NAC - The First Civil Operator to the Chathams on Sea and Land

While NAC has only had the briefest of connection with the Chathams it holds the status of being the first civil operator to the Chathams on both land and sea.

During the years 1946 to 1948 the RNZAF operated a number of flying boat services to the Chatham Islands using their Catalina and Sunderland flying boats. These flights prompted calls for a regular air service to the Chatham Islands. On the 7th of October 1948 Cabinet gave  the National Airways Corporation authority to operate a flying-boat service between Wellington and Chatham Islands and return once every six weeks, on trial, for a period of six months. Any losses incurred were to remain with the National Airways Corporation until the end of the period It was agreed that if it was subsequently decided to continue the service that at the end of the first year's operation the question of whether NZNAC would be reimbursed or not would be considered.

Initially there was some question as to whether these flights would terminate on the Chathams’ Te Whanga Lagoon or Lake Huro. RNZAF crews that had previously visited the Chathams in adverse weather conditions were very much against the continued use of the lagoon. However, there were no mooring, launch and jetty facilities at Lake Huro let alone road access and so Te Whanga Lagoon was confirmed as the landing site. As this question was determined NZNAC also looked to ensuring adequate services at Evans Bay, including provision of launches, mooring, refuelling, “sweeping” the landing and taking-off areas as well as the provision of a place for checking in passengers. The Corporation asked Aeradio and the RNZAF to provide the same radio communication facilities for their flights as had been provided for previous Air Force flights.

NAC operated a survey flight to the Chatham Islands with Short Sunderland ZK-AMG, Mataatua, on the 9th of February 1949. 21 seats were available on the outward flight, but the Sunderland was full for the return trip on the same day carrying Public Works Department carpenters and secondary school students returning to New Zealand for the new school year. The fare was set at £11 each way with each passenger allowed 35lb of luggage. The flight was scheduled to leave Evans Bay at 8.15am arriving at the Chathams at 11.45am. The return flight was scheduled to leave at 2.45pm arriving at Wellington at 6.15pm before the Sunderland positioned back to Auckland.

Evening Post, 5 February 1949

This first flight was expected to mark the beginning of the regular six-weekly service to the Chathams, however, the service proved to be more sporadic. A return flight was operated on the 9th of March 1949 but the flight scheduled to operate on the 1st of June was cancelled due to insufficient traffic. The next flight was operated on the 17th of August 1949, but a week before the flight operated there were only 13 passengers booked - 10 bound for the Chathams and 3 on the return flight! At this time NAC wrote to the Director of Civil Aviation noting that “even allowing for a full complement of passengers each way on the Sunderland aircraft, the Corporation will still lose approximately £400.0.0 per trip when operating these flights to the Chatham Islands, and therefore it is necessary to recover as much revenue as possible on each flight operated.”

Over the summer of 1949/1950 more flights were operated. Wellington’s Evening Post suggested that the Chathams as a holiday destination - Holiday seekers who would care to spend a month at the Chatham Islands over Christmas will have an opportunity to do so by flying-boat. A Sunderland flying-boat is making two special flights from New Zealand to the Chathams over the holiday period. She will carry passengers from Wellington and mail from Auckland and Wellington. The first flight leaves Auckland at 2.30pm on December 22, and Wellington at 8am the following day, returning to Wellington at 5.30am from the islands. The second flight will be made at the same times on January 26 and 27. The Sunderland will arrive at Wellington from Auckland at 5pm on December 22 and January 26, and departs for Auckland from Wellington at 6.15 pm on December 23 and January 27.

NAC had three Short Sunderlands registered to them... Above ZK-AMG, which made the first flight to the Chathams and below ZK-AMK. Both photos were taken at Hobsonville in Auckland.

In 1950 NZNAC retired the Sunderlands from its fleet, the flight on the 27th of January 1950 being the last flight the Corporation operated to the Chathams. The flight in ZK-AMK was under the command of Captains Allan Henry and Brian Layne. 

Captain Brian Layne's logbook with the last NAC flight to Chathams recorded on 27 January 1950.

