The story of aviation in Westland begins when Captain Maurice Buckley loaded his 504K aeroplane on a train to Hokitika in December 1923.

Of course, in order to fit through the Otira Tunnel (at the time the longest tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere), the wings were removed and refitted upon arriving in Hokitika. Then, the aircraft was prepared for Westland’s first flight, made on the evening of 30 December 1923.

In January 1924, Captain Buckley made the first flight over the glaciers in The Blazing Arrow, with local photographer Dr Ebenezer Teichelmann and Timaru photographer Havelock Williams on board.

Fast forward to 1934, aviation legend Captain Bert Mercer, the first New Zealander to fly 10,000 hours, established Air Travel NZ Ltd, offering flights from Hokitika to Haast in a Fox Moth ZK-ADI. This was the country’s first commercial airline and the beginnings of Air New Zealand as we know it today.

This flight route was transformative for South Westland. The area has always been sparsely populated, hemmed on one side by the majestic Southern Alps and on the other side by the turbulent Tasman Sea. South Westland residents, or “far-downers” as more northern residents sometimes called them, were among the most isolated New Zealanders with Hokitika 290km away and Wanaka 145km away, with no road connection until 1960. The historic South Westland air service continued until 1967 – the world’s longest running de Havilland biplane air service.

It is no wonder Westland features so prominently in the pioneering story of New Zealand aviation.