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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 17, 2008 20:09:35 GMT 12
Shorty, the decade books were indeed Those Were the Days and compiled from Auckland Weekly News photos. There was also a series of books on all the different counties, covering history from the early days through to about the 1960's. I think they also drew heavily from AWN photos.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 17, 2008 20:14:11 GMT 12
The book 'The Flying Boat Era' by David Lowe doesn't show the terminal in any photos sadly, but it does confirm Shorty's statement that the hangar was built in 1949-50 as it shows two photos of it being built, one dated 1949 and the other 1950.
No photos of the terminal appear in Head in the Clouds by G.N. Wells either.
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Post by alanw on Sept 17, 2008 20:14:20 GMT 12
Dave
Thanks for posting that photo, really nice!
Personally I don't think there is a much better type of Flying boat photo, like that with one on the hard and one in the Braby, gives the base a really busy operational look.
Two Questions (I'm sure my eyes are not seeing things) Does the Solent on the hard appear to every one, to have it's props missing?
The Solent/Sandringham(?) in the braby appear to be missing it's engines? (at least on the Starboard side)?
Thanks
Alan
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Post by shorty on Sept 17, 2008 20:17:31 GMT 12
This building is turning into a real mystery!
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Post by contourcreative on Sept 17, 2008 20:40:00 GMT 12
The building to the right of the hangar is, I think the Pan Am building. I've got a pic somewhere but can't lay my hands on it. How can something so bloody big (and relevant from an aviation history point of view), be so poorly documented...that is also something I would like to know...
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 17, 2008 20:56:32 GMT 12
Do you mean that multi storey building on the bottom right isn't the TEAL terminal?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 17, 2008 21:10:32 GMT 12
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Post by shorty on Sept 17, 2008 21:13:48 GMT 12
No, compare it with the photo of the terminal being built, it has two end "turrets" and is the corner of the reclaimation area (ie as far as possible from the breakwater). Looking at the colour photo I put up at post #8 I wonder if that beige building that appears between the two ships funnels and directly above the little left hand tree is it? It has the end piece sticking up and is in the right area. Can't quite make out the other end though. Presumably it wasn't demolished until all the buildings (including the big two storey one) were removed for the conversion into container space. I imagine it was put to some other use once the flying boats stopped.
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Post by shorty on Sept 17, 2008 21:17:50 GMT 12
Yep those are the ones, I wonder if it featured, I mean in the early 50s the flying boats were pretty glamourous and the new terminal being a "gateway to the future" and the "door to the world"etc should have been a newsworthy.
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woody
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 6
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Post by woody on Sept 17, 2008 21:27:04 GMT 12
I started with TEAL as an apprentice in1965. The mystery building under constuction is the engine test cell!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 17, 2008 22:26:56 GMT 12
Thanks Woody, so it wasn't a terminal at all then?
Shorty, on actually lookign at the photos properly I see now you're completely right that they're two different buildings. The one in the photo I posted seems to have a control tower look to it, doesn't it?
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Post by hairy on Sept 17, 2008 23:07:11 GMT 12
Does this help...................................... or hinder? Could the terminal be the building between the float struts?
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woody
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 6
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Post by woody on Sept 17, 2008 23:55:33 GMT 12
Yes that was the terminal. In 1965 we used a couple of rooms for an apprentice training school, the rest of the building was empty with the exception of a few upstairs office's that had'nt been relocated to Custom St. Further to the Engine Test Cell, the "turrets" at the ends are the air inlet and exhaust. The inlet had been modified with special vanes when the Electra came into service due to erratic air flow caused by the Allison engines big props. When I was there they were testing engines from DC 6, B 170, Electra, and C 130.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 18, 2008 0:07:22 GMT 12
Was that noisy from outside the building at all? Imagine trying to test an engine in downtown Auckland now, half the city lives there!
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Post by shorty on Sept 18, 2008 6:58:02 GMT 12
Well, I'm pleased thats sorted, just as well Woody turned up1
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Post by contourcreative on Sept 18, 2008 7:54:43 GMT 12
Thanks Woody.. (I'll have to castigate my 'expert').Now...any good pictures of the terminal building proper???
Cheers
Terry
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Post by shorty on Sept 18, 2008 9:40:07 GMT 12
Now that we know what we are looking at it all starts falling in to place. Also explains why the bogus "terminal" was off to one side and not between the Brabies which was the obvious place. Try this photo showing the terminal and the test house, taken about 65. It also shows what was left of the the Brabies with the near one stiil in use as a wharf and the stump of the far one just in ron or the ship hulk. I must have taken the photo from the breakwater which is why the test house seems so far away. Woody, were you in the same intake as Subritzky, Armstrong and Graham or were they a year after you?
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Post by Bruce on Sept 18, 2008 9:46:18 GMT 12
I had heard somewhere that the MEchanics Bay terminal was one of the Worlds Smallest international terminals - there wouldnt be a need to handle many passengers at a time!
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woody
Leading Aircraftman
Posts: 6
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Post by woody on Sept 18, 2008 10:38:42 GMT 12
Sorry Terry, I don't remember taking many photos my self during my time there, certainly none of the terminal. There are some photos in a book I have Neil Rennie's Conquering Isolation - The First 50 years of Air New Zealand that could be helpfull. Page.49 Inside shot of arrivals lounge, Page.53 TEAL base 1940 and an airiel shot (similar to Dave's but shows the whole base in March 1950). Last two are Whites Aviation and I'm sure I've seen them online when browsing through photos available from archive collections. And for Dave, I don't remember the noise levels being to bad it was a bit isolated down the far end and built like a bunker a bit of a dull drone from the allisons and under certain conditions a large smoke plume ejected skyward.I think there was a bit of flack towards the end as new development was closing in around it.
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woody
Leading Aircraftman
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Post by woody on Sept 18, 2008 10:51:30 GMT 12
Shorty, Yep same intake as Don, Armstrong a year before I think and Graham a year after.
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