Notorious lle de Nou
pp. 7-8 · Read in the full issue
To Be Seaplane Station on Trans pacific Air Route
Prom Our Own Correspondent
Noumea, June 25.
A SMALL army of workmen, under the direction of technical experts sent out by Pan American Airways, Ltd., is now busy preparing a seaplane base at Noumea, in New Caledonia.
The base is being called Nouville. and it is on the island directly opposite the town of Noumea. This is the once notor ious He de Nou, and on it there still re main the great prisons which housed the convicts sent from France.
In more recent times, these old build ings have been used to house the thou sands of Javanese labourers, who are brought in periodically from Java, em ployed for two or three years on the mines and plantations, and then repatriated.
The He de Nou, lying opposite Noumea, helps to enclose the sheltered water which is the port of Noumea.
A special water supply, electric light and power, a meteorological station, and all other modem requirements are being in stalled. The He de Nou. which was once the melancholy home of so much human misery and horror, will in future be an important station on one of the main trans-Pacific aerial routes—a place where lighthearted tourists may spend a few hours under tropical surroundings while on their way between New Zealand (or Australia) and North America.
It is generally expected in Noumea that Pan American Airways will attempt their first test flight between Noumea and Auckland in July; but there is as yet no indication that a suitable seaplane will then be available.
2,000,000 Francs Being Spent
The “Bulletin du Commerce” of June 17 says that the work, which will cost
more than 2,000.000 francs, will comprise: A large pumping station for the re fuelling of the seaplanes; a jetty, equip ped with a crane, which will be con structed close to the former military post; a depot for material; workshops and office; a large hall for the accommoda tion of passengers and crew; and various structures to meet the need of P.A.
All buildings will be erected in modem style, surrounded by lawns, after the American fashion.
In a comparatively short time, the ap pearance of Nouville will be completely changed. This part of the island will re present a miniature city, where great activity will be afoot with giant seaplanes, which will arrive four times per month two will come fortnightly from San Francisco-Honolulu-Canton Island, and two will return from Auckland to San Francisco, with the same itinerary and regularity, every 15 days.
For the radio station, which will be in constant touch with the seaplanes, the property of M. Steinmetz, at Magenta, has been chosen, after close study and examination of the region of Nouville, Brun Isle, and the district surrounding Noumea for a favourable zone.
The P.A. technicians, with complete portable material and little motor, have conducted experiments on the property of M. Steinmetz. They are in touch with the Company’s station on Canton (Phoenix Islands), which is an airport on the San Francisco-New Zealand route. If suit able results are obtained from these ex periments which have lasted several days, arrangements will be made for the erec tion of the necessary works.
Passengers arriving at Noumea in the afternoon, will remain one night in the town and will depart the next day.
It is probable that, at some future time, the seaplanes will call at Brisbane, but the project is still indefinite—nothing official has yet been established.
Sydney-Auckland Air Mail
British Imperial Airways are pushing on steadily with their preparations to make test flights between Sydney and Auckland and between Auckland and Suva. It is officially announced that the Sydney-Auckland air mail will commence in October.