Getting Our Wings: Early Airports in Auckland, 1911-1945

Auckland International Airport is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s best assets. In the 2024 financial year, it carried 18.5 million passengers to and from 42 destinations by 26 airlines and made $900 million.  The airport is undoubtedly one of the bastions of the modern economy, the gateway connecting Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. Its sleek terminals and massive concrete runway create a sense of modernity, and a space disconnected from history. Yet, under closer examination, Auckland Airport is full of history. Similarly, the road network around the airport reveals stories of innovative aviators, with even the main terminal itself named after Jean Batten. In this series of articles, I hope to advance the idea that Auckland Airport is an essential space for understanding Auckland’s history and as representative of its history as any other city landmark. Previous texts, most notably the 2003 book Where New Zealand Touches the World, From Farm Paddock to South Pacific Hub: A History of Auckland International Airport by Martyn Thompson and Alice Clements, have excellently outlined the political and logistical story of the Airport. This series aims to accompany the existing historiography by highlighting the social history of airports in Auckland.

The First Flights

To tell the story of Auckland Airport, one must first know the story of Auckland’s many airports in the past, starting from the first arrival of humans in the area. Aviation has gripped Tāmaki Makaurau for hundreds of years. This is evidenced by Manu Tukutuku, a Māori kite used for recreational and practical purposes. The presence of aviation technology has been so significant since this period. The suburb of Manurewa can even trace its name back to these kites after Tamapahore cut the cord of his brothers' kite, which drifted to Manurewa – Manu meaning kite and Rewa meaning east. 

Auckland was, in many cases, a forerunner of early aviation. Close after stories emerged from the United States and Britain of the first aeroplane experiments, Auckland residents Leo and Vivian Walsh became enamoured with the new technology. In 1910, the brothers began to import parts of the Farman Bi-plane from England.  These parts included stringers, wires, and rolls of fabric. The plane was assembled with the combined efforts of the whole family, with Leo and Vivian doing the engineering work while their sisters assembled the fabric.  By early 1911, the plane was ready to go. The Walsh brothers, with the assistance of other aviation enthusiasts like the Lester brothers and A.J. Powley, created a proto-airport on the property of William Walters at the Glenora Park race course.  

Image: A N Breckon, ‘The Walsh Brothers aircraft Manurewa at Papakura’, Auckland Weekly News, March 23, 1911. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19110323-13-01.

On 31 January 1911, Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward stopped by the Aero Club’s makeshift airport to christen the new plane. This gave Auckland’s first aeroplane a name, with each member shouting a letter until the name Manurewa was revealed.  Unfortunately, the Prime Minister was on his way out of Auckland to travel to England and could not be present for the first flight of the Manurewa, which took place a few days later on 9 February. The flight was a resounding success, greatly impressing the Auckland public. While the area is certainly not used as an airport anymore, the Walsh brothers’ exploits are well recorded into the landscape of Takaanini through several names, such as Soaring Bird Drive and Airfield Road, where a plaque commemorates the first flight.

Image: Plaque on Airfield Road commemorating the flight of the Manurewa. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 06142.

By 1913, the Manurewa saw use again when the Australian aviator F.E. Sandford flew it from a new pre-airport at the Avondale racecourse. Through the early months of the year, Sandford had a string of successful flights, flying up to six miles around the new airport. Sadly, Sandford’s exploits also attracted a string of tragedies, such as the death of a small dog that ventured too close to his plane’s propellor, destroying both in the process. Sandford himself almost became the victim of his flights, as a demonstration flight from Avondale to Alexandra Park at the end of 1913 for the Auckland Exhibition resulted in a botched landing that left him seriously injured, and the Manurewa wrecked.

Image: Walsh Brothers aircraft at Papakura, 1911. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 2- V0003.

The Auckland public was again gripped with aviation fever when famous American aviator Arthur ‘Wizard’ Stone was due to fly a Bleriot Monoplane at the Auckland Domain in that same year. The event was extensively advertised across newspapers, which claimed that witnessing a flight was ‘A sensation that no pen can describe’.  Unfortunately, a pen can describe what happened, as engine problems forced Stone to land shortly after takeoff. The crowd, which had paid 1-2 shillings per ticket, was upset by the unceremonious end to the exhibition flight, surrounded the now-grounded plane and may have even damaged part of it. 

Image: Wizard Stone's flight, Auckland Domain. Price, William Archer, 1866-1948: Collection of postcard negatives. Ref: 1/2-001629-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22360719. 

