Fiji's Laucala
p. 56 · Read in the full issue
Bay Base Still
In The Balance
The fate of the Royal New Zealc Air Force flying boat base at Lauc Bay, Fiji , is still in the balance, w the odds in favour of it closing wl the present fleet of five Sunderlai is worn out.
According to the raf i Officer Commander-m-Chief, I East, Sir Hector McGregor, w visited Fiji in May, the New Zeala Minister of Defence, Mr. Dean Ey is as worried about the future Laucala Bay as anybody else.
Sir Hector ventured the opini that the NZ Government would ke Laucala Bay going at present. T Sunderlands had a lot of useful 1 in them—probably another five yea He readily agreed that the Sundi lands had a very useful role in t Islands, a role that could not be fill by a land plane.
However, the decision does n rest with Sir Hector, and the N« Zealand Government has made ] public statement about the future the base since the Chief of the Ne Zealand Air Staff, Air Vice-Marsh I. G. Morrison, visited the Coloi a few months ago.
Air Vice-Marshal Morrison made clear that the flying boats would ha' to go, and left the uncomfortable ir pression that he was talking of tl not too distant future, certainly n the five years which Sir Hector me tioned.