258017PD: Carnarvon Airport facing north with Carnarvon town on the left 1 July 1964

Year

1964.

Warnings and disclaimer

Title from label on photograph envelope. This image has been preserved and made available by the Historical Records Rescue Consortium Project supported by Lotterywest. All images may only be reproduced with the acknowledgement: Courtesy of Aerial Surveys Australia. Carnarvon Airport had three gravel runways in 1964: 18/36 (north-south), which was later bitumised; 09/27 (east-west), which was later decommissioned; and 04/22 (southwest-northeast), which was later extended and bitumised to become the main runway. The terminal is to the west of runway 18/36, close to the town of Carnarvon. The airport was gradually upgraded over the years, with two runways being bitumised and extended, and the terminal upgraded. However, with growth of the town, the airport is constrained in growth and is also limiting development of the town itself. In 2008, the Shire of Carnarvon considered a proposal to relocate the airport from the Carnarvon town site to a new location 12 kilometres north-east of the existing airport and to be capable of handling commercial jets. This plan is still being considered, subject to negotiation with stakeholders and funding. The airport has been in use since the first scheduled commercial air service in Australia. This service started on 5 December 1921 (before Qantas) with Norman Brearley’s airline West Australian Airways, using Bristol Tourer biplanes.In 1934, MacRobertson-Miller Aviation (MMA) won the Government contract to operate air services and continued to operate them In 1964, Carnarvon was still served by MacRobertson Miller Airlines (MMA), using Douglas DC-3 and Fokker F-27 aircraft, and later their Fokker F-28 jets. Currently, Carnarvon is served by Skywest Airlines with Fokker 50s. There were a few light aircraft based at Carnarvon. On 16 September 1963, Nor'West Air Taxis Pty Ltd, founded by pioneering W.A. cattle-mustering pilot John Roulston, started operations from Carnarvon, using Cessna 175 VH-RDU mainly in aerial-mustering of cattle. The company was acquired by Simpson Aviation in 1967, then merged into Trans-West, which later became Skywest. Murchison Air Charter also operated from Caranarvon, and it too later became part of Trans-West and then Skywest. (Information provided by David Eyre – February 2010)

Subjects

• Airports -- Western Australia -- Aerial photographs.
• Online image.

Terms of use

For personal use only. To publish or display, contact the State Library of Western Australia.