Westland Air and its Air Taxi Services

UPDATED June 2024

In August 1969 the Alpine Flying School was established in Greymouth using a Cessna 150, ZK-BVY, for training. From this, in October 1969, Nash Taurau established Westland Air Ltd with his wife Elizabeth Taurau. Cessna 172F, ZK-CKN, was acquired and Nash became the company manager and chief pilot. In March 1970, expanding from its training origins, Westland Air applied for an air charter and air ambulance licence that would allow it to operate from Hokitika and Greymouth. The initial application was turned down, but late that year, on the 10th of December 1970, an air charter and air ambulance licence was granted for operations from Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika. Late in 1972 the company was also permitted to conduct operations from Reefton’s Cronadun airstrip.

Westland Air's Cessna 172 ZK-CKN taken at Greymouth on 10 April 1971

On the 30th of July 1971, Westland Air announced its intention to inaugurate an air taxi service between Greymouth, Hokitika and the glaciers. Mount Cook Air Services had earlier that year terminated its skiplane service from Fox Glacier and Franz Josef to Hokitika. The company planned to fly southbound along the Alps and northbound along the coastline using the Cessna 172 for the service, which he envisaged would operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A second Cessna 172, ZK-CFD, was added to its licence in November 1971.

A few months before it became part of the Westland Air fleet, Rex Flying School's Cessna 172 ZK-CFD was photographed at Greymouth on 13 March 1971.

On the 31st of January 1972 Paraparaumu based Rex Air Charter Ltd and Westland Air Ltd started a new air service Paraparaumu and Wellington with Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika. Initially, the service operated from Paraparaumu south to Hokitika three times a week with the southbound flights leaving on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The aircraft overnighted at Hokitika and flew the northbound flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Harry Jenkins, manager and chief pilot of Rex Air Charter, told the Greymouth Evening Star on the 31st of January 1972 that "the timetable would remain flexible until a pattern was established according to demand... If required stops will be made at Greymouth and Westport before going on to Wellington Airport where the scheduled arrival time is 9.50am. Mr Jenkins said the aircraft would bypass Greymouth or Westport if there were no passengers or freight to collect. ‘The whole thing is quite flexible.’” He also suggested in the Hokitika Guardian that “the service would also fill the gap left by NAC when it cuts its connection between Hokitika and Westport on May 30 1972.”

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 February 1972

The Civil Aviation Division of the Ministry of Transport acknowledged that theoretically the service could be conducted under the two air taxi licences. But they felt that if there was to be a regular service then it should be classified as non-scheduled service and appropriate licences needed to be sought. This fact was made known to both companies.

Meanwhile, the service was not proving particularly successful. Only 24 people used it in the first month, with Westland Air completing one return flight between the Wellington-West Coast and Rex Flying School flying five such flights. The companies made the decision to reduce the service to two flights a week, on Mondays and Fridays southbound and Tuesdays and Saturdays northbound.

Westland Air subsequently withdrew from the partnership with Rex Air Charter. With Rex not being able to operate from Wellington it was dropped as a destination, as was Hokitika. Rex Air Charter continued to operate a Paraparaumu-Westport-Greymouth service for a number of years using its air taxi licence and an on a seat charge basis.

When NAC withdrew its flights between Hokitika and Westport on 6 June 1972, Hokitika lost its air link to Nelson. Westland Air felt there was enough interest for a service, and accordingly Nash Taurau wrote to the Air Services Licensing Authority seeking to operate an Air Taxi service from Hokitika and Greymouth to Nelson and return. Also, on Fridays only, and again on demand, Greymouth-Christchurch and return. The choice of a Cessna 185 is due to the terrain over which we are required to fly. We are sometimes limited in Cessna 172 aircraft due to insufficient power whilst conditions may still be well above minimum VFR. The extra seats available are required to make the venture more sound economically for both our company and the passengers. This application, if granted, will allow us to evaluate our Air Charter operations with the extra seats and demonstrate to Hospital Representatives the extra comfort and speed we can offer patients in this type of aircraft. Since the West Coast Hospital Board is our largest customer, and we transport staff as well as patients as far afield as Auckland and Dunedin, we feel we will shortly be required to upgrade our aircraft for the longer air ambulance flights. The company proposed to use Cessna 185 ZK-CCB or Cessna 172 ZK-CKN commencing on the 19th of June 1972. It was given approval to operate Cessna 185 ZK-CCB on these flights and for its general charter and ambulance work. 

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 June 1972



The Cessna 185, ZK-CCB, which was to be used on the Nelson and Christchurch air taxi services.
Photo taken at Ardmore

These services, if they ever got airborne, were very short lived, as Nash Taurau and the Cessna 185 were involved in an accident on the 25th of June 1972 as ZK-CCB caught its tail wheel on the top strand of a fence while it was landing at Te Anau. On the 27th of June The Press reported that the pilot, Nash Taurau, took off from Te Anau at 8 a.m. but decided to land again because of fog. “I was most worried about finding a clear part of the airfield and missing houses in the vicinity. When we hit the fence; we were flying with the tail down, and very slowly. The tail-wheel caught on the last strand, and this brought the plane down,” said Mr Taurau. Engineers and insurance assessors have examined .the aircraft and it will be repaired at Dunedin. The optimism of the newspaper report didn't come to pass and the 185 was written off and the registration cancelled on the 29th of June 1972.

Westland Air continued to offer training, charter and air taxi services until mid-1973 when it was taken over by Coast Air Charter.

Aircraft Operated

AESL Airtourer T4

ZK-DDP (c/n A568)

Beech A23-24 Musketeer

ZK-DAD (c/n MA-181)

Cessna 150

ZK-BVY (c/n 17865)

Still with Auckland Flying School titles but at Greymouth with Westland Air, Cessna 150 ZK-BVY in 1970-71

Cessna 172

ZK-CFD (c/n 17250279)

ZK-CKN (c/n 17252194)

Cessna 177B Cardinal

ZK-DIH (c/n 17701900)

Cessna 185A

ZK-CCB (c/n 185-0481)

Piper PA-18-90 Super Cub

ZK-BQN  (c/n c/n 18-5252)

Piper PA-22-108 Colt

ZK-BYQ (c/n 22-8159)