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Kōrero: Wellington places

Flying boats

Image
Flying boats

The first commercial flying boat service between Sydney and Wellington began in October 1950. The Wellington base was Evans Bay. Planes docked beside a small passenger terminal near Hataitai Beach – shown here in 1951. The trip to Sydney took about seven hours. The service ceased in 1954 when regular planes started flying across the Tasman Sea.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: 114/372/12

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Chris Maclean, Wellington places – Wellington Harbour, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/13462/flying-boats (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Chris Maclean, i tāngia i te 3 March 2009, updated 1 March 2016.