TEAL's Domestic Route - Wellington to the Chathams

UPDATED May 2026

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 Short Sunderland aircraft.

Meanwhile, 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 Solent ZK-AMQ Aparima, a Mark III variant, 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.

TEAL's first Wellington operations began when it 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. 

Heritage New Zealand has an excellent post on the restoration of the Flying Boat jetty at Wellington : https://www.heritage.org.nz/news/stories/historic-flying-boat-jetty-restored

On the 30th of November 1950 the Press reported that Tasman Empire Airways is to be asked by the Government to introduce an air service between Wellington and the Chatham Islands, with six return trips a year and a single fare of £11 for all trips. Advice of the Government’s decision has been received from the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation (Mr W. S. Goosman) by Mr T. H. McCombs, M.P. for Lyttelton, whose electorate includes the Chatham Islands. Recently Mr McCombs asked the Minister that two return trips should be made to the Chathams to bring children to Christchurch for the Canterbury centennial celebrations in December and January. Since then, the question of an air service to and from the Chathams has been discussed with Tasman Empire Airways. The Government has agreed that, if the company is satisfied that sufficient traffic is offering, services in addition to those already suggested should be arranged to bring school children and others to the centennial celebrations. Mr Goosman has suggested that early consideration should be given to the possibility of a trip for school children before December 18 with a return trip after the middle of January. Approval was given for TEAL 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 proposed Wellington to Sydney service saving the cost of positioning an aircraft from Auckland as NAC had done with its Sunderland service.

With the short notice TEAL made the decision that it would be 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 a 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 what was to become a semi-regular service was flown by Short S45A Solent ZK-AMM, R.M.A. Ararangi under the command of Captain Cliff Le Couteur on the 15th of December 1950. Looking after the full load of 46 passengers and 3 infants flying from Evans Bay to Te Whanga lagoon were two stewards. Passengers included children returning home for the Christmas holidays. This first flight took the record for the largest compliment of passengers to take off from Evans Bay. The first flight was not without incident. The following day the Evening Post reported, Dr. J. M. Saunders, the Chatham Islands only medical man, narrowly escaped being crushed between a launch and the TEAL flying-boat R.M.A. Ararangi in Te Whanga Lagoon yesterday afternoon. He was helping the Chathams’ postmaster, Mr J Bonisch, moor the launch to the Solent, when its bow suddenly veered away from the flying-boat, leaving him hanging from a cupped bollard. With the launch again swaying back to the Solent, he slipped into the water and only the efforts of Mr Bonisch and the TEAL maintenance superintendent (Mr. J Coulson) prevented his being caught between the boat and the Ararangi. Dr. Saunders quickly swam to the flying-boat door, and he was hauled aboard. He treated the incident with good humour; despite the fact that an expensive camera and a watch went into the water with him. They were flown back to Auckland for immediate attention. The Ararangi returned to Wellington the same day with 17 passengers. R.M.A. stood for Royal Mail Aircraft. 

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

The Evening Post on the next day carried a report on the flight... Barely 100 years since his grandparents arrived at the Chatham‘ Islands by buffeted, snail-paced sailing ships, Mr. F. W. Mitchell yesterday returned to his island sheep farm in the luxurious comfort of a Solent cruising at about 200 miles an hour 7500 feet above the sea. The ancestors of others of the 48 passengers on the inaugural flight of Tasman Empire Airways new New Zealand-Chathams-New Zealand service made the journey by canoe not so long before Mr. Mitchell’s forbears arrived. Many farmers and a large proportion of school children returning for the Christmas holidays were among the passengers. To them and to all the islanders, the promise of another flight late next month and at regular intervals thereafter is a real boon. The new service will mean a further lessening of their isolation. 

Approaching the Chathams after morning tea above the clouds, the R.M.A. Ararangi, which was carrying 290lb of mail and 506lb of freight, descended slowly to circle the island twice. First there was a vivid impression of rock-girt, bush-clad Pitt Island with sheep in the open pasture land running helter-skelter from the unfamiliar monster above them. Next, Chatham Island provided a contrast of green fields and straight white roads connecting the red-roofed houses about the harbour at Waitangi. Elsewhere were areas of flat, swampy land, steep cliffs, and gnarled trees bent by the constant winds. After about 20 minutes circling the islands the Ararangi descended for a perfect touch-down on Te Whanga Lagoon (“the big lake” in local parlance) at 11.23, two hours 47 minutes out from Wellington. 

Landing from the aircraft was a slow, dragged-out procedure. The launch which met the Ararangi was capable of carrying only eight passengers at time and, on occasion, had to be poled along when it ran aground in places close inshore. Fully a third of the island’s 510 people, with about a quarter of the island’s motor transport - lorries, jeeps, motor-cycles, and cars were wailing on the beach to greet the arrivals. Some of the people had been travelling since 5am to get there, such is the rough nature of the island. One man, Mr, D. J. Petersen, a teacher who was booked on the return flight, had had to rise at 3am to make the long journey by horseback over rugged country to the lagoon. 

Though obviously anxious to have contact with people from the outside world and hungry for even a glance at a newspaper, the people were shy about speaking to the strangers who arrived. Even the children, made shy by their isolation, tended to sheer away from the newcomers. When the Ararangi took off at 4.30 pm she was carrying 17 passenger three of them en route to Auckland. The islanders amongst them were still marvelling at the prospect of being sure of a return flight next month when the flying-boat touched down at Evans Bay at 7.5pm, two hours 35 minutes out from the Chathams.

From the beginning the Chatham Islanders could see the possibilities of the service while those in New Zealand look towards the costs. Duncan Campbell had an interesting piece in the Evening Post on the 18th which highlights many of the issues of the Chathams' air service today... Will the New Zealand-Chatham Islands air service inaugurated by Tasman Empire Airways be a paying proposition? Can a population of just over 500 give the service sufficient support to warrant its continuance? These questions are uppermost in the islanders’ minds. Unquestionably there is a need for a dependable passenger service, they say, but would not a nine-seater Catalina be a better proposition than a 45-seater Solent? That question was forcibly answered by the Ararangi’s loading on Friday. It would have taken a Catalina six trips to get to the Chathams all the passengers the Solent took in one flight - and on four of the Catalina’s return journeys she would have been empty. Nevertheless, the islanders doubt whether there would be enough passenger traffic offering to support a Solent, but all are agreed that the service is badly heeded, especially in the summer. 

What is wanted, they say, is a trip just before Christmas to bring their children home from New Zealand schools and another trip in late January to take them back again. Two trips might be run in the winter months at short intervals. They would enable islanders to go to the mainland to do business and to take a holiday. Above all, they would give them a guarantee of being able to return to the islands at a specified time. At present their return is always uncertain. Sometimes they are stranded in New Zealand for weeks at a time because of shipping difficulties. On the other hand, they argue, a too-frequent service might well act to their disadvantage. Loss of passenger revenue to the ship trading to the islands could well mean an increase in already high freight rates-rates which add 73d to the price of a bottle of beer to quote but one example. The islanders are frankly pessimistic about the ultimate success of the new service, It was tried once before, they say, and failed. And, anyway, the passenger traffic offering at present is only a sign of the times. If there was not plenty of money about nobody would be wanting to travel. 

