Wigram Aerodrome is located in the

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

suburb of

Sockburn Sockburn is a village and former civil parish to the south of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is situated at the apex of a meander of the River Tees, known locally as the Sockburn Peninsula. Today, all that remains of the village is ...

, later to be split-suburb of

Wigram Wigram is a suburb in the southwest of Christchurch, New Zealand. The suburb lies close to the industrial estates of Sockburn and the satellite retail and residential zone of Hornby, and has undergone significant growth in recent years due to h ...

and now split again as Wigram Skies. It was gifted by Sir Henry Wigram for the Canterbury (NZ) Aviation Company on 20 September 1916 and originally named Sockburn Airport. In 1923 that was then gifted to the Crown as a Royal New Zealand Air Force base. Charles Kingsford-Smith made the first Trans-Tasman flight from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to Wigram on 10 September 1928. Sir Henry Wigram continued to support the base, gifting a further 81 acres of land in 1932. But aircraft got bigger and needed longer and eventually tarsealed runways. The Crown added to the original size of the airfield and that addition was land belonging to

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

. That just includes where the Control Tower currently still stands. RNZAF Wigram was home to the Central Flying School, Pilot Training Squadron, Navigation Training and recruit training. In 1953 RNZAF Wigram was the scene of the worst RNZAF crash in New Zealand when two RNZAF

De Havilland Devon The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report whi ...

collided coming in to land and seven men were killed. In the 1990s, the government wanted to rationalise their military property and a decision