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Post by nuuumannn on Oct 4, 2013 15:34:15 GMT 12
Well, funny you should mention it; I've just returned from picking a mate up in Nelson and we took a detour along Central Road and up Holdaway Road. Like you can see on the maps there is largely horticulture and agriculture along Central Road now and certainly nowhere that is visible now that could be where that photo was taken, but that's not to say it wasn't like that forty or so years ago. There are a few forested areas on the western bit of Holdaway Road up the private bit, but nothing that looks as thick as the picture. Down Dominion Road where John Smith is looks quite forested in parts, although its largely farm land now. There has been a lot of development in the whole Tasman area.
Such a shame the Air Force got rid of them in such a wholesale manner.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 4, 2013 15:57:42 GMT 12
At least they did expand to two Vampire squadrons.
It seems to me a bit sad that they had four Territorial Squadrons flying just Mustangs and Harvards. They could have placed a dozen Mossies into two of the squadrons each, and a dozen Mustangs in the other two each, and had some capable defence through them. With the full time squadron of Mossies they'd have had three Mossie squadrons and two Mustang squadrons. That could have been very cool.
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Post by eieio on Oct 4, 2013 19:18:15 GMT 12
Just been on google spy in the sky, 300 mtr from Central road ,driveway on right [looking at screen ]leads to a Packhouse??? very close to where the Mozz was, still backed by trees and some rough looking ground behind the trees. Well ,that's the best I can make of it after 50 yrs[ shoot....am I that old
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 4, 2013 19:39:16 GMT 12
Packing shed or private Mosquito Museum?
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Post by DragonflyDH90 on Oct 4, 2013 20:37:38 GMT 12
The Holdaway's are relations of mine in some round about way, I used to drive past there most days as well but would be well after that photo. We used to have quite a bit of old aircraft bits and pieces around the farm, fuel tanks, wheels etc and up until recently still had a sprayer with aircraft wheels on (can't remember what type however but gifted for to a worthy cause for trade). Stuff still turns up in engineering workshops when spray units and machinery in general goes in for work as there are still hydraulic valves and piping on some stuff from the scavenged wrecks.
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Post by denysjones on Oct 4, 2013 21:09:32 GMT 12
Just wanting to make sure we're all on the same page here.
The Holdaways that I mentioned to Dave are at Dillons Point outside Blenheim nowhere near Nelson/Mapua and the comparison's I was making were about John Smith's property being pine forested and the fact hat the Dillons Point properties were not. So I was speculating the possibility of other Moutere properties being similarly forested.
Don S in answer to your post..$64,000 question to quote to old expression (possibly too old for some forumites!)
Nuuumannn...hold onto your seat Dave's got somethings to post to treat you :-)
ttfn
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 4, 2013 22:14:18 GMT 12
These are from Denys Jones and he asked me to acknowledge these as "sources unknown via Brendon Deere". This one is a "straight as received from the UK" Then one "as received but we got around to putting an NZ number on it (crudely as per the norm)". And a variation on that theme where it seems to have skipped being an NZ and gone straight to INST. Denys also says, "I've included the well-circulated hangar shot which is always said to be Woodbourne and in it you can count 15 a/c and I'd say the photographer was standing on the wing of one in another row of 3 so that would make at least 18 in the hangar."
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Post by lumpy on Oct 4, 2013 23:47:11 GMT 12
The Holdaways that I mentioned to Dave are at Dillons Point outside Blenheim nowhere near Nelson/Mapua and the comparison's I was making were about John Smith's property being pine forested and the fact hat the Dillons Point properties were not. So I was speculating the possibility of other Moutere properties being similarly forested. And to add a little info , Kelvin Holdaway ( from Dillons Point road ) outside Blenheim , is the current ( and recent past ) pyro guru from the Omaka airshows - so would certainly know about such things if they existed . He lives in town now , but still farms chickens down Dillions Point ( as far as I know ) .Hes not old , so would have been parents and /or grandparents property.
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Post by nuuumannn on Oct 5, 2013 2:12:18 GMT 12
Thanks for the photos Denys; very interesting indeed. Were all these pictures taken at Woodbourne? TE856 appears to have developed a rash of some sort on its upper fuse; bird droppings? Interesting that Inst 123 has rocket rails obscuring its serial.
I went rummaging around a section very near the Holdaways' on Dillon's Point Road once; came across two Oxford engine mounts and other assorted bits and pieces.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Oct 5, 2013 6:57:51 GMT 12
INST123 was allotted NZ2350 on arrival in NZ July 1947. Carried out its last flight (to Hobsonville?) 4Aug47 and served at the TTS there.
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Post by nuuumannn on Oct 5, 2013 14:10:20 GMT 12
Thanks Peter. According to ADF Serials, NZ2350 is listed as PZ330 and was with the TTS at Hobsonville in 1947 and converted to components for instructional use in 1950.
TE856 was NZ2374 and was ferried to Woodbourne - explains the bird droppings; I remember seeing the Skyhawks in Hangar Two looking very similar - shortly after arrival at Ohakea in December 1947. Sold in 1955 to ANSA Orchard Equipment Company, Nelson.
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Post by eieio on Oct 6, 2013 19:52:28 GMT 12
Moutere Mosquito.....[plural] Have just been speaking to a local whose parents I picked the baccy for. Terry was 10 when I was down there ,he tells me the one fuselage was on the property of Foote's. He tells me that a family by name of Williams had several aircraft which were stripped for making orchard equipment. Terry understands a lot of stuff was buried ,kids used fuel tanks for boats and used balsa . He said a Derek Williams in Motueka would know more..........well, that's it from me
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 6, 2013 20:00:27 GMT 12
Great info Bruce, thanks.
So did ANSA Orchard Supplies buy the aircraft in bulk, and then sell them on to orchardists to do what they wanted with?
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Post by agile on Nov 2, 2020 9:56:21 GMT 12
So Dagy and I are sitting on the ferry nearing the end of an epic parts gathering/exchanging road trip, and we got to talking about the pic at the top of this thread. Dagy has always thought that the figure looked a bit like John Smith. So could this be the fuselage of TE881 prior to being dissected as pictured in the John Smith thread here: rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/27961/john-smith-collection?page=15Annoyingly it's the opposite side and the tail is out of focus, and I get the impression that there's a bit more of the aft fuselage present in the colour shot, but the camouflage looks right. Anyone have any thoughts?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 2, 2020 11:41:56 GMT 12
Yes I reckon it has to be one of the John Smith airframes!
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Post by madmac on Nov 2, 2020 11:53:00 GMT 12
Has anyone who knows the area, been through the retrolens photos to see how far back the pine trees have existed on John smiths place? retrolens.nz/
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