Against this scepticism TEAL officials are confident. Passengers offering from the islands could well be augmented with tourists from the mainland, they say. In Australia one airline built a big hotel on Great Barrier Reef and now carries swarms of tourists there every year. Yet the Reef, they feel, has not nearly as much to offer as the Chathams. The islands are a sportsman’s paradise. There is excellent fishing. and duck and swans in abundance. Indeed, the swan shooting season never closes. Then there are pigs to be shot, opossums to be trapped and horses aplenty fur riding to all parts of the islands. Here, too, is plenty of good tramping country, though the hills are few and low. The only sport which would be barred is swimming, There are too many sharks about for it to be safe. Where would tourists stay? The islands have two hotels and a third could be built. But, apart from tourists, an air-freight service could be built up between the Chathams and the mainland, says TEAL with the optimism of a young service. 

The obvious commodity which could be air-freighted from the island is fish, Indeed, this possibility was mentioned by Mr. A E. Meo, principal of the Chatham Fishing Company Ltd., who made the round trip by the Ararangi, though his main concern on Friday was to learn what progress was being made with the installation of a shore-based freezer for 70 tons of fish and a floating freezer for 45 tons. Many commodities the islanders never see could be easily air-freighted from New Zealand. Some thought would have to be given to this matter, say TEAL officials, but there is undoubtedly a potential demand for extra services. Ice cream is an item which springs readily to mind. It is unknown on the island at present, but could easily help make up future cargoes. It seems probable that TEAL will show the islanders’ fears to be groundless. After all, the company is one of the few international airlines in the world which is not in the red, and it is not pioneering the new route with its eyes closed.

On the next flight on the 3rd of January 1951 two tons of oranges, bananas, and tomatoes ordered by the Chatham Islands' Commissioner, Mr G Nevill, were included in the four tons of cargo taken to the Chatham Islands by the R.M.A. Aotearoa, ZK-AMN, Other freight included stores, merchandise, fishing equipment, and 50lb of mail. There were nine passengers with Captain Cliff Le Couteur again the pilot command. As part of the flight a close inspection was made of an alternative landing area. The Evening Post reported that Te Whanga Lagoon, where the Aotearoa landed today, is not considered entirely satisfactory because it is not an all-weather landing area, and because of its distance from Waitangi, the principal settlement in the islands.

The third TEAL flight to the Chatham Islands was made on the 29th of January 1951 was again made by the Aotearoa, ZK-AMN, carrying 24 passengers and well over three tons of freight. The cargo included two rams, 776lb of sausages, 132lb of ice cream, 5280lb of fruit, and 4841b of mail. The Evening Post reported, the rams were very lively in spite of their weekend incarceration in crates at Teal's Evans Bay base. Since Friday a man with specialised knowledge of sheep has been detailed to feed them at regular intervals while they were waiting for the weather to clear sufficiently to enable them to make the trip. No difficulty was experienced in shipping the rams aboard the flying-boat today. The water in Evans Bay had scarcely a ripple on its glassy surface and it was a comparatively easy matter to transfer the crates from the launches to the Solent. The ice cream - a virtually unknown luxury in the Chathams - and the fruit were loaded in Auckland the flying-boat arriving from there at 5.55 am. 

On the return flight flying-boat brought a full load of 44 passengers, including many children who were returning for the school year. Among the passengers was a stretcher case who had an ambulance waiting for their transport to the hospital. In addition to the passengers two and a half tons of fish were flown to Wellington. Night had come before the Aotearoa arrived and her path was lit by flares when she touched down in Evans Bay at 8.44pm. She took off again for Auckland at 11pm. For the crew of the Solent it was a very long day. They had left Auckland at about 4am and did not return there till about 12.45am today––nearly 21 hours later. As Auckland was celebrating its anniversary day yesterday members of TEAL's staff there came to Wellington for the day, arriving by the Solent early in the morning and returning last night. Fare-paying passengers cannot travel by Solent between Auckland and Wellington.

The next flight was made on the 19th of March 1951 and was operated by the Awatere, ZK-AMN. It arrived from from Auckland, came at 6.49am. After taking on passengers and cargo for the Chatham Islands she got away with 39 passengers and 1 ton 9cwt 89lb of mail and air cargo at 8.36am. The following day the Evening Post reported... The 265lb of ice cream in the Awatere’s cargo was the first thought of the people who greeted the Solent on its arrival at the Chatham Islands yesterday. It was the first item off-loaded, and the 200 people on the beach received it with such enthusiasm that it had completely disappeared within half an hour of its having been landed. On the return journey the Awatere brought 36 passengers, including one infant. The only cargo was two dogs and a small parcel. The flying-boat arrived at Evans Bay at 6.26pm, leaving again for Auckland just after 8 o'clock.

The final summer season flight was made on the 5th of April 1951 with the R.M.A. Awatere, ZK-AMN, set off for the Chathams flying 27 passengers and freight including, ten cases of brandy 500lbs of sausages, 800lbs of bananas, 820lbs of tomatoes, 440lbs of quinces, 120lbs of grapes, 16lbs of passionfruit, 100 dozen ice cream pies, 320 sixpenny ice cream blocks, £2 worth of iced Easter eggs, 80lbs of butter, 12 dozen eggs, and 150lbs of bread. Conditions had deteriorated after it arrived at the Chathams and gale force easterlies and poor visibility precluded the flying-boat alighting on the lagoon and it returned to Wellington about 2.30pm. The three tons of cargo was unloaded and the Solent returned to Auckland at about 5.30pm. A replacement flight was operated on the 13th of April by the R.M.A. Aotearoa. The Evening Post reported,  More than 2 tons 6 cwt of air cargo and mail was taken to the Chathams by the Aotearoa, which left Evans Bay for the islands at 7.33 this morning. The Solent arrived from Auckland at 6.10am and left for the Chathams after loading and taking on 19 passengers. The cargo included 1367lb of bananas, tomatoes, and fruit, 293lb of ice cream, 10 cases of brandy, more than 700lb of sausages, bacon, batteries, a lawnmower, tobacco, various foods, and some medicine. 

For the period from the 15th of December 1950 to the 13th of April 1951, the Company operated five flights to the Chathams. In addition there was the aborted flight that had to turn back due to the weather  at the Chathams prevented it from landing. A Memorandum for the Minister of Civil Aviation from The Treasury reported that the total cost of operating the service for the five flights including the unsuccessful one, is £4,419.10.6d and the revenue has totalled £3,362.4.3d. leaving a deficiency of £1,057.6.3d. If the unsuccessful flight is excluded, this represents an excess of expenditure over revenue of £119 per trip which is reasonable when compared with the estimate of a £75 subsidy per return trip for a flight from Wellington. It is further interesting to note that if the Company had been able to fly from Wellington, the flights would have shown a small profit, approximately £200

As it is now clear that if the service is to be operated it must be flown from Auckland, it is necessary to decide the amount of subsidy that should be granted to the Company, which has suggested that the service should be operated under the following conditions: 

(a) Rates for Successful Flights  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland Sector - £75 per flying hour

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington Sector - £110 per flying hour. 