The NAC air service to the Chathams proved to be costly. The four flight carried 135 passengers and incurred losses of £436.17.11 in March 1949, £640.12.5 in August 1949, £439.12.1 in December 1949 and £360.6.9 in January 1950. The Minister of Finance approved the reimbursement of these losses to the Corporation.

Location of the three landing sites on Chatham... From left to right, Point Waikato flying boat base, the current Tuuta Airport and Hapupu airstrip which was used by the RNZAF and Safe Air's Bristol Freighters and Tasman Air's Piper Navajo. 

NAC was later to become the first civil operator of land-based flights to the Chatham Islands. This was made possible after the opening of Hapupu Airfield.

In 1956 the Barker Brothers looked at developing an airfield at Hapupu despite the Chatham Island County Council thinking the site was too inaccessible. The Minister of Civil Aviation wrote to the Barkers stating that “If you are prepared to proceed at your own or local expense without Government support at this stage in constructing the NW-SE airstrip, then conditional on the Hapupu site being finally chosen for the aerodrome for Chatham Islands I will be prepared to recommend to Government reimbursement of agreed on and substantial cost of construction of the airstrip up to 60% of the cost with a top limit of Government subsidy of £2,000.” 

On the 25th of August 1956, the Barker Brothers replied that they had already commenced preparation of the Hapupu airstrip and this was ready for use by May 1957. The first flight into Hapupu was made by the Civil Aviation Administration’s Douglas DC-3 ZK-AUJ on the 15th of May 1957. The first flight was flown by Captain Hewitt with First Officer George, Navigator Duke, Radio Officer Vaughan and Flight Engineer Young making up the rest of the crew. Also on board were Messrs Halley and Andrews of C.A.A. and Mr Pritchard of the Ministry of Works.

The survey party were quite impressed with the 4000x400 feet airfield which had been developed by the Barker Brothers. It was built along a slight ridge of sand and shell composition and the survey party considered it had “a well-drained surface, with a thick sole of grass. Despite previous rains, only tyre marks with slight tread indentations were left by the heavy aircraft.” While the survey party were happy with the airfield the Chatham Islanders were less happy as Te Hapupu was more than 30 miles from Waitangi, the Chathams’ main population centre. For half the overland distance there was no road at all so most traffic took a short cut through Te Whanga lagoon using horse-drawn joggers or tractor-drawn trailers. Nonetheless it was reported that half the population were at Te Hapupu to see the DC-3’s arrival.

During the previous two summers Ansett Airways of Australia had operated a series of flights to the Chathams. These had proved expensive and so for the summer of 1957/58 NAC were chartered by the Department of Island Territories to operate five Douglas DC-3s flights between Christchurch and Te Hapupu with an additional flight if necessary. The cost of chartering the DC-3s was estimated at £425 per flight, with an approximate net expenditure of £1000 (after revenue from ticket sales) for 6 flights as opposed to a net expenditure the previous year of £3,000 for flights operated by the flying boats. Flights were scheduled to operate on the 14th and 18th of December 1957, and the 26th of January, 2nd of February and 1st of March 1958 with a fare of £17.17.6 being charged for adults and a half fare for school children. The first survey flight was flown by Douglas DC-3 ZK-APA with the subsequent five charter flights being made by ZK-APK.

The operation of these flights proved to be very successful, with a profit of £600 being made on the Chatham Islands service for the first time. However, there were aspects of the operation of the flights that proved to be problematic. Prime among these was the remote location of the airfield and the difficulty of accessing it, the journey to the airfield taking up to 3 hours. The DC-3’s, while cheaper to operate than the flying boat, could only carry 14 passengers to Hapupu and 19-20 passengers on the return trip. It was felt that if further flights were to be operated it was highly desirable to install a radio beacon as well as radio communication from the airstrip to the aircraft. The cost of this equipment was estimated at £10,000. There was also the question of the recouping of costs for the construction of the airfield with the Barker Brothers wanting the Government to buy the airfield while the Government was willing to pay a £2000 subsidy plus a £10 landing fee for commercial flights. Despite the commercial success of these first flights they were not repeated.

