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Post by camtech on Oct 29, 2014 15:01:08 GMT 12
The round thing was I believe a trotting training track.
I can remember the Vampire at the gate - passed on occasions on my way to the Sgts Mess. Not as obvious as the Avenger - painted silver and considerably smaller!
Agree that Hamilton has changed so much, even since I arrived in 1987.
My first visit to Te Rapa would have been about 1972-73, on a stores pick up run from Whenuapai.
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Post by shorty on Nov 8, 2014 20:07:50 GMT 12
I was a Techie at Te Rapa as the Airframes Corporal (this was before the trades were amalgamated) Out NCO i/c was Steve Bailey ( a sumpie) and after he was posted Chris Moller took over. The Sumpie corporal was B M Price, cant remember the electricians or comms guy name. Chris Moller was a mad sidecar racer and built one while he was there, initialey powered by twin Hirth motors and then a Kawasaki. He used to get me to ride the chair when he was testing it and we would hurtle around the base with dust coats flapping in the breeze and megaphone exhausts resonating. Shortly after that the Base CO invited him in for a chat! I can see in those photos the MQ I lived in. Techo postings were only for two years. I took over from Smokey Dawson and in turn was replaced by Chris's regular swinger (whose name escapes me ) I got made up to Sgt while there.
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Post by privatepilot on Mar 21, 2015 19:33:44 GMT 12
Folks, My late father Flt Lt K I D Rankin was Station Officer and ADJ for Te Rapa during the late 1950's until his death while in service, I have numerous photo's of Te Rapa Stores Depot, including at various times my brother and sister took school at Te Rapa School, according to my mother I wandered down to the school early one day following my siblings causing the entire station staff to look for me, sadly my father died in January 1960 while I was still young, as far as the ordnance there was 2 500lb bomb casings, missing their fuses ( for obvious reasons, ) and 1 Grumman to which their is a photo of us three kids on the leading edge, we have photo's of my father as Aid de Camp showing Officials around, various stores buildings and Main Gate Guardian the Pillar Box,. anyone wishing to get copies is asked to contact me 0275869589
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Post by baz62 on Mar 22, 2015 8:18:20 GMT 12
Folks, My late father Flt Lt K I D Rankin My in laws are Rankins! Any relation to Jim Rankin? (current pilot in RNZAF and flies Brendon Deere's Avenger, Harvard and Spitfire on occasion.) The Grumman will be Grumman Avenger NZ2504 now at the Air Force Museum here at Wigram.
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Post by privatepilot on Mar 23, 2015 4:46:37 GMT 12
Baz62, not knowing your family connection it's hard to say, regard's Jim Rankin, I have spoken with him on a number of occasions and short of the fact we carry the same family name there is no close tie. Jim and my family are from Scotland in the past.
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Post by baz62 on Mar 23, 2015 17:03:00 GMT 12
My in laws are Stouix and Carol Rankin and Jim is (I think) a cousin of Stouix so maybe not related to you either.
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Post by shorty on Mar 27, 2015 8:28:48 GMT 12
When I was first posted to Te Rapa as the airframe techie the Avenger was in a tatty overall silver finish so I took it on myself to repaint the black and yellow stripes on it. We didn't have a portable compressor available so I had to run an air line from the MT Section (about 70 odd metres from memory),as a result by the time the air got to the spray gun it was a fairly low pressure! Masking out the stipes by myself was fairly interesting too. The only bit I didn't finish before leaving were the underwing serials.
As the Tech Section inventory holder the Avenger and it's motor were on my inventory (as seperate items)and had to be checked evry year to make sure they were still there. My predecessor had tried to return them to stores on a F 675 as "surplus to requirements" but they wouldn't have it on!
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Post by tbf25o4 on Mar 27, 2015 13:08:17 GMT 12
Hi Shorty.
I can well remember helping you with that repaint on the TBF and hand painting the serial numbers on the fuselage. A great deal of 'bird' deposits et al were also cleared from the fuselage. If I recall correctly she was INST 182 still classified as an 'Instructional' airframe so that it was still on the inventory system. We had an interesting situation at Wigram when George and I tried to order some bits through stores and OC Supply stated that the aircraft was 'no longer an airforce item' and bits could not be ordered. My counter to that was 'okay well tow it down to Blenheim Road auto wreckers and get some money for it! 'No you can do that its still .....
(that caught him out!) After that we got bits quietly when he wasn't around the main store and observing!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 27, 2015 17:47:18 GMT 12
Suppliers eh? I reckon most go onto glittering careers at ACC, after honing their stalling and twisting tactics...