(b) Rates for Unsuccessful Flights  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland and Wellington/Chathams/Wellington Sectors - £60 per flying hour. 

(c) The Company to retain the revenue in the case of (a) but on the completion of each series of flights the excess of expenditure over revenue based on the above costs to be refunded by the Government to the Company. 

The Company appreciates that it would be reasonable, if its other operations permitted, for the service to commence at Wellington and consequently is prepared to make a concession on the Auckland/Wellington sector of the route. Although it would normally be entitled to the full charter rate for unsuccessful flights, it is prepared to cost these on direct operating costs only, but it is envisaged that there should be very few. 

TEAL's series of flights for the 1951/52 summer season commenced in November 1951. A TEAL press release on the 30th of October 1951 advertised its next 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 advertisement was incorrect on one account, as TEAL had only operated five flights at this point.

On the 10th of November 1951 the R.M.A. Aranui, ZK-AMO, operated a return service to the Chatham Islands. The Evening Post reported, The 500 residents of the Chatham Islands will receive an average of rather more than 2lb of mail a head today. Most of this mail, which totalled 1150lb, was made up of parcels. The Solent carried 25 adults and three infants and was fully loaded with sausages, fruit, ice cream, and early tomatoes for the islanders. It arrived at Evans Bay from Auckland at 6.34am and left Wellington for the Chathams at 8.33am. It is and is due back from the Chathams late this afternoon. 

The following day the Evening Post reported on the flight's reception. The ice-cream starved children of the Chatham Islands swarmed to the beach of the lagoon when the flying boat Aranui, carrying crates of Eskimo pies, landed there on Saturday. Tasman Empire Airway officials said tonight that the children mobbed the storekeeper as soon as the ice-cream was ferried from the aircraft to shore. Some bought up to £1 worth. The beach was soon littered with wrappings... The aircraft returned to Auckland at 9.30 p.m. on Saturday. Captain D. W. G. Keesing, the pilot of the Aranui, entered into the spirit of the occasion by flying an ice-cream flag, in addition to his mail and quarantine flags, when landing on the lagoon. The next treat for the islands children will be at Christmas, when flying-boat will carry a distinguished passenger—Santa Claus.

The next flight to the Chathams was due to be on the 6th of December but this flight was postponed till the 9th of December because of unfavourable weather. The R.M.A. Ararangi, ZK-AMM, arrived from Auckland at 6.10am and and was supposed to depart at 7.30am but was delayed to a mechanical fault before finally departing for the Chatham Islands at 11.11am. The following day the Evening Post reported on the flight... Held in Wellington for nearly four hours till a mechanical fault was adjusted, the Solent which flew to the Chathams yesterday more than made up for the delay when it was turned round in record time at Te Whanga Lagoon. It was on the water there barely three hours. One reason for the quick turn-round was the use for the first time of a second launch which helped to unload a quarter of a ton of mail and more than two tons of air freight from the flying-boat. In addition to the usual bulk shipment of fruit and sausages, the aircraft carried a large quantity of motor-car spares and tyres for some of the islanders’ 70 cars. Mr. Geoffrey Nevill, Resident Commissioner at the Chathams, and Mrs. Nevill, were among the Solent's 32 passengers. Nine school children who were returning home for the Christmas holidays were also aboard, some of them having arrived by the Rangatira from Lyttelton yesterday morning. The Solent, the Ararangi, arrived from Auckland at 6.10am, left for the Chathams at 11.11am, returned at 7.05 pm, and took off again for Auckland at 8.18pm. The flare path was laid for the night take-off. Another flight is to be made to the Chathams on Saturday. A large number of returning school children will be among the passengers. The most important passenger will be Father Christmas, who will be distributing gifts to the island's 168 children - 62 under 5, 12 between 5 and 7, 32 between 7 and 9, 17 between 9 and 11, 26 between 11 and 13, and 19 between 13 and 15. Abandoning his traditional sleigh and reindeer for the greater comfort and speed of N.A.C. and TEAL aircraft Father Christmas will leave Christchurch by air for Wellington on Friday evening, and will join the Chathams-bound Solent the next morning.

The day before the flight on the 15th of December 1951 the Evening Post carried an article on the varied Christmas air cargo that was to be carried on the pre-Christmas service... A large fashionable blue hat – ‘‘something that well down over the eyes’’ four pairs of babies’ bloomers, ‘‘two pink, two blue,” a triple string of pearls, and a tin-opener are included in a Tasman Airways airlift to the Chatham Islands. A ‘flying general store,” was the way one man described the Solent, which leaves for the group tomorrow on the last of its six trips this year. The islanders send a full shopping list to TEAL for shipment on the next plane. The airways staff do the buying, and so far there have been no complaints. Tomorrow’s general cargo includes top priority items for the island’s Christmas fare - tomatoes, bananas, strawberries cucumbers, oranges and water-melons, soft drinks, and “bottled Christmas spirit,” ice-cream and hams. Also on the plane will be gifts for the Chatham Islands Christmas trees.

The flight on the 15th of December 1951 in the R.M.A. Awatere, ZK-AMN, marked exactly a month since the service had started. Appropriately, Captain Cliff Le Couteur, who flew the first Solent to the Chathams, was in command. On board were 49 passengers, many of them returning school children. But the passenger most wanted to seen by the children of the Chatham Islands was Santa Claus. The Evening Post of the 17th reported,

His traditional reindeer and sleigh replaced by a four-engined TEAL Solent, Father Christmas flew to the Chatham Istands on Saturday. More than 400 of the islands’ 500 inhabitants cheered him hilariously as he stepped ashore from a launch in Te Whanga Lagoon, a huge sack of toys over his shoulder, In the three and a quarter hours he distributed good cheer. The islanders - all in paper hats provided by TEAL - consumed several bottles of whisky and soft drinks, numerous cartons of strawberries, 48 dozen chocolate ice creams, and 60 dozen ice cream blocks, and 10 gallons of ice cream, estimated to produce 450 ices. The ice cream was donated by a Christchurch firm and carried free by TEAL. From two brightly decorated Christmas trees and a number of bran tubs on the beach each of the islands’ 168 children received a present from the hands of Father Christmas himself. Never before has Te Whanga Lagoon witnessed so many hand-shakings, expressions of good will, and head-pattings. The only incident of the flight down from Wellington occurred when a sheep dog, bored with his crate, broke out of it to investigate his surroundings in a passenger compartment which had been converted for the carriage of innumerable crates of bananas, sausages, and other goods. Evans Bay Traffic Officer Allan Valois soon made him more comfortable. Of the 30 passengers on the Awatere only five were islanders. Like George and David Richie, who were going to stay with Dudley Ousey, a fellow pupil of the Hereworth School, Havelock North, many were going to the island for a holiday. The happiest couple on the flying-boat were the well-known footballer, Russell Hohaia, of Taranaki, and Myra Tuuta, of Big Bush, who were going to the Chathams to be married from Myra’s home.