The Walsh brothers would later take their aviation skills to Mission Bay, where the first stages of something resembling an airport began to arise. They collected their growing fleet of home-made and imported seaplanes and founded a Flying School to train pilots for the Royal Flying Corps.  Following the end of the First World War, the pilot school stayed and acquired several planes from the surplus of the British Government.  In this era, the Flying School experimented with aspects of aviation like mail delivery and transport.  Notable individuals such as Roman Catholic Bishop Dr. Cleary were even transported around the country by Flying School members.  On 5 October 1921, Leo Walsh completed the longest flight in New Zealand, travelling from Auckland to Wellington in just over five hours. 

Image: Advertisement from the Auckland Star for Gold Crown Gasoline, boasting that it is used by the NZ Flying School. Page 10 Advertisements Column 3, Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 55, 6 March 1923.

Māngere Aerodrome and the Auckland Aero Club

By 1923, it seemed that interest in aviation began to wane. Mileage of flights by the Flying School reduced from 69,039 in 1922 to just 14,983 in 1923.  To the Walsh brothers, this was due to a lack of Government support, as aviation costs far outweighed any profits.  In the end, the school folded, with the Government buying up its assets and subsequently selling, scrapping, and burning the fleet of planes. 

For the next few years, aviation in Auckland was grounded. This lasted until 1928, when aviation enthusiasts formed the Auckland Aero Club, which grew quickly in popularity with 130 members.  This time around, the Government wanted to support the new aero clubs popping up around the country by donating Gipsy Moth planes and a subsidy for pilot training.  The Auckland Aero Club continued the New Zealand Aero Club’s mission of boosting aviation education, as member Captain Donald Harkness gave guest lectures on aviation at Auckland University. 

The Aero Club wasted no time finding site options for their potential airport, narrowing it down to either the Māngere Speedway around Pūkaki Lagoon or a paddock in lower Māngere owned by William Peacock. The Speedway was already used for motorsports, so on 9 July 1928, the committee decided to lease Peacock’s Paddock. The club quickly got to work on their new home at Māngere, erecting a hangar by the end of the year.  With a new landing ground, the Aero Club invited the famous Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith to visit.

Image: Kingsford Smith at Māngere, 1928. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection Footprints 02149. 

Within the first year, the Aero Club had two planes, a hangar, an engineer, and an instructor. One of their planes came as a gift from Henry Horton, director of the New Zealand Herald. This plane gained the name Herald.  However, with a steady increase in the costs of staff, the Club needed to fundraise, lest they meet the fate of the Flying School. To fundraise, the Aero Club ran what would become the first of many air pageants.  The prospect of seeing planes in action enticed the Auckland public, drawing over 6000 attendees armed with £520.  With these new funds, the Aero Club was able to purchase the site entirely, including a new plot of land to expand into. 

Image: New Zealand's first great aerial pageant: impressive scenes at Auckland Aero Club's thrilling display last Saturday’, Supplement to the Auckland Weekly News, 24 April 1929, p.43, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19290424-43-01.

The Aero Club’s most famous member by far was Jean Batten. While not trained at the aerodrome, she spent a considerable amount of time flying there.  Batten is well known for soaring above many aviation records, including an impressive solo flight from England to Auckland, where she landed in Māngere on 17 October 1936. On landing, Batten was received by a crowd of around 6000, who swarmed her plane. She emerged and waved to the crowd, then Aero Club Secretary L.W. Swan, Engineer F.N. North, and her father quickly greeted her. Next, she was welcomed by a horde of notable people, including the Mayor, the Minister of Defence, and the Secretary of the Aero Club. Later that day, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage sent a telegram to Batten, congratulating her and stating that ‘New Zealand is proud to claim you as one of her own.’ 

Image: Jean Batten welcomed at Māngere. Supplement to the Auckland Weekly News, 21 October 1936, p.46. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19361021-46-01.

Image: Jean Batten congratulated by Auckland Aero Club secretary L C Swan at Māngere Aerodome, 1936. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 04499.

