Airfield Scenes

Auckland International Airport

Situated in South West Auckland at Mangere, this airport has a long history. Used since the 1920's, it was the former home of the Auckland AeroClub, and the early airfield was also the scene of many historic occurences. These included the arrival of New Zealand Aviatrix, Jean Batten, on her solo flight from Britain on October 16th, 1936 The international airport was opened in 1965 (prior to this airline services used RNZAF Base Whenuapai), and is currently undergoing refurbishment and expansion.

October 1st, 1996 - taken from the departure lounge while I was preparing to leave for the Cook Islands.

November 18th, 1996 - taken from the observation deck while waiting for a friend to arrive. The weather was horrible - but the wash of the departing aircraft looked great - shame I couldn't get close enough for a decent photograph!

December 7th, 1996 - taken from the observation deck while waiting for another friend to arrive. The weather was better this time. The multi-coloured QANTAS 747-400 was on the ramp - but at the only gate I couldn't get a decent photograph of!

January 4th, 1997 - yet another lousy day in Auckland, so the images aren't as crisp as I'd like - this was all I managed to get before the weather got really soggy. These images were made from the Puhi Rd lookout at the eastern end of the runway around 8am (shortly after delivering the mother-in-law for a flight out of the country!).