The following year it was the RNZAF who operated the summer flights to the Chathams and who continued to operate a regular service. In announcing the RNZAF service the MP for Lyttleton Norman Kirk said the flying-boats offered the best solution to many of the islands transport problems. Asked why flying-boat service had been preferred to land planes, he said that the Te Whanga Lagoon had an area of 86,000 acres and offered multi-directional landing facilities not available at Hapupu which was a grass airstrip.  "The access to the strip is 31 miles, most of which is swamp and fern country and negotiated by tracks and four-wheel drive vehicles, and even these experienced considerable difficulty in driving the last 15 or 20 miles." he said, "This trip necessitates travelling in old clothing and changing into other clothes at the airstrip. This usually takes place in the bush." The lagoon, he said, offered a more regular service immediately with no costly development involved.

NAC was to operate two further DC-3 charter flights to the Chathams. The first of these was on Sunday the 26th of June 1966 when ZK-APA made a trip to the Chathams to bring trawler crew members back to the mainland. The July 1966 issue of NAC's Skylines magazine gives more details of the logistics behind the flight. Its not every day that the Chatham Islanders see an aircraft on their soil. However, on Sunday June 26 an NAC DC3 made the trip from Christchurch. Under charter to a fishing company, the flight was made for the purpose of returning a launch crew to New Zealand. However, the outward flight to the Chathams was used as a survey flight as required by DCA. DC3 ZK-APA left Christchurch at 0800 for the three hour trip to the Chathams. The return flight, which did not have the advantage of a strong tail wind took four hours. The aircraft was under the command of Capt. D. C. Emett with Capt. A. R. Westlake assisting. Mr. J. Hawthorn was on board as Flight Clerk and our Air Safety Officer, Capt. L. Dobbs, and Capt. I. R. Ferguson of DCA were carried as observers. Owing to the distance to be covered (470 miles), special engineering arrangements were necessary. Extra survival equipment was installed life-rafts emergency packs and Gibson Girl radio. Weight factors meant the cabin seating was reduced to 18. In addition, an engineer, Mr. T. Mosely, accompanied the flight and handled refuelling at the Chathams. Emergency picketing equipment, off-centre control locks and wet weather clothing were also carried. The complexity of these arrangements will give some idea of the work which goes into arranging an out-of-the-ordinary flight such as this. 

The flight proved to be a bonus for the Post Office with 300lb of mail being able to flown for the Post  Office courtesy of the charterer. On the return trip the aircraft carried 30lb of mail. The Press reported that the National Airways Corporation DC3 was chartered to bring two fishermen back from the Chatham Islands. The two men were the only passengers on the flight which was estimated to cost more than £300. The flight was chartered by Mr G. A. Blaikie, a Bluff fisherman, who owns the crayfishing vessel Kingfisher which will spend 10 weeks fishing in the islands. Marine Department regulations required a crew of five on the outward journey, but only three on the return.

Captain Emett's account of the flight was published in the August 1966 issue of Skylines... A low pass over the paddock, wind right down the strip, about 10 to 15 knots judging by the wind socks; no obstructions; looks OK; a climbing turn onto the downwind leg and call for "Wheels down." As the touchdown point passes under the left wing tip, turn in again towards the field. "Quarter flaps please, Tony." Speed coming back. "Make it a half." Speed about 90 knots now. "Three-quarters please, Tony." And as the flap goes down, check the air-speed; height OK; low over the titree; paddock looks good; check back on the control column; grass coming close. That's it! Wheels firmly on the turf - a bit too firmly for a "pansy" landing, but no bounce - well, what the heck, this is a proving flight and we've checked that the surface is hard! And so, for the first time in many years a National Airways DC3 has landed at the Chatham Islands. 

The Chatham Islands have become very topical lately with suggestions being made that a better service to and from the Islands would benefit their economy. Then there are counter suggestions that spending large sums to benefit the relatively few islanders is not in the best interests of the majority of New Zealanders. Back and forth go the arguments, but in the meantime, boats from the main islands are establishing an export business in crayfish tails from the Chathams, worth perhaps half a million pounds in overseas exchange. So big business and export crayfish may be a better reason for establishing a service to the Chathams, and it was certainly the prime cause of our flight. 

