The site of the second plane landing in Stoke. Photo: F.N. Jones Collection Alexander Turnbull Library.
Flying high in Nelson for 100 years It has been 100 years this month since the first plane was seen in Nelson’s skies. Although neither Graeme McConnell nor Richard Waugh have ever piloted a plane, they have played a major role in preserving the history of aviation in Nelson. Jenny Nicholson talks to them about the first flight.
T
om Newman had already made history pioneering the first horse drawn coaches in the Top of the South. He wasn’t going to let a crash landing earlier in the week deter him from his dream of being the first passenger flown into Nelson. He paid 100 pounds for the flight. Captain P.K. Shorty Fowler had made his own history just a month before, as the first person charged and later convicted for trick flying low enough to endanger the public. He was fined one pound. Captain Fowler was a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service in World War 1 and later would go on to be the Commandant of the Air Training Corps in 1944. On the morning of 11 November 1921 Tom and Shorty were joined by mechanic Ted Ranish aboard the Avro 504K E9429. With a compass, a cross level and a school atlas they took off from Lyall Bay in Wellington, with Tom’s Brightwater farm their intended destination. While the take-off went smoothly, the rest of the flight didn’t go to plan.
“Before I got to French Pass, I was unsure where we were,” said Captain Fowler. “I said to Mr Newman, ‘Any idea where we are?’ and he replied, ‘I’m damned if I know!” There was obvious relief when they finally spotted Nelson. Aviation historianGraeme McConnell says the fuel gauge was very primitive and, as on approaching Nelson, the plane started to splutter. “I was very anxious at this time because fuel was running low. Circling over the Post Office the motor stopped, and I was out of petrol,” Captain Shorty Fowler said. “Fortunately, the Avro had an extra four-gallon tank on the wing.” Although they switched to the extra tank, fuel was still low, and Shorty looked for a place to land. With the tide out, he thought the mudflats looked promising. Tom was quick to veto that idea, so they continued flying as far as James Marsden’s property in Stoke. They landed and history was made. They were the first to fly into Nelson.
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