Invercargill Airport 5.04

Invercargill Airport is a controlled aerodrome located 1nmi west of the city centre of Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southernmost controlled airport in the Commonwealth. Formed on land reclaimed from the Waihopai/New River Estuary in 1938, the airport was prone to flooding, notably in 1984 when it was inoperable for two months. The Invercargill City Council considered moving the airport back to Dawson Farm, Myross Bush, the original site up to 1942. Instead, a large flood protection scheme was built, but during its construction heavy rain and an unusually high tidal surge flooded it again in 1987. There have been no problems since. The airport has a single terminal and 4 tarmac gates.HistoryToday's airport is located on what was a tidal estuary lake. The site was chosen as it is closer to the city than the original aerodrome, Dawson Farm, located a then considerable 10 km away northeast of Invercargill. The draining and stabilising of land began in 1936. The continual draining of the surrounding land was (and still is) achieved with the use of a large canal and tidal pumping system. It took until 1939 before a rudimentary landing strip was considered acceptable for light aircraft to land. By then World War Two had begun and the RNZAF used it as an auxiliary field while Dawson Farm remained the air force's aerodrome of choice as heavier patrol bombers could land there. The city council built two hangars and the air force a larger facility. Pre-fabricated office blocks provided basic administration facilities.The airport's first scheduled service was in 1944 by Union Airways' Lockheed 10 Electra flying from Dunedin. The terminal facilities were little more than two small sheds at the time; and a Union Airways limousine bus service provided passengers a direct link to the downtown terminal located on The Crescent.