The end of the school holidays flight was operated on the 3rd of February 1952 with the R.M.A. Aranui operating the service. The Solent arrived from Auckland at 5.25am, departing for the Chatham Islands at 7.19am. Twenty-five adults, six children, and one infant were booked to make the trip down with the aircraft carrying more than a ton of fruit, 300lbs of ice cream, and half a ton of sausages. School-children coming back to the mainland for the first term comprised most of the full flight of 45 returning passengers. The return flight, however, was not as straightforward. Low cloud and exceptionally thick mist prevented the Aranui from landing at Wellington on the return flight and this necessitated a diversion to Auckland. The Solent's passengers were sent to Wellington by the Limited express train from Auckland while a a stretcher case, Mr. A. Hough, of Waitangi, who was to have received urgent medical attention at Wellington, was met by an ambulance on his arrival at Auckland. 

The next flight was operated on the 15th of March 1952, the service being flown by the R.M.A. Ararangi, ZK-AMM. On board was a a full load of passengers and cargo including the unattainable sausages and fruit which the islanders appreaciated. Among the passengers was the newly-appointed Resident Commissioner at the Chatham Islands, Mr J Patterson and the Member of Parliament for the Lyttelton electorate, which includes the Chathams Mr H R Lake who returned later by ship.

The final flight for the summer flights of 1951-52 was flown on the 6th of April 1952 in the R.M.A. Aotearoa, ZK-AML Included in the cargo manifest were 860lb, 800lb of tomatoes and 100 Easter eggs. the Minister in Charge of Civil Aviation, Mr T L Macdonald, who made a four-hour visit to the islands. After his return the Evening Post reported that Mr Macdonald took the opportunity of yesterday’s flight by TEAL Solent to examine the problem of island isolation and the extent to which they can be relieved by air transport. He felt the present service of three, flights before Christmas and three flights after Christmas seemed fully warranted. Landing at the main settlement of Waitangi, Mr. Macdonald spent four hours on an inspection of farms, roading projects and the fishing industry, for which a new fish freezer has been built at Owhenga. He said he had been impressed by the quality of the islands’ old-established pastures and the stock-carrying capacity that was achieved without the use of lime or topdressing.

Passenger accommodation and the galley on the Solent flying boat service between Wellington and Sydney. Photos : National Library

TEAL advertising with a mention of the Chatham Islands, Evening Post, 13 June 1952

Flights for the 1952-53 summer season commenced in November 1952. The first flight was a case of fourth time lucky. It was originally scheduled for the 6th of November but radio trouble resulted in it being postponed for 24 hours. The following day the weather forecast for the Chathams put any thought of the flight out of the question. Then on the 8th it was bad weather at both Wellington and at the Chathams that resulted in a further 24-hour postponement. The Evening Post reported, The passengers at least are philosophical. Mostly Chatham Islanders, they are used to delays caused by the weather and other factors, On occasion, when going by sea, their ship is unable to enter the harbour at Waitangi for several days at a time. The flight finally operated on the 9th of November 1952 with the R.M.A. Ararangi, ZK-AMM, arriving in Wellington from Auckland at 5.20am. It departed at 7.11am with twenty-six passengers and cargo including a hive of bees, films, motor-car spares, medical stores, boots. sheep drench, tools, 600lb of sausages, and a quantity of fruit and other foodstuffs from Auckland. The Ararangi arrived back into Wellington at 3.35pm before departing for Auckland at 5.29pm.

In December 1952 two flights were operated. On the 3rd of December R.M.A. Aotearoa, ZK-AML, operated a return service to Te Whanga Lagoon. The scheduled flight on the 15th was delayed by 24-hours after the aircraft, R.M.A. Aranui, ZK-AMO, was delayed in Sydney. Operating on the 16th the Solent carried a Christmas present for every child on the Chatham Islands that were given by a Christchurch store. TEAL carried the 150 individual gifts for free. Also on board were 35 passengers, 600lb of sausages, 500lb of general cargo, as well as bananas, oranges, pears, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Both December flights carried school children home to the Chathams for the summer holidays. 

The following year the first flight operated on the 28th of January 1953 with the R.M.A. Ararangi, ZK-AMM, arriving from Auckland at 5.19am and departing for the Chathams at 7.24am. The outbound flight carried about 30 people along with sausages, ice cream, and other cargo. Every seat for the return flight, was booked, these mainly being school children returning to mainland schools for the new term.

The March flight was operated on the 11th with R.M.A. Aranui, ZK-AMO, carrying a record load of cargo. The Evening Post of the day reported, A record air cargo - 2 tons 3cwt 91lb - left Wellington in the flying-boat Aranui for the Chatham Islands today. Of this total just over a ton and a half was made up of oranges and other fruit. As usual, a large consignment of sausages - just over a pound a head for the island's population - was flown down, and other items included motor spares, a saddle, and a motor-cycle. There were 32 passengers. The Aranui arrived at Wellington from Auckland at 5.33am and left for the Chathams at 7.54am. The incoming Ararangi arrived from Sydney at 7.17am after a fast crossing with the aid of a tail wind. Because of the Chathams flight, however, she was unable to berth in the Evans Bay pontoon till after the Aranui had slipped the buoy about three-quarters of an hour later.

The final summer flight was flown on the 8th of April 1953 in Solent R.M.A. Ararangi, ZK-AMM. The Press of the following day recorded its arrival into Wellington highlighting the challenges of flying-boat operations...  The flying-boat Ararangi landed in darkness in Evans Bay at 5.38 a.m. today. The plane, which was making a flight to the Chatham Islands, arrived from Auckland. In spite of squally weather, the passengers and crew were able to see the flare path from a height of 3000 feet above the bay. The approach of the aircraft to the pontoon was hindered when the mooring rope became entangled in the propeller of Tasman Airways’ launch. The rope had to be cut away, and further operations carried out with the aid of a dinghy. As the accident temporarily put the launch out of action, the dinghy had to be used again when the Solent Aranui arrived from Sydney at 7.24 a.m. A rain squall at the time made conditions unpleasant, especially for Mr Dick Harvey, who found himself struggling in the water when he overbalanced from the dinghy in attempting to secure the mooring rope. The Ararangi left for the Chathams four minutes after the arrival of the Aranui.

