommodation for 30 to 44
passengers with a crew of seven. With a payload of 17,124 lb, including 44
passengers, luggage, mail and freight, it has a range of 1,450 miles, cruising
at 200 mph at 10,000ft.
On 1950 the
Minister of Civil Aviation approved of Tasman Empire Airways introducing an air service between Wellington and the Chatham Islands. It was
envisaged that six return flights per year would be flown and that if the
Company felt that sufficient traffic were offering, additional services might
be arranged during the summer and the Canterbury Centennial Celebrations.
Approval was given for the Company to be subsidised up to £75 per return trip,
the payment to be reviewed after four return trips had been flown. The
Government thought TEAL’s service could be tied in with TEAL’s plans for its Wellington
to Sydney service saving the cost of positioning an aircraft from Auckland as
NAC had done.
TEAL introduced its thrice weekly service from Wellington’s
Evans Bay to Sydney on the 3rd of October 1950. In support of this service
a flying boat base was established at the sheltered western end of Evans Bay
beneath Hataitai Point and terminal facilities for the flying boat operation
were built. This was also to become the departure point for TEAL’s service to
the Chatham Islands. In
the event TEAL found it necessary to position a Solent from Auckland to Wellington
for the Chathams’ service rather than use the aircraft that operated the Sydney
service. This was due to the heavy volume of traffic on the Wellington-Sydney
service, the necessity for the aircraft to carry on to Auckland for maintenance,
and the upset to the Sydney schedule if the Chathams service was operated.
TEAL
set the schedule for the first Chatham Island flight as follows;
Depart
Auckland 0330 hours
Arrive
Wellington 0530
Depart
Wellington 0700
Arrive
Chathams 0945
Depart
Chathams 1245
Arrive
Wellington 1530
Depart
Wellington 1730
Arrive
Auckland 1930
The first flight of the bi-monthly
service was flown by Solent ZK-AMM, Ararangi
under the command of Captain Cliff Le Couteur on the 15th of
December 1950. It carried a full load of 48 passengers from Evans Bay to Te
Whanga lagoon including children returning home for the Christmas holidays. It returned
to Wellington the same day check with 17 passengers.
 |
| Short S45 Solent ZK-AMM inaugurated the regular service between Wellington and the Chathams on the 15th of December 1950. The same aircraft also flew the last scheduled service to the Chathams on the 7th of April 1954 |
 |
| First day cover for the first TEAL flight to the Chathams operated on the 15th of December 1950 |
For
the period from the 15th of December 1950 to the 13th of
April 1951, the Company operated five flights to the Chathams. One of these had
to turn back after the weather deteriorated at the Chathams preventing it from landing.
The first five flights, including the unsuccessful one, cost £4,419.10.6d to
operate which was offset by £3,362.4.3d of revenue. This equated to a loss of
£1,057.6.3d. If the unsuccessful flight was excluded, the loss was £119 per
trip which was considered reasonable taking into account the positioning of the
aircraft from Auckland and when a £75 subsidy per return trip for a flight from
Wellington had been budgeted for. If TEAL had been able to fly from Wellington,
the flights would have shown a small profit, approximately £200.
Flights
continued to operate. A TEAL press release on the 30th of October
1951 advertised its eighth flight which was to operate on the 10th of November 1951. A Solent flying boat
will leave Auckland at 4.15 a.m. and Wellington at 7.00 a.m. It will return to
Wellington, at 4.30 p.m. and to Auckland at 7 p.m. The aircraft is expected to
carry a large cargo which will include sausages, ice cream, oranges and
bananas. Six flights a year are operated to the Chatham Islands by TEAL. Since
the service commenced the company has operated seven flights which have all
carried heavy passenger and cargo traffic. The service is operated on dates
which best suit the convenience of Chatham Island residents and government
departments and private organisations in New Zealand with interests in the
Chathams. Further flights will be made on 5th and 15th December, 30th January,
13th March and 3rd April.
The
flight the following month, on the 15th of December 1951, carried a
special passenger. Father Christmas flew out to the Chathams by the TEAL Solent
to bring Christmas cheer to the Chatham Island children.
The
service continued to operate for the next two and a half years. In the 1953/54
financial year the six flights operated made a loss of £ 434.1.10d with costs
of £6,029.4.1d and revenue of £5,595.2.3.
 |
| Passenger accommodation and the galley on the Solent flying boat service between Wellington and Sydney. Photos : National Library |
In
1954 TEAL made the decision to withdraw its Solent flying boats with the
exception of ZK-AMO which was kept for the Coral route. TEAL’s plan envisaged this
Solent would be based in Fiji and would only come to Auckland for maintenance
and over-haul purposes three or four times a year and that was not practical
for it to continue the Chathams service during the maintenance visits. The
company recognised it would not meet the requirements of the local population “who
are more interested in getting two services at a relatively short interval in
order to enable islanders to come to New Zealand for a short period or to enable
Government officials and others to come from New Zealand to the Chatham Islands
for departmental purposes.” TEAL operated their last service to the Chathams on
the 7th of April 1954. The flight was operated by Short S.45 Solent
flying boat ZK-AMM, Ararangi, under
the command of Captain Cliff Le Couteur and Second Officer M. R. B. Wallace.
The
Solents were withdrawn from service and their fates were
ZK-AML
Aotearoa II Sold to Aquila
Airways, UK
ZK-AMM Ararangi Sold to Aquila Airways, UK
ZK-AMN Awatere Scrapped after a fire sometime
before withdrawal
ZK-AMO Aranui Retained for use on
Coral Route
ZK-AMQ Aparima Retained for use on Coral Route until
October 1956
Scrapped at Mechanics
Bay 1957
On
the 17th of October 1956, Short S45 Solent ZK-AMQ Aparima returned to Auckland. A couple
of days later, on the 19th of October 1956, TEAL flew a charter
direct from Auckland to the Chathams and return on behalf of the RNZAF. This
was the last time a TEAL aircraft visited the Chathams.
 |
| ZK-AMQ, the last Short Solent to visit the Chatham Islands on 19th of October 1956 |
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
