Transport Crisi[?]

Lord Howe Islandia

Soon To Face

By a Staff Writer

Airlines of NSW, which

operated a Sandringham fly\

boat service from Sydney to L Howe Island for more thaiu years, will take the Sandringhj out of service in 1970.

WHAT to do about an alterns service, to maintain the islae only air link with the outside wo has posed a very big problem the islanders, for the airline comp and the Australian Governm which subsidises the current ser T ‘ There are no passenger serv by sea; cargo vessels make calls,, there is no port at Lord Howe.

There are three proposals to the island, 436 miles north-east.

Sydney, with the Australian nr land: • Fast amphibian planes; O a 3,500 to 4,000 ft airstrip i Fokker Friendships; • a 1,000 ft airstrip for short tt off planes.

None of these plans has nr progress.

There are no amphibian pli produced with range enough to the route, there is no airstrip onr island and no decision has been nr to build one, and lastly no suit! short take-off planes have yet 1 developed.

Decisive meeting

The Federal Government, the N Government and Airlines of N will meet early this year to da whether to build the airstrip.

The Australian Government been pondering on whether to b it for over eight years. Surveys I been carried out, numerous rep tabled and suggestions made, nothing has come of them. It w\ cost up to S4m., and the Feb Government would have to fina most of it.

The proposed airstrip would . right across the best flat land off island and also take in a wide of the lagoon, destroying much ori

ral and scenic underwater sights, hile an airstrip could attract more jrists it could ruin a lot of land d natural beauty of Lord Howe, ost islanders are hopeful the airstrip ja will not eventuate and amphibian mes can continue the service after 70.

The ideal solution, from the anders’ point of view, would be ; amphibians. They would not lose id or lagoon and things could con lue at their present semi-casual ce—the pace that makes Lord iwe so attractive to visitors.

Late last year, Airlines of NSW w prototype plans of an amphibian me developed by Canadair Com ny, of Canada.

Airlines of NSW rejected the plans cause it said the plane was too jail; passengers and freight capacity ;re very much limited compared to e Sandringham flying-boats.

Canadair sells amphibian planes to e Canadian Forestry Commission, tiich uses the planes to take off am Canada’s numerous lakes and ;ht forest fires.

More difficult

It will continue working on an nphibian plane which Airlines of SW could buy for Lord Howe, it even if it does come up with ►mething, it is unlikely to put it production until it can get orders •r it —and amphibian planes have a stricted market.

The general manager of Airlines r NSW, Captain S. C. Middlemiss, id the secretary of the company, [r. K. N. Hillyar, visited Lord Howe November to break the news to e Island Tourist Promotion Com ittee about the 1970 deadline for ie flying-boats.

They told the islanders that the r service was daily becoming more fficult to operate.

Mr. Hillyar told PIM his com my made a small profit out of the irvice. But it was a troublesome ;rvice to operate and not worth ie profit involved.

The company’s two Sandringhams y out of Rose Bay, Sydney, to the ord Howe lagoon once a week in ie winter and five times a week in ie summer.

But over the past few years many igh apartment blocks have been built round Rose Bay and residents corn lain of the noise nuisance from the andringhams.

“We cannot fly at the weekends r at night time, except in special

circumstances,” said Mr. Hillyar.

“When you consider we have to combine our daylight flying hours with the tides at Lord Howe for a flight it’s a lot of work.

“The Sandringhams fly a total of about 1,000 flying hours a year, which is 500 hours each, well below the 3,000 hours other commercial planes do in a year.

We cant replace them or simp y use another aircraft in their Fokker Friendships, which could land on a 3,500 ft runway. Next year they were buying another one. They would be quite happy to take these to Lord Howe if a strip was built.