Passengers on the flight to the Chathams included a radio announcer, technician, and recording equipment. Tape recordings were made and many personalities, including the Resident Commissioner (Mr. J. Patterson), Constable A. Geary, Mr. C. Wishart (chairman of the County Council), and Mr. T. Solomon, son of the last full-blooded Moriori, described life in the islands. The Radio New Zealand recording can be heard here... https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/25864/

Also in April 1953, the Whites Aviation magazine captured the importance of the TEAL air service... Ice cream and sausages are two items on TEAL's cargo list, which are greatly looked forward to by Chatham Islanders. In military jargon the flights made to the Chatham Islands by TEAL Solents could quite aptly be termed 'Operation Sausage." In the two years that TEAL has been operating to these outflung islands, 478 miles east of Christchurch, it is doubtful if there has ever been a service on which several hundred pounds of sausages have not been included in the air cargo carried. 

To the Chatham Islander, sausages are a delicacy, almost on a par with Stewart Island oysters or fresh Spring lamb so enjoyed by the "mainlanders." Half an hour after the local store-keepers have set up their improvised branch premises on the edge of Te Whanga lagoon, there is not a pound of sausages to be brought. Mainland housewives would open their eyes in amazement if they saw the way this favourite food is rushed. Happy shoppers walk off with five-pound bundles of sausages under each arm. Anybody who buys less than that amount is thought to be ill or right off their food. 

But eating sausages is not the only pastime in the Chathams. "Outsiders think we are rather backward,” says Mr C. R. Wishart, Chairman of the County Council. "If they were conscious of our difficulties, things would be different. There is a definite move forward here, although farming has been retarded by the irregular freight trips made by ships."' Sea freight to Lyttleton costs £9 per ton. Coal costs £15 per ton and benzine is 6/3d a gallon and has to be ordered in forty gallon drums. With irregular shipping calls, and the Solents unable to operate into the lagoon during the winter months, housewives sometimes have to place their shopping orders six months in advance. It is not uncommon for the family grocery bill to be in the vicinity of £100. And this has to be paid in advance. 

Every visitor is met at the end of the long jetty by Constable Geary, the sole representative of the law on the Island. Law or no law, policeman or not, he is known to everybody as "Aubrey." As crime is practically unheard of, the Constable also acts as Fisheries and Stock Inspector, Marine Department representative, Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Traffic Officer and unofficial Public Relations Officer to visitors. Until recently he was also the local anesthetist, but he passed that position over to the new doctor's wife, who is a trained nurse. 

Everybody tries to be at Te Whanga lagoon when the flying boat arrives. All methods of transport are used to get there. Horses, cars, motor bikes, trailers towed by tractors, and the island's own special brand of horse drawn jogger, all cut a dusty trail for the lagoon. Some of the parties have been on the road for three or four hours. It is a great event. A day for beach picnics and reunions, a day for housewives to meet their friends and exchange gossip. Some have not seen each other since the arrival of the last flying boat, six weeks ago. All along the small, white shelly beach groups gather beside cars and under trees to enjoy this social event. 

A stranger to the Chathams is never lonely for long. Constable Geary sees to that. As "Chairman" of the local welcoming committee he introduces the visitor to different groups, and makes them feel at home. Waitangi, the "capital," is about 1000 bumps away from Te Whanga. In places the road, which winds through paddocks, just comes to an end. With uncanny judgement and without the aid of a compass the driver goes on, turning right and left until contact is again made with the other end of the road. Such detours are frequent. Minor dust storms are common. On the way to Waitangi, the visitor will see the racecourse, run by the oldest jockey club in New Zealand. The big event of the racing calendar is the Chatham Cup, run on New Year's Day. But it is the arrival of the Solent that is really a big day for the island and nobody leaves the lagoon until the aircraft has departed. Air transportation has made a big difference to the lives of those on the Chatham Islands and each flight is eagerly awaited. 

"TEAL" DAY IS REALLY AN EVENT on the Chatham Islands. The islanders receive treasured cargo, such as sausages and ice cream, as well as the more mundane items of freight. The pictures on this page show—above: small boys having a ride and a lot of fun on a Tasman cargo trolley. Below: "setting up shop" presents no problems, and after the Solent is unloaded it doesn't take long for trading to get under-way with improvised stores on the beach.

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.

A second article in Whites Aviation in May 1954 again underlined the importance of the flying boat service...

Last month Tasman Empire Airways made their last scheduled flight of the season to the Chatham Islands, 478 miles east of Christchurch, N.Z. The future of this service is undecided at the moment, but a statement by the Government will be made in due course. The pictures on this page show something of the character of the islands and a flight there is an illuminating and entertaining experience. 

Mr A. Prichard, a well-known figure in New Zealand Civil Aviation Administration circles, sits at the wheel of a Land-rover, a vehicle ideal for the rough, almost non-existent roads of the island. "Prich's" specialty is surveying aerial landing facilities, but most will agree he can put his hand to anything. 

The flying boat lands in the Te Whanga Lagoon, about seven miles from Waitangi, which is the most settled part of the Island. Passengers are brought ashore in a civil aviation launch and a whale boat; with quite a social gathering at the jetty. 

Captain C. Le Couteur, who pioneered the TEAL service to the Chathams in 1950 (second from left) chats with some island personalities. First on the left is Dr. R. G. Howes, Mr J. Jury, Chathams Fishing Co., and Constable Knight. 

A general view of the wharf at Waitangi showing the radio station on the hill. Although shipping is fairly regular, the flying-boat service makes residents feel in touch with the mainland. 

By reason of its climate, cold and very damp, the men are inclined to look a little rugged to the eyes of a mainlander - especially a woman - but kind hearts beat under the sturdy woollen shirts and the local bar is still a good place for a drink and a yarn. 

The flying boat service operated by TEAL to the Chatham Islands is a golden link with New Zealand. One has heard the expression. "no man's land," well this certainly does not apply to the Chatham Islands. This wind-swept group of islands consisting of Chatham Island, or Whare-Kauri and Pitt Island or Rangiauria, with several detached high islets and rocks is definitely a man's land. For them there is plenty of fishing for blue cod and hapuka and good shooting for black swan and duck on the many lakes. 

For the women there is plenty of work. The Chatham Island housewife cannot run round the corner for a loaf of bread, she bakes all her own. Mrs Ruth Knight, cheerful wife of the local constable, maintains her family are spoilt. "They get fresh bread every day. Sometimes I bake in the morning other times I might not get around to it until the afternoon, but every day there's a freshly baked loaf on the table, and don't they love it." Mrs Knight's approach is typical of the cheerful and philosophical manner in which the European women tackle their jobs as housewives on the lonely Chatham Islands. A spell on the islands would certainly bring many a whining mainlander up with a round turn. To the women of the Chathams the flying boat service, that TEAL has been operating for three years, is a golden link with the mainland - New Zealand. It comes as rather a surprise to hear the islanders speak of New Zealand as another country. They talk eagerly with the newcomer and one hears the wistful note in the re-mark-"we hope to get up to New Zealand next year." 