A new fishing boat had been taken to the Islands and two of the delivery crew had to get back to Invercargill as soon as possible. So a DC3 charter was arranged and the Department of Civil Aviation drew up a list of requirements which we would have to meet to ensure the safety of the operation. Because the Corporation did not intend carrying a navigator on this type of charter, the crew were required to demonstrate their ability to reach the Chathams and return, using "pilot navigation" techniques. Captain Tony Westlake took care of the pilot navigation department most efficiently and I think we made a favourable impression upon Captain Ian Ferguson from the Department of Civil Aviation and Captain Les Dobbs, NAC's Safety Officer, who had been sent along as observers. Accurate navigation is required be-cause there are two points en route which are of major importance to the crew. The first is the "critical point" which is a position between the airfield of departure and the destination airfield, from which it would take the same time to fly to the destination as it would take to return to the departure point. This distance varies according to the prevailing head or tail wind. The second, more important, is the "point of no return" which is more or less self-explanatory. For our purposes we had to establish a distance between Christchurch and the Chathams for which, if we suffered an engine failure we could return on one motor to Christchurch. Once we had travelled beyond that point we were committed to a landing at the Chathams if an engine failed. Our DC3 was equipped with a drift sight which gave us our drift angle and ground speed. This enabled us to compute the wind. Using radio compass bearings from broadcast stations at Wellington and Napier, positions were established and radio reports were made each 2 of longitude along our track, and thus we were able to keep a close check on our progress, proving that the flight was a reasonable undertaking for a two-pilot crew. 

Once we had arrived at the Hapupu airstrip the other members of our crew came into action. Tom Mosely prepared for refuelling and John Hawthorne, our cabin attendant, worked out that with ten passengers and their baggage we could carry 620 gallons of fuel without going over our maximum permitted weight. So Tom began the task of refuelling from 44 gallon drums with a willing Chatham Islander operating the hand pump. The fuel slowly passed through a funnel lined with chamois leather into the aircraft tanks. The chamois leather is essential because it prevents any water which may have condensed in the drums from passing into the aircraft tanks. This process gave us the chance to take stock of our situation and to have a chat with the people who had come to farewell our passengers. It transpired that to reach the airfield from the "capital city" Waitangi, requires a journey by tractor and trailer across a large shallow lagoon, which apart from the inconvenient transport, takes a long time. It seems that there are plans for a sealed strip near Waitangi, but the chap I was talking to had the opinion that the peat soil at Waitangi, the undulating country and the lack of nearby shingle for stabilising the strip, would make it prohibitively expensive. He was all for the Hapupu strip and building a causeway over the lagoon, but the Hapupu strip also has its disadvantages. Ian Ferguson said that for our trip the Chathams weather was the best that he had experienced, and with the wind straight down the strip we had no problems. But if the wind had been across the strip, the dense belt of trees on the western side acting as an escarpment would have added to the problem by producing low level turbulence. It would be easier by Friendship, both for the cross-wind performance on the tricycle undercarriage and for the ease with which it meets the fuel and single engine requirements. But the strip isn't sealed and it isn't very long. Therefore, with DC3 aircraft the Corporation and the Chatham Islanders must accept the fact that at times an aircraft may travel almost to its "point of no return" and then turn back to Christchurch or Wellington if the pilot in command is at all doubtful of the unpredictable Chathams weather. Given a good day it's an out-of-the-rut trip and most enjoyable—especially the crayfish. (One of our passengers supplied one each to the crew!) 

The second flight followed on the 22nd of July 1966. NAC's Skylines magazine reported, The aircraft was under the command of Captain A. R. Westlake, with Captain R. L. Anderson assisting. The Engineer was Mr. J. Walker and Flight Clerk Mr. R. Coventry. ZK-APK left Christchurch at 0800 hours for the flight. The purpose of the charter was to take some of the fishing company's men over to the islands and to bring others back. Also on the return trip was the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Kirk. The aircraft took hospital supplies to the Chathams, and a sick person was carried on the flight back. The aircraft returned to Christchurch at 1630.  

For links to other air services to the Chathams see...
http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/chatham-islands-index-of-posts.html