Weedons

[beagle]

Has anyone got any photos of what weedons was like in the days when the base was at it's height.
Are there any modern day images of what is inside now.
I know where it is and drive passed each day, just would like to open the door and take a nice look around inside.

[Dave Homewood]

That is a good point. I'd like to see photos of the place when it was a proper Station/Base.

I visited there in the early 1990's for a poke around the Museum Stores but was not allowed to take my camera.

[camtech]

Last time I was there was 1982-3, while in charge of a guard detail during a threat by activists threatening the aerial farm. We were based in one of the stores sheds, full of aircraft bits for the museum - Vampire, Freighter, Harvard, Auster, Devon, Anson, and others. We were only there at night, so no chance for photographs. Dad was actually based there for a period late in the war, as a stores wallah.
Hope some one has some pictures or diagrams.

[obiwan27]

There are some photos taken inside the storage areas at Weedons on this thread started by baz62 many moons ago. About 3/4 of the way down page 1 after the Bristol Freighter pics. That's a 16 or 17 year old me in the yellow shirt. How time flies!!!

rnzaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Airshows&action=display&thread=8676&page=1

[beagle]

Apr 25, 2010 18:38:58 GMT 12 camtech said:

Last time I was there was 1982-3, while in charge of a guard detail during a threat by activists threatening the aerial farm. We were based in one of the stores sheds, full of aircraft bits for the museum - Vampire, Freighter, Harvard, Auster, Devon, Anson, and others. We were only there at night, so no chance for photographs. Dad was actually based there for a period late in the war, as a stores wallah.
Hope some one has some pictures or diagrams.

I might have been one of your boys you were in charge of, then again F/S Gordon Moller was looking after us on those scarey nights strolling the fields of Weedons.
I remember we turned our radios off and went to sleep in an old landrover or something to keep warm.

[shorty]

I also previously published some shots on my stash thread of Hudson NZ2087 in the shed at Weedons and also some photos of piles of Oxford bits.
Only one of the sheds was used by the Museum, the others were used by othe government departments, one was full of polling booths (before the Justuce department went to the fold up cardboard ones)

[camtech]

Beagle, I note from my diary, that I was at Weedons 12 November 1983, as part of my role with the Base Contingency Force - I had just started as the School Co-ordinator at 2TTS, and scored the Contingency Force as part of my job, along with several others, such as Student Welfare, Radio Club, i/c Admin Section and School Disciplinarian.

[tbf25o4]

Greetings,
Weedons holds a unique position in RNZAF history in that it was there on 14 December 1949 that an airman was shot dead by a member of the NZ Police after he broke out of the guardhouse got a rifle and ammunition fired shots randomly and refused to surrender to the police. The only member of the RNZAF to be deliberately shot by friendlies!

[beagle]

Apr 27, 2010 14:56:28 GMT 12 tbf25o4 said:

Greetings,
Weedons holds a unique position in RNZAF history in that it was there on 14 December 1949 that an airman was shot dead by a member of the NZ Police after he broke out of the guardhouse got a rifle and ammunition fired shots randomly and refused to surrender to the police. The only member of the RNZAF to be deliberately shot by friendlies!

It must have been a result of 1 of 3 things.
1, a woman
2, money trouble
3, home brew not left long enough

[Dave Homewood]

That's an amazing story Paul, I'd not heard that before, and the drama of it all was wonderfully punctured there Beags. I just about fell over laughing.

[davekiwi]

Apr 27, 2010 14:22:51 GMT 12 camtech said:

Beagle, I note from my diary, that I was at Weedons 12 November 1983, as part of my role with the Base Contingency Force - I had just started as the School Co-ordinator at 2TTS, and scored the Contingency Force as part of my job, along with several others, such as Student Welfare, Radio Club, i/c Admin Section and School Disciplinarian.

Hmm, then possibly may have been there with my mechs course, as we got tagged for "aerial farm" duty in late '83 or early '84. Hard to remember. It was the last time a nuc sub visited Auckland anyway.

Remember a couple of things:

1. Going for a ride with a cop in a "Commodore" out the back of Harewoord to "check" the aerials there early in the morning

2. One of the guys getting "charged" for driving without a licenses after he "bumped" into an aerial support (?)

[chewy]

I was talking to Bam at work and he lived in one of the houses at Weedons. The same house that the shot guy lived in.

[beagle]

We had a S&S guy living at Weedons when i was at Wigram in the early 80's. doug Manson. Heard a story once that one day when his car didn't want to start in the morning he got very angry and got a hammer or something and hit every panel in his car

[Dave Homewood]

One of the S&S guys I worked with, Vaughn McAllister, lived at Weedons in 1993 before Tech Sqn closed down and we all got shafted to Ohakea. There were still a lot of people living there at that time - I think all the homes were occupied. They still had both hangars back then, and I seem to recall there was some sort of hall or sportsclub building there, because we went to a cocktail party there one weekend. Most of the base seemed to turn up for that party, it was a huge event and must have been the last big social do that Weedons ever had i guess. I can't recall who ran it but it may have been one of the Wigram sports clubs. It was the first and last time I ever tried a Martini, totally fowl. In fact most people thought the same, there were a lot of half drunk Martinis left by the bar.

[shorty]

You should have had it shaken, not stirred!

[skyhawkdon]

During the late 80s the Wigram Motorsports Club had a big slotcar set up in one of the Weedons buildings. Was popular for Wednesday afternoon sports

[beagle]

May 10, 2010 22:24:41 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

One of the S&S guys I worked with, Vaughn McAllister, lived at Weedons in 1993 before Tech Sqn closed down and we all got shafted to Ohakea. There were still a lot of people living there at that time - I think all the homes were occupied. They still had both hangars back then, and I seem to recall there was some sort of hall or sportsclub building there, because we went to a cocktail party there one weekend. Most of the base seemed to turn up for that party, it was a huge event and must have been the last big social do that Weedons ever had i guess. I can't recall who ran it but it may have been one of the Wigram sports clubs. It was the first and last time I ever tried a Martini, totally fowl. In fact most people thought the same, there were a lot of half drunk Martinis left by the bar.

There was an all ranks bar there and the residents living in the MQ's used to take turns doing the bar. Not 100% sure but I think it was only open 3-5 nights a week.

[Dave Homewood]

Ah right, that must have been the place. I oly went drinking there that one time, it wasn't long before Tech Squadron closed and we all moved away.

[snaphead]

There is a book recently published, soft back, I think called Operation Deep freeze" (can't recall author) which I know has photos of RNZAF Station Weedons, showing a US navy tented camp set up there. Where the aerial farm is at present Must have been before the barracks were built at Harewood. I live just a couple of miles from there and when I was in the REO's office we used to have to go there once a year to check on B727 parts. I knoticed there a Deven canopy and a complete Bell 47 bubble. Probably all gone now.

[ngatimozart]

May 10, 2010 19:06:32 GMT 12 beagle said:

We had a S&S guy living at Weedons when i was at Wigram in the early 80's. doug Manson. Heard a story once that one day when his car didn't want to start in the morning he got very angry and got a hammer or something and hit every panel in his car

That sounds like Doug ;D