In the latter part of the 1930s, the aerodrome shifted away from recreational to more practical uses due to a mix of factors. Firstly, the clubhouse burned down in 1938, and with it left many non-aviation-focused club members. The tennis and golf yards saw less use, and the replacement clubhouse lacked accommodation.  Around the same time, the aerodrome became the terminal for Union Airways, which began to provide public commercial transport flights around New Zealand. These flights utilised Lockheed Electra planes, which could hold up to ten passengers.  In addition to passenger services, the new air route also allowed for fast mail. An Auckland resident could deposit a letter by 10.30 am and have it reach Wellington’s post office by 4 pm.  In the first year, the Auckland to Wellington route carried over 8000 passengers.  For the first time in history, Aucklanders could travel to and from the capital in hours. 

Image: RNZAF base, Māngere, 1943’, Research South, MNP MS 26, Box 29,  Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 04509.

The outbreak of the Second World War impacted Māngere aerodrome greatly. Most Union Airway and Aero Club pilots joined the Air Force, which also took over both organisations' fleet of planes. The aerodrome became a pilot instructor school for the Air Force.  Union Airways still operated but at a significantly reduced capacity. Yet, the Air Force stopped using Māngere by mid-1940, leaving the area vacant, save for Union Airways and the occasional Air Force landing.  A gliders club used the aerodrome briefly until 1942, when aerodromes across the country were reactivated to become fighter bases for the efforts against Imperial Japan. The aerodrome was not yet suitable for the more advanced jets emerging from the Second World War, and, as a result, the Air Force upgraded and extended the runway.  The Air Force continued to use the upgraded aerodrome until the end of the war. 

During the war, aviation changed drastically, leaving Māngere Aerodrome behind for better prospects with flying boats in Mechanics Bay and landing planes at Whenuapai Airbase. The Aerodrome once again became the base of the Aero Club, which continued its stay until 1960 before moving on to a new aerodrome at Ardmore. 

Image: The new Auckland Aero Club complex in Ardmore in 1965. Research South, MNP MS 26, Box 29, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections Footprints 04477.

The story of Auckland’s first airfields shows aviation's power over the city. In many respects, the people of Auckland were ahead of the rest of the world in early aviation, perhaps to break the inherent isolation of the city’s place. Yet, despite this great enthusiasm, the next steps of civil aviation in Auckland tell a different story. The issues included delay, inefficiency, and a lack of will to advance, which had previously defined aviation in Auckland. 

Author: Alexandru Cotos, Auckland History Initiative Summer Research Scholar 

Alexandru completed his Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics and International Relations in 2024 and is now pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History.

Having arrived there as a baby in 2004, Alexandru and many other Aucklanders know Auckland International Airport well, but not its history. Through his research, Alexandru has uncovered a long and fascinating history of not just the current Airport but ones of the past. This story starts with the first flights in Auckland, the first airports in Auckland, the process of selecting a site, the history of the site, and the modern use of the Airport as a place for community action. Alexandru’s research reveals that Auckland International Airport is a significant site of history, representing some major themes in Auckland’s history, like isolation, protest, and the failures of bureaucracy.

Alexandru would like to thank Dr Jess Parr and Professor Linda Bryder for supervising this project and supporting his research. He would also like to thank the team at Walsh Memorial Library at MOTAT, Archives New Zealand, University of Auckland Special Collections, and Auckland Libraries Research Central and South for their assistance in accessing the needed materials for this project. Finally, Alexandru would like to thank the Auckland Library Heritage Trust for funding this research project.

References:

Auckland Regional Council, Auckland International Airport, 1966, p.11. MNP MS 74 Item 3 ‘Assorted Files’. 

Auckland International Airport Limited, ‘FY24 results: Solid performance as international airlines return to AKL’, 22 August, 2024.

‘Auckland Aeroplanes.’ New Zealand Herald, 12 November 1910, Page 8.

‘Aviation for Defence’, New Zealand Herald, 13 July 1923, Page 6.

‘Aviation Pioneers, Beginnings in Dominion’, New Zealand Herald, 16 October 1928, Page 8.

Bruce Ringer, The Flight of the Manurewa, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, LHE-035, 2020. p.3. 

Māngere  Historical Society, Watea to Airport, A Community that was…, Auckland, 2005, p.32.

Martyn Thompson, Alice Clements, Where New Zealand Touches the World, Auckland, 2003, p.4. 

Maurice McGreal, A History of Civil Aviation in New Zealand, Auckland, 2003. p.14. 

Ray Woolford, ‘Auckland Aero Club’, September 11, 2000, MNP MS 74 File 1. p.2.

Thompson, Clements, Where New Zealand Touches the World, From Farm Paddock to South Pacific Hub: A History of Auckland International Airport, Auckland, 2003, p.11.