Historic HB: Napier gets green light for airport site

Douglas DC-3D ZK-APK parked on the apron at the Hawke's Bay Airport around 1965. Credit: Hugh Whitehead

Hawke's Bay Airport's recent completion of its revamped airport terminal follows several such projects since the 1940s – necessitated by the constant increase in freight and passenger travel.

The fact that Napier could have an airport at all was due to the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake raising land formerly part of the Ahuriri lagoon, which was then more use for floating means of transport, than wheeled ones.

Napier's first aerodrome was at the embankment site after the earthquake. After World War II, the Beacons site was favoured, which laid the foundation of today's modern airport.

One relic which was literally stopped dead in its tracks during the 1931 earthquake was Napier's tramway. With the trams never used again, a tram body was used as a passenger terminal at the Beacons site.

Hastings, with its established Bridge Pa aerodrome, believed they had claim to having the main airport in Hawke's Bay, when the first discussions occurred about this during 1943. The government would not fund two airports.

The big advantage Napier had (and made sure they kept it that way) was the Beacons site, according to those officials and engineers tasked with finding one site, was more developed and suitable than the Bridge Pa aerodrome.

Hastings tried frantically to find another airport site, but a report by Furkett and McKillop in 1944 recommended Napier's Beacons site as the most suitable.

With this news, Napier Airport Board wasted no time in getting rid of the tram body to the Napier Aero Club and requesting tenders for the first passenger terminal building and administration block in June 1945.

On the building plans for the terminal was an expansion footprint, which all came to a halt in some most unusual circumstances.

The government architect maintained that he was completely unaware of the plans for the expansion of the terminal when he drew up plans for the airport's first control tower – which he sited right in the middle of the expansion zone.

When the Napier Airport Board (and Napier Borough Council) sent up howls of protest to the Ministry of Works, these were ignored. Photographs show the large control tower awkwardly positioned in front of the terminal building.

Air travel and freight had become more popular and in 1956 a new terminal was planned for the Beacons airport.

Hastings always watched nervously these events as it lessened their chances of an airport in their boundary. The issue of the main airport in Hawke's Bay, however, was far from over, but the more development that took place at the Beacons airport the harder it would be for it to justify a new airport in Hastings – and Napier knew it.

Recently released material of meetings held between a Napier City Council employee and the Civil Aviation Administration in Wellington during October 1956 are revealing.

The Napier City Council employee spoke to R J Dippy, Air Department controller of operations, and recorded on paper the conversations.

"He gave nothing away, but apparently Hastings has been at it again, but I combatted that. I told him of Furkett and McKillop's report [above mentioned] and the various advantages that Beacons had over any other areas dealt with in that report [Hastings's alternative sites to the Beacons].

"I further told him that we wouldn't be too keen to spend £5000 (2021: $272,000) on this building if we thought the airport was to be shifted away. However, he summed it up by saying he thought it was a very unlikely happening – it was purely political and would need someone with great courage to talk Cabinet into purchasing and developing a new airport at a cost of £200,000 ($11 million).

"It appeared the only disadvantage with the Beacons was that Hastings people had to travel 15 miles to reach it – what is 15 miles compared with the distance that Auckland and Wellington have to travel to Whenuapai and Paraparaumu?"

Passenger numbers at the Beacons had gone from 14,388 in 1953 to 30,663 in 1959, and freight went from 25,309kg in 1953 to 121,562kg in 1959.

The new airport terminal at the Beacons was opened in November 1959 to great fanfare, and at a cost of £13,500 ($735,000).

When two years later in 1961 the issue of where to site the Hawke's Bay airport was again being considered, and Napier, with its new shiny terminal was in the pilot's seat, shall we say.

What had brought the matter to a head again was the introduction of the National Airways Corporation of New Zealand (NAC) Fokker friendships which needed to land on sealed runways – which the Beacons airport did not have.

The government, who would be contributing half the cost of a Hawke's Bay airport, were not keen to fork out for a completely new airport (as noted previously), just the cost of the sealed runway and other improvements shared with local authorities 50/50.

And Napier City Council, which effectively funded the Beacons airport, understandably were not keen to contribute with other Hawke's Bay local bodies a share of 50 per cent of the costs to build another airport when they already had a suitable one.

After one of the divisive issues between Napier versus Hastings politics, the Hawke's Bay Airport opened on February 15, 1964.

Michael Fowler's new book Wings Over Hawke's Bay: The Story of our Airport can be pre-ordered on the Hawke's Bay Airport website .

- Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a contract researcher and commercial business writer of Hawke's Bay history. Follow him on facebook.com/michaelfowlerhistory