Aero Club of New Zealand
A movement toward the development of an aero club in New Zealand was started in mid-August 1910 by the Auckland Automobile Club when it decided that interests in the art of aviation should be in a separate organization. When the Aero Club of New Zealand was actually formed Auckland is not yet known by us but by 21 Oct. 1910, when it was incorporated as a society, membership numbered at least 36. By mid-February 1911, there were 45 members. On 26 Sept. 1911, the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom resolved to ask the Aero Club of New Zealand to affiliate on similar lines to the Automobile & Aero Club of South Africa. According to Martyn, with the outbreak of what became World War I, many of the members left for military service and others lost interest through a lack of aviation activity generally in the country. The club was formally dissolved as an incorporated society o 21 Dec. 1923, after having been dormant for years.
The club was formed by a group of Aucklanders including the Walsh brothers, Leo, who was its first president, and Vivian, as well as their father, Austin. Other officers in 1910 included Reuben A. Dexter and George Stevenson, vice presidents; Keith D. P. Murray, secretary; Werner E. Langguth, treasurer; and Henry Stevenson (George's brother), auditor. On 13 Sept. 1910, during a visit to Auckland, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and aviator Casey Baldwin met with Leo Walsh of the aero club who took them to the workshops of members William Henning and of R. A. Dexter who each had aeroplanes under construction; later, at the club's rooms, they were made lifetime honorary members and met with several club members, including the Stevenson brothers who were then constructing a biplane. The club held a nationwide competition for best glider design in early 1911 that was won by Hector McKenzie of Rangitikei.
Affiliated with RAeCUK in 1911.
Sources
- New Zealand Herald, 13 Aug. 1910, 10 Oct. 1910, 11 Mar. 1911
- Auckland Star, 15 Sept. 1910 and 13 Feb. 1911;
- Progress (Wellington), 1 Oct. 1910
- Star (Canterbury), 30 May 1911
- New Zealand Aviation - 100 Years 8 (1972)
- Ewing and Macpherson, "History of New Zealand Aviation," 37 (1986)
- Martyn, "Passion for Flight, New Zealand Aviation Before the Great War" V.1, "Aero Clubs, Aeroplanes, Aviators and Aeronauts 1910-1914," 76-81, 305 (2013)
| Organization names | Aero Club of New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Entity type | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| City | Auckland |
| Affiliated with | RAeCUK |
| Scope | |
| Started aero | 1910 |
| Ended aero | 19213 |
| Keywords | |
| Key people | |
| Wikidata id |
