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Story: Aviation

Short S30 aircraft

Short S30 aircraft

In the 1930s Imperial Airways of Britain joined with the Australian airline Qantas to provide a mail and passenger service between Britain and Australia. The final link across the Tasman Sea was achieved with the appearance of a new airline, Tasman Empire Airways Ltd (TEAL), which had joint British, Australian and New Zealand ownership. The trans-Tasman service began in 1940, using Short S30 flying boats like this one.

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How to cite this page

Peter Aimer, Aviation – International destinations, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/6581/short-s30-aircraft (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Peter Aimer, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

DON CARLINE
25 July 2017
I was an Aircraft Engineering Apprentice with TASMAN EMPIRE AIRWAYS LIMITED (TEAL now AIR NEW ZEALAND) from Jan 1953 to Dec 1958, then becoming a Draughtsman in the Drawing Office, progressing to Interiors Engineer and Specifications Engineer in Technical Services section for 38 years. Worked on PB2B-1 CATALINA, SHORT S45 MK IV SOLENT , LOCKHEED L188C ELECTRA, DOUGLAS DC6, DC8, DC10, BOEING B747, B767, and Aircraft owned by other operators GRUMMAN G44 WIDGEON, FLETCHER FU24, and helped design Turboprop developments for AG. Operators.