Early aviation in New Zealand was driven by a few hardy souls – those that cleverly built and those that flew the aircraft or those that did both, such as George Bolt.
George Bolt (1893‒1963) had established the Canterbury Aero Club in 1910, with a biplane glider completed in 1911, which he flew in December that year.
The first engine he made was a 12-horsepower two-stroke.
He would cast the crankcase by using the coal range in the family home to melt scrap aluminium which was poured into a moulding box.
Aviation pioneers Leo and Vivian Walsh had established the New Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama in 1915.
Joseph Horn, a wealthy property investor sought an interview in 1916 for his nephew with Vivian Walsh, who he had said had shown early promise in aviation. Vivian was less than impressed saying, "All people like you think their relatives are born fliers!"
That nephew was George Bolt and Vivian Walsh rather reluctantly hired him.
After Vivian explaining flying instructions to George lasting about 25 minutes, Vivian took to the air with George at the controls. After this, Vivian declared there "was nothing he could teach the young man".
This, as the Walsh Brothers would reflect, would provide the New Zealand Flying School with an extremely talented mechanic and flight instructor.
Historian and author Michael Fowler.
Airmail was delivered for the first time in New Zealand by George Bolt in 1919.
The Flying School ceased operations in 1923.
George Bolt's introduction to Napier was in 1928 when he was working for the Goodwin Chichester Aviation Company.
Napier Mayor John Vigor Brown invited George to bring his Avro Avian plane to Napier to provide some momentum in forming an aero club in Napier.
A temporary airstrip was created in a paddock in Riverbend Rd and joy rides were given during November 1928.
Tickets for the rides stated: "Passengers will understand the faith we have in this plane when we tell you it is not insured, but passengers are carried at their own risk in every respect."
Landing and taking off on the Riverbend Rd airfield proved to be challenging, as it was not properly prepared as an airfield.
A mishap occurred during one take-off on November 11 when the aeroplane struck a swampy patch and did not get enough lift resulting in clipping a paddock fence and damaging the plane badly, though fortunately no one was hurt.
Napier was said to be "thoroughly gripped during the weekend in a new urge – the desire to fly".
The Daily Telegraph reported "the hankering to go up aloft is no respecter of persons. Venerable gentlemen and small boys, married ladies and petite flappers, have all been represented in the passenger list of Captain Bolt's machine".
Union Airways was formed in December 1929 with 200,000 £1 shares ($20 million). A public offering of 150,000 £1 shares was made, which the directors promoted the company as "A Sound, Safe, Profitable National Investment".
Hastings, with the advantage of large expanses of land compared with Napier's rivers, creeks, swamps, and a large tidal lagoon, had formed a successful aero club, Hawke's Bay Aero Club in 1928.
The aerodrome at Hastings would therefore be chosen for Union Airways flights to Gisborne from Hawke's Bay. This was the East Coast's first commercial air service.
A taxi picked up passengers in either Gisborne of Hastings, they were then flown and dropped off at their destination by taxi.
The first timetable was leaving Hastings at 5pm and arriving at Gisborne at 6.30pm. The next day's left Gisborne at 7am for Hastings, arriving at 8.30am. The fare was £3 3 shillings ($330).
Flights were timed to meet the timetable for the Wellington express train.
Dominion Airlines Desoutter 2, registration ZK-ACA, took off from Hawke's Bay Aero Club's aerodrome on December 22 piloted by George Bolt for Gisborne, it had no passengers, but the next day the first passengers would be carried.
The airline struggled, and in February 1931 the Desoutter had been grounded in Hastings, just before the February 3, 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
After the earthquake, the opportunity was taken to increase business and the company's directors told George Bolt to begin flying again between Hastings and Gisborne, with a fare hike to £4 ($419).
Disaster occurred on February 8, 1931, when the Desoutter 2 ZK ACA piloted by Ivan Kight (managing director of Dominion Airlines) relieving for George Bolt, crashed at a height of 250 feet (76m) after dropping a package of telegraphic matter for the Wairoa postal authorities.
All three on board were killed, two instantly and the third minutes after rescuers had arrived on the scene. It was the first fatal accident for a commercial airline in New Zealand.
Things did not improve for Dominion Airlines Limited. In March 1931, the company went into voluntary liquidation. George Bolt had by then left to work for another company.
In the 1930s George was working for commercial airlines and during World War II became chief engineer at Ohakea.
He joined Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) in 1944 and remained there for the rest of his working life retiring as chief engineer in 1960.
George Bolt Memorial Drive at Auckland Airport is named for him.
With thanks to Terry Moyle's book The First: The Walsh Brothers and the Aeroplane Days of Edwardian New Zealand.
