Visitors are in for a treat on 7 March when we present a Short Talk on Ashburton Aerodrome!

Volunteer guide Glenn Vallender will trace the history of aviation in Ashburton, which started out in 1908 with ballooning exhibitions on the local A & P showgrounds, and then became the first stop on aviation pioneer Captain Euan Dickson’s southern tour in 1920.

During World War Two it was used as an RNZAF elementary flight school and it has grown into a 99-hectare aerodrome with four runways, private hangars and its own dedicated aviation museum.

Glenn will describe how the aerodrome’s determined backers had a conviction in the inevitable future of aviation for civil and military use, which resulted in it becoming the first council-owned aerodrome in the South Island.

This FREE event is the latest in our Short Talk series and will be on in our Theatre, beginning at 10am on Saturday 7 March.

Images: Taken from the Frances Cameron Eichbaum personal album collection from the No. 3 Squadron, Territorial Air Force camp at Ashburton Airfield in 1953.