Lauthala Bay destroyed in 1952

[alanw]

Hi all, found this quite by accident

books.google.co.nz/books?id=uf5Pi77k1GMC&pg=PT108&lpg=PT108&dq=Flying+boat+house+boats+in+Fiji&source=bl&ots=20zTyc-FqU&sig=jSxd_KJU7em7C83h0t6U0ohMsQg&hl=en&ei=o-o5Sp6uEILWsQPK8eS2Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5


Laucala is pronounced Lauthala (Fijians prononce "C" as "th")

Where they obtained this info?? Must be from Mars/Pluto

If the base was destroyed in 1952, where then did my father
serve in the 1960s (along with a myriad of other RNZAF personal)

Where did the Sunderlands actually go and fly back from?
The Fiji triangle???

I know Fiji has suffered Cyclones even a Tsunami at one stage
but Lauthala Bay stilled existed after those...

Or am I missing some thing here

[Dave Homewood]

The former RNZAF Station at Laucala Bay became the University of the South Pacific and still is. A Google Image search doesn't show much that looks like the former flying boat station though.

images.google.co.nz/images?hl=en&q=University%20of%20the%20South%20Pacific&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

[Peter Lewis]

I visited the site a few years ago.
The big hangar has gone but the tower and ancillary buildings are still there.

[alanw]

Hi Dave/Peter

I knew that Lauthala Bay became the Uni of Fiji, and that the
main hangar had gone (white ants saw to it's destruction)
but that was all from 1967 on, the date given by
these guys is 1952.... hmmm

[camtech]

My understanding is that the base was severly damaged by a cyclone, with a number of buildings destroyed, but obviously was rebuilt and survived until the RNZAF pulled out in 1967. I was there in 1979, and flew over the old base (at low level in an Andover) - several buildings were still evident. I can recall reading an article about this event, and if I can track it down, will post.
There is reference to it in "The Golden Age of New Zealand Flying Boats" which outlines the incident, which occurred in January 1952:-
"At the end of January 1952 a hurricane struck the northwestern corner of Viti Levu, swept Ba Tavua, Vatukoula and Rakiraki, then moved down the east coast of Viti Levu. It hit Suva at about 150 mph. Lauthala Bay is close to Suva.
The damage across Viti Levu and at Suva was extensive, with fatalities initially estimated as 25-30, and hundreds of injured. At Lauthala Bay, dead cattle, trees and masses of debris brought down by the Rewa River made the alighting area for the flying boats unsafe. The landing jetty was destroyed, together with refuelling equipment and water pumps. Many buildings on the RNZAF station were badly damaged.
Red Galloway's log-book records that he flew with Squadron Leader Sel Field in NZ4055 from Lauthala Bay to Hobsonville on 23 January and returned two days later. On 1 February they flew a survey over Viti Levu and the Yasawa Islands. One advantage for the future personnel at Lauthala Bay was that the RNZAF undertook a rebuilding programme".

[alanw]

Jun 19, 2009 10:16:47 GMT 12 camtech said:

My understanding is that the base was severely damaged by a cyclone, with a number of buildings destroyed, but obviously was rebuilt and survived until the RNZAF pulled out in 1967. I was there in 1979, and flew over the old base (at low level in an Andover) - several buildings were still evident. I can recall reading an article about this event, and if I can track it down, will post.
There is reference to it in "The Golden Age of New Zealand Flying Boats" which outlines the incident, which occurred in January 1952:-
"At the end of January 1952 a hurricane struck the northwestern corner of Viti Levu, swept Ba Tavua, Vatukoula and Rakiraki, then moved down the east coast of Viti Levu. It hit Suva at about 150 mph. Lauthala Bay is close to Suva.
The damage across Viti Levu and at Suva was extensive, with fatalities initially estimated as 25-30, and hundreds of injured. At Lauthala Bay, dead cattle, trees and masses of debris brought down by the Rewa River made the alighting area for the flying boats unsafe. The landing jetty was destroyed, together with refuelling equipment and water pumps. Many buildings on the RNZAF station were badly damaged.
Red Galloway's log-book records that he flew with Squadron Leader Sel Field in NZ4055 from Lauthala Bay to Hobsonville on 23 January and returned two days later. On 1 February they flew a survey over Viti Levu and the Yasawa Islands. One advantage for the future personnel at Lauthala Bay was that the RNZAF undertook a rebuilding programme".

Hi Camtech, I agree with your comments, about the how badly damaged things were.

It's my understanding of what I have been told by those who lived through it, the Cyclone was so intense, that people could hardly walk up right and if you did the likelihood of decapitation was great with sheets of corrugated iron flying around
like guillotines (in fact I believe a few persons did have that happen to them).
The wind force was so strong that straw was driven into trees etc like you would drive a nail.

I'm not surprised that Lauthala Bay got a working over, it's just
if you read the comments in that publication it sounds as if Lauthala
Bay was completely wiped off the Earth.

[sixthsquadron]

If you follow this link to ' Fortress Fiji' books.google.co.in/books/about/Fortress_Fiji.html?id=uf5Pi77k1GMC you will see that the claim for the base being destroyed in the 52 cyclone has been flagged as incorrect. There was also a tsunami in September of the following year that the base survived although 8 people died and a great deal of damage occured, mainly from Veiutu back around to the main port. When I lived just across the road from the SPB in the 60's, there were several major cyclones, mostly affecting the houses along the beach front, and Beach road. The old hangar and much else on the on the base seemed to survive whatever was thrown at it