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Post by phil82 on Mar 27, 2015 19:14:21 GMT 12
The very best supplier story I'm personally aware of was a Dining-out at Ohakea of a well-known Canberra Nav at the end of his 12-year short service commission, and who spoke very well of the good times for a few minutes but then claimed the highlight of his career was going to the Flying Clothing Store one day for an essential piece of kit: "and it was actually open." The story was the opening hours were deliberately contrived so that it was never open when anyone needed it to be!
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zolteg
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 82
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Post by zolteg on Mar 29, 2015 16:43:44 GMT 12
My in laws are Stouix and Carol Rankin and Jim is (I think) a cousin of Stouix so maybe not related to you either. Is Shayne Hyde part of your extended family? Pretty sure Stioux is also his F-I-L...
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Post by baz62 on Mar 30, 2015 6:33:26 GMT 12
My in laws are Stouix and Carol Rankin and Jim is (I think) a cousin of Stouix so maybe not related to you either. Is Shayne Hyde part of your extended family? Pretty sure Stioux is also his F-I-L... Shayne is my brother in law. I'm married to his sister Teresa.
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zolteg
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 82
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Post by zolteg on Apr 3, 2015 10:46:45 GMT 12
Ahh, right Baz. I worked with Shayne when he was in....
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Post by 30sqnatc on Apr 6, 2015 3:02:56 GMT 12
Dave here are two shots from the PWD Aerodrome Branch The railway siding appears to cross the highway in the top photo and in the second photo there appears to be two buildings across the road on the aligment of the rail siding . What was on the other side of the road? I have seen early site plans of Te Rapa but can't recall if it was in the RNZAF Te Rapa private rail siding NZR file or the Public Works WWII history in the Defence Library.
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Post by privatepilot on Jul 1, 2015 10:27:20 GMT 12
Te Rapa looks much like I remember it in the late 70's. The burger shop over the road is not there yet and the the corporals club and wet canteen had been combined as a JR's Club behind the YMCA. The Avenger would almost be sitting on wet concrete in 1962 as it was only withdrawn from use in 1959. The vertical is earlier than the oblique as the Avenger is not present anywhere on the base. Great memories and best base I served on It would be nice for the Avenger to be on wet cement, but alas, no, my father photographed myself and siblings in 1959, 4 months before he died in service and I doubt the cement took close to 2 years to cure/dry. She was as I remember held up on steel posts about 6" off the concrete pad but once the wheels were put back on she assumed the 'I am standing on my own three wheels'.
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Post by privatepilot on Jul 1, 2015 10:39:54 GMT 12
Dave here are two shots from the PWD Aerodrome Branch The railway siding appears to cross the highway in the top photo and in the second photo there appears to be two buildings across the road on the aligment of the rail siding . What was on the other side of the road? I have seen early site plans of Te Rapa but can't recall if it was in the RNZAF Te Rapa private rail siding NZR file or the Public Works WWII history in the Defence Library. 'What was across the road', according to my mother who was at Te Rapa from the 1954-1960 married to my father, there was a 4 square shop and a vegetable /fruit shop where personnel from Te Rapa and their respective families chose to shop prior to any modern grocery shops in the local region, although my mother doesn't smoke, she purchased cigarettes for our dad, 'Greys 10' for about 6p per packet and remembers being asked why a young married woman smoked when she had kids, sad indictment of society back then assuming something. Looking at the photo's provided, our family home was yet to be built by the then MOW, however Bob Stretton's home is surrounded in married housing quarter's...
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Post by camtech on Jul 1, 2015 17:01:53 GMT 12
The shops would have been about where David Irvings workshop and the fruit and vege shop are now. The triangle area in the lower centre of the bottom photo was built on in later years, as a mate of mine lived there. I remember we couldn't have loud parties, because the CO's house was very close.
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taogaga
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 1
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Post by taogaga on Feb 12, 2017 22:38:31 GMT 12
I remember growing up here as a kid in the 80s my father was a warren officer Lawrence walter taogaga I remember all the hangis he would put on there those were the good old days so sad to see its a mall now
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Post by AussieBob on May 11, 2023 10:08:00 GMT 12
For those who have an interest in RNZAF Station Te Rapa I came across this information on Te Rapa history in a Waikato New Now Facebook page. This thread seemed to be the most logical to add to.
There are many comments from people who lived in the base quarters which may be familiar people. There is also this link to Masters Thesis "A history of the Te Rapa Air Force Base 1942-1992" and from another source, here is pic of Te Rapa crest
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