Mrs Ruby Patterson, wife of the commissioner, has been a resident for seven years and loves the life. "I just wouldn't want to change, we have become so attached to the island." A rather shy though very friendly woman, Mrs Patterson soon makes you feel at home and is anxious to introduce you all round. When I made the flight down recently she and Mrs Knight were busy cutting home-made bread for sandwiches on an improvised table as the passengers came off the flying boat. Cheerfully they spread out their wares for everybody to share and Constable Knight supervised the boiling of the billy. Newcomers leaving the flying boat are given the "once over" by the islanders, the native population looking at you fixedly but shyly. It can be rather disconcerting. Everybody is anxious to show you the island's good points and assure you that the climate is really quite good. Indeed the day we were there it was warm and sunny and preferable to the weather we had been having in Auckland. 

However, it is the winter months which are the hardest. Rain falls frequently and no month receives less than 2 inches, the wettest months being from May to August. July is the coolest month with an average temperature of about 45 degrees, and January is the warmest with 58. The population is 520, of whom 290 are Maoris. Sheep grazing and fishing are the main activities. At Waitangi there is the largest settlement with a post office, store, hotel, radio station and wharf. There is also a cottage hospital here, run by four Catholic nursing sisters. 

The resident doctor lives close by the hospital and makes his calls in a Landrover. It was Dr. Ron Howes who drove us from the Te Whanga lagoon over to Waitangi where we enjoyed a most hospitable lunch turned on by his wife. Judy Howes is a slim little redhead, full of fun and good humour. A nurse before she married, she has adapted herself to the local conditions and is now a better shot with a gun than her husband. Mrs Howes has plenty to do with running her household and helping her husband in his work. A big diesel stove, which she calls the "Beast," heats the house and takes care of her baking. Residents of the islands for nearly three years, Judy and her husband flew up to Wellington last November to spend some precious leave. It was two years since she had been off the island, and in her own words, "it's too long." Hungry for news of the latest fashions, shops and restaurants, this bright little helpmate of Dr. Howes, laughingly told us that the only fashions worth modelling on the Chathams were sou'westers and thigh boots. 

On the log books a flight to the Chathams is just another flight, but to the islanders it is an event. Everybody who can get away waits for the arrival and it becomes a real social gathering. Nobody goes home until the flying boat has skimmed the lagoon and is lost in the distance. To those of us who made the trip for the day there was something heart-pulling in the way the crowd gathered at the waters edge to wave a last vigorous goodbye. The women are very loyal to their menfolk, but it is obvious they too, would have liked to be aboard the flying boat, winging their way to a place where they can go window shopping, have morning tea and go to the pictures with another woman friend, buy food that they have not had to cook themselves, and above all see other people. Little things in them-selves but very important when you can't have them. The pioneer spirit of New Zealand women is not dead on the Chathams. The women there are a courageous little band, hewing out a life for themselves and their families under difficult circumstances; predominently cheerful but human enough to be wistful of their mainland sisters. If you told them all these things they would not believe you and laughingly tell you that "it's all in a day's work." They are too busy thinking of others to turn the eye inward. Our hats are off to you, girls. You're doing a grand job and aviation is, we think, helping you quite a bit. You certainly deserve all the assistance and the bright spots modern air transport can give you. DKD. 

Cooking is a very important talent on the Chatham Islands, where shops round the corner just do not exist. Mrs Judy Howes, the local doctor's wife, knows all the finer points of her big diesel stove (left) which she has nicknamed "The Beast!" The arrival of the TEAL flying boat is looked upon by the islanders as a social event and a picnic lunch is provided for everybody. Cutting up homemade bread for sandwiches are Mrs Ruby Patterson (left) and Mrs Doreen Knight. 

TEAL again scheduled six 1953-54 summer flights to the Chatham Islands to operate on the 19th of November, the 3rd and 14th of December, the 27th of January 1954, the 11th of March 11 and the 8th of April. The R.M.A. Awatere, ZK-AMN, operated the first flight on the 19th of November. Following the normal pattern it arrived from Auckland at 5.47am, departing for the Chathams at 7.47am. The Evening Post reported on the flights the following day. Chatham Islanders assembled at Te Whanga Lagoon ate almost a pound of ice cream each yesterday. The ice cream 320lb of it - was part of the two and a half tons of mail and cargo flown there in the flying-boat Awatere from Wellington yesterday. The cargo included almost a ton and a quarter of general produce and perishable foodstuffs like tropical fruits, 22lb of tomatoes, 52lb of butter, 800lb of sausages (about 1¾lb a head of population), 24lb of tobacco, 12lb of bread, 10lb of tomato plants, and 448lb of mail or nearly 1lb of mail for each of the islands’ 471 residents. The Awatere arrived at Wellington from Auckland shortly before 6 o’clock this morning and was off again two hours later. There were 31 passengers on board in addition to the large cargo. Little freight is expected to be brought back by the flying-boat though she will probably have a full complement of passengers She is scheduled to arrive at 4.30pm and to take off for Auckland an hour later.

Once again two flights were operated in December. The R.M.A. Ararangi, ZK-AMM, took of from Evans Bay with 23 passengers for the Chathams at 7.49am returning late afternoon with about 18 passengers. Also on the outbound flight were what the Evening Post reported as the "first bees ever to travel by air to the Chatham Islands" even though a hive of bees were reported carried on the 9th of November 1952 flight. The first bees ever to travel by air to the Chatham Islands will go in three smartly-painted hives on the Solent tomorrow afternoon. Not only are they the first air-travelled bees to go to the Islands, thinks their former owner, Mr. R. G. Nairn, of Moonshine Road, but they are probably the first bees imported there. “Bees are still the greatest pollenisers of all, and their introduction should do the clovers and grasses on the Islands a great deal of good," said Mr. Nairn today. He has been keeping bees at Moonshine Road for many years, and has bred his own strains. The bees have been bought on behalf of a Chatham Islands resident by Wright Stephenson and Co., Ltd.

On the 14th of December 1953 the R.M.A. Aranui, ZK-AMO, flew to the Chathams with 47 passengers, mainly school children heading home for the Christmas holidays, and it was expected to return that afternoon with about 45 passengers from the Chathams. The Evening Post reported, her cargo for the Chathams included three hives of bees, a three-tier Christmas cake, and a pup to be trained as a cattle dog.

At the end of the school holidays it was again the the R.M.A. Aranui, ZK-AMO, that operated the Chatham Islands flights on the 29th of January 1954. It arrived at Wellington's Evans Bay from Auckland on its positioning flight at 5.20am and departed for the Chathams at 7.10am. The Evening Post reported, A large number of children bound for another year at school in New Zealand is expected to be included in the full passenger list in the flying-boat Aranui which is due at Wellington from the Chatham Islands at about 4.30 this afternoon. The Solent arrived at Wellington from Auckland just after 5 o’clock this morning and left for the Chathams two hours later. It carried 30 passengers and almost half a ton of mail and freight, including roller blinds, a crated table, 322lb of fruit and 97lb of other foodstuffs, an outboard motor which will be used in helping increase the passenger-handling facilities at Te Whanga Lagoon, motor spares, car parts, valves, tyres, electrical goods, and 293lb of ice cream.

On the 11th of March 1954 the Evening Post did not record which Solent flew out to the Chatham Islands. The newspaper did report a fully-laden Teal flying-boat left for the Chathams at 7.30am today. It carried 45 passengers and 884lb of air cargo including lamp bulbs, confectionery, stationery, vaccines, film, and 500lb of sausages. The Solent, which had arrived from Auckland at 5.20 am, is due back from the Chathams at 4.30pm and leaves again at 5.30pm on its return fight to Auckland.

On the 17th of March 1954 the Evening Post reported that Douglas DC-6 aircraft were going to replace TEAL's Short Solents, the report expecting that it will probably be six months before the last of the Solents is withdrawn from this service... Wellington is likely to be the last outpost of the Solents and, when they go, the capital could be without an international airport. If this happens, Teal is likely to lose a considerable number of its passengers, as many overseas businessmen now fly into Wellington from Sydney and leave by Auckland simply because the service is there. However, it is confidently predicted that Paraparaumu will be used by the DC6s to maintain the present Wellington-Sydney link. There is plenty of time to make any necessary changes – stronger runways, additional navigational equipment - before the complete change-over is made to the new service. Nearby Ohakea could also be used if necessary. The fate of Teal's Chathams and Coral Route services has yet to be decided, but it is thought likely that the company may keep one of its flying-boats to maintain them. 

On the 7th of April 1954 the Evening Post carried the headline, "Last Ice Cream Run To Chathams?" What may well be the last Solent fight to the Chatham Islands, because of Teal’s change to landplanes, was made by the flying-boat Ararangi, ZK-AMM, from Evans Bay shortly before 11 o’clock today. Appropriately, the Ararangi was again covering the route it inaugurated when the two-monthly service was begun in December, 1950. Captain C. Le Couteur, who pioneered the route for Teal, was at the controls. Also in the Solent was Mr. Ron Blair, one of the two original members of Teal's Evans Bay staff, who had also gone on the inaugural flight. For possibly the last time the 500 islanders would again satiate themselves with ice cream when the Ararangi landed at Te Whanga Lagoon. In addition to several gallons of ice cream, the Ararangi was carrying 50 dozen seven-penny ice cream blocks and 24 dozen chocolate-coated ice cream blocks. Mrs. Caddie, who provides picnic lunches on Solent arrival days, was expecting 24 loaves of sliced bread and a few pounds of cooked ham with which she could immediately set to produce ham sandwiches for sale. 

Other items in the cargo included 610lb of sausages, 21 cases of tomatoes, a pair of gumboots, two fishermen’s smocks, 100 cabbage plants, a pair of slippers, and a sheep dog pup which spent last night locked in a shed with the sausages. The passengers included the Resident Commissioner (Mr. J. Patterson), several children, and a baby. Most of the passengers were farmers returning after brief holiday-business trips to New Zealand. If the Chathams flying-boat service ends today, the islands will be almost wholly dependent on the Port Waikato for their contacts with the outside world. No service is provided for about four months during the winter.

The following day the Evening Post continued, The inter-island express steamer Maori was held at Wellington for 25 minutes after its scheduled sailing time last night, to enable 21 passengers from the Chatham Islands to join it after they arrived at Evans Bay by the Teal Solent Ararangi. The Solent left the Chathams at 4.30pm, with a light south-westerly blowing, but the wind turned towards the north as the flight progressed. The estimated time of arrival at Evans Bay was 7.25pm - and the Solent touched down right on that time. There was very little delay in berthing the Solent alongside its pontoon at the base, despite the fresh northerly blowing, but there was a small, unavoidable delay of getting the passengers ashore, complete with luggage. With the flying-boat about an hour out of the Chathams, a radio message was sent to the Union Steam Ship Company, informing them of the position and asking them to delay the departure of the Maori. That was done, and on arrival at Evans Bay the South Island passengers were disembarked first and a special bus took them to the wharf.  Among those catching the Maori were six carpenters and two painters from Christchurch, who had been in the Chathams for five weeks building a new teacher's house for the Education Department. 

In another article in the same issue the Evening Post reported on the importance of air service for the Chatham Islanders. The Chatham Islands, New Zealand’s most remote county, their development retarded for many years by isolation and lack of direct contact with the mainland, appear likely to lose the air link which has been so valued an amenity in the past few years. Yesterday’s Solent flight from Wellington was the last of the season. Teal has flown six flights each summer since 1950 - and the passenger list once again demonstrated how greatly the islanders have come to depend on the flights. Including young children and babies, 51 people made the flight to the Chathams, in addition to the seven crew members, and 42 came back. Of the latter, 21 were heading for South Island destinations, and caught the inter-island express steamer Maori last night.

For about eight months of the year the Chathams have a shipping service from Lyttelton, the Port Waikato maintaining as regular a service as the weather permits. Of only 676 tons, the Port Waikato, which carries passengers, does not pretend to be in the luxury class, and those passengers on the Solent yesterday who had travelled to the island by the Port Waikato made no secret of the transport they preferred. For convenience alone, the Solent stood supreme. Those who left the Chathams at 4.30pm yesterday were in Wellington three hours later and in Christchurch this morning, after a comfortable trip by Solent and express steamer. By the Port Waikato, the trip could take anything up to four days. Reaching the Chathams is not the least of the Port Waikato's worries. Once it arrives at Waitangi - the small township on the principal island - it can be held off the port through bad weather for days that may run into weeks. One islander, in fact, claimed yesterday that he had known it to lie off the islands for 17 days before being able to berth, and an-other said it had occasionally put back to Lyttelton to refuel before landing its passengers. During the winter, when neither the Port Waikato nor the Solents reach the island, occasional trawlers from “the mainland” make visits to the Chathams to pick up the catches of fish kept in the two freezers (one of them the former Wellington harbour ferry Cobar), and on such occasions take mail to the islanders. 

Yesterday, when a ‘‘Post’’ representative visited the island as the guest of Teal on the flight, it was not surprising to hear that the principal need of the island is improved communication both with the mainland and internally. Though cars are now to a large extent replacing horses as the principal means of transport, roads in the island are few and in very poor condition. The county council was blamed by one farmer as being responsible for the apologies for roads that are almost impassable in wet weather– - but the same farmer had another complaint, that the rates were too high. One of the biggest farmers on the island, Mr. Reuben Cannon - he had to travel 24 miles to reach the lagoon yesterday where the Solent landed - has on his property large deposits of stone which would be ideal for providing firm foundations for the roads across the peat lands that the island so badly needs. But the problem is providing the roads to Mr. Cannon’s property to get the stone out! 

Yesterday was a gala day for the islanders as, indeed, has been every day on which a Solent has landed. But yesterday was a special occasion in that the possibility exists that the Solent flights may end. For that reason, a large proportion of the islands’ 500 residents were on hand to welcome the plane, and a picnic atmosphere was obvious. Most welcome, of course, was the huge quantity of ice cream - a luxury on the islands - taken south by the Solent. Some of the residents - and not young ones either - seemed to spend an hour or more just eating ice cream. Trivial as that might seem, the fact that the Solent could carry perishable goods in short time to the Chathams has made the service of additional value to the islanders. So concerned are the islanders at its possible loss that a protest to the Government may be made. “We need better communications,’ said the Resident Commissioner (Mr. J. Patterson) yesterday. “We will be very sorry to lose the Solent service.”’

And in a third article in the same paper it was reported that the board of directors of Teal is to study the future of the Chatham Islands Solent services at the same time as it studies the future of the Coral route service to Tahiti. In view of increasing traffic over the Coral route it seems certain that at least one of the Solents will be retained to provide the connection with Tahiti, and, if so, it would be available to continue the trips to the Chatham Islands, In the unlikely event of there being no civil flying-boat available, a service would almost certainly he maintained by the Royal New Zealand Air Force with Sunderland aircraft.

A TEAL memo detailed the costs of operating the Chathams service for the year ending 31 March 1954. These show, that if it wasn't for the positioning costs for the Solent flying from Auckland to Wellington and return the Chathams service would have been viable. 

Operating Costs 

8th April, 1953  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland 4hrs 30mins @ £81.75 per hr = £367 17 6

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington 6hrs 00mins @ £116.75 per hr = £700 10 -

19th November, 1953

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland 3hrs 55mins @ £82.70 per hr = £324 9 10

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington 5hrs 42mins @ £117.85 per hr = £671 14 11

3rd December, 1953  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland 3hrs 51mins @ £82.70 per hr = £318 7 11

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington 5hrs 28mins @ £117.85 per hr = £643 8 4

14th December, 1953  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland 4hrs 01mins @ £82.70 per hr = £332 3 7

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington 5hrs 31mins @ £117.85 per hr = £649 6 3

29th January, 1954  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland 3hrs 53mins @ £82.70 per hr = £321 3 -

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington 5hrs 39mins @ £117.85 per hr = £665 - -

11th March, 1954  

Auckland/Wellington/Auckland 4hrs 20mins @ £82.70 per hr = £358 7 3

Wellington/Chathams/Wellington 5hrs 45mins @ £117.85 per hr = £675 15 6

Total Operating Expenditure    £6,029 4s 1d

Less Revenue:

Passengers         £4,505 10 -

Mails                           £73 13 7

Cargo                         £769 - 2

Excess Baggage         £246 18 6

Revenue                  £5,595 2s 3d

Amount Due to TEAL    £434 1s 10d

By the end of April TEAL had indicated to the Government that they were definitely not interested in the Chatham Islands service with Solents being kept for the fortnightly flight along the Coral Route from Laucala Bay near Suva, Fiji for Samoa, Aitutaki in the Cook Islands and on to Papeete in Tahiti. TEAL considered that it would not be possible for them to operate a Chathams service at the time when the flying boat will come to Auckland for maintenance and over-haul purposes. They also consider that 3 or 4 services a year would not meet the requirements of the local population who were more interested in getting 2 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. 

In August 1954 the Chatham Islanders petitioned Parliament for retention of the air service, stating, "We, the residents of the Chatham Islands, are worried and perturbed over the change by Teal from flying-boats to land-planes. While wishing the company every success, we feel that it may mean the end of the service to the islands. We have come to regard this service as essential and a welcome contact from outside. The service, in the past, has been well patronised by the islanders themselves, and, we believe, could be built up to a high level by the travelling public of New Zealand, many of whom would take advantage of an air service as a quick and comfortable way of seeing the islands, With better hotel accommodation, which is now being established, travellers could be assured of a place in which to stay. With the loss of the plane service, many of the amenities that have been built up will be lost and it will be a return once again to the pioneering era when the call today is for progress. We ask that the service be continued and trust that you will give this request every consideration."

After TEAL's withdrawal the Chathams' air service received sporadic flights operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force Short Sunderlands and later by the Australian airline, Ansett Airways using Short Sandringhams for the 1955-56 summer. (see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2014/07/ansetts-service-to-chatham-islands.html). 

On the 15th of October 1956 the Evening Post reported on a special TEAL flight to the Chathams. Tasman Empire Airways Limited, under charter to the Department of, Island Territories, will undertake a flight from Auckland to the Chatham Islands and return on October 20. The flight has been arranged to supplement the usual passenger service provided by Holm and Company's vessel Port Waikato. Teal will use a Solent flying-boat with a seating capacity of 30 southbound and 38 on the return trip. Although the distance from Auckland is greater than the usual route from Wellington to the Chatham Islands, it has been decided that the same fares and freight rates will apply - £20 single for passengers, and freight at 1/- a pound, said Mr. Macdonald. 

The flight was operated by Short S.45 Solent 3 R.M.A. Aparima, ZK-AMQ. This aircraft had been largely based in Suva as the back up aircraft for the Coral Route. It flew back to Auckland on the 17th of October and then operated the special TEAL flight from Auckland to the Chatham Islands and return on the 20th of October 1956. This was Aparima's only visit to the Chathams and it was also the last time a TEAL aircraft visited the Chatham Islands. The 20th also marked ZK-AMQ's final day of operations. After arriving back in Auckland the Solent was again placed in reserve storage. By mid-1957 it was stripped of useful equipment, and was sold for scrap in October 1957. 

ZK-AMQ, the last Short Solent to visit the Chatham Islands photographed in the Pacific

So ended TEAL's association with the Chatham Islands and its only domestic route. Ansett Airways returned to the Chathams for the 1956/57 summer flights. For the summer of 1957/58 NAC also operated a series of Douglas DC-3s flights to the newly developed Hapupu aerodrome (see https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2014/07/nac-first-civil-operator-to-chathams-on.html). Though successful the NAC flights were short-lived and it fell to the RNZAF to establish a more regular air service with their Short Sunderland flying boats (see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2014/07/ansetts-service-to-chatham-islands.html).

Meanwhile, TEAL's Shorts Solents were withdrawn from service. Their fates were

ZK-AML   Aotearoa II   

Registration cancelled 24 March 1955. Became G-AOBL with Aquila Airways, UK

ZK-AMM  Ararangi       

Damaged Mechanics Bay, destroyed by fire during maintenance 28 May 1954. Registration cancelled 15 June 1956 - Broken up for spares

ZK-AMN   Awatere       

Registration cancelled 17 January 1955. Became G-ANYI with Aquila Airways, UK

ZK-AMO         Aranui            

End of Coral Route service, 6 September 1960. 23/12/1960. Registration cancelled 23 December 1960. Preserved at MOTAT, Auckland.

ZK-AMQ         Aparima         

Final revenue service, 20 October 1956. Scrapped at Mechanics Bay 1957. Registration cancelled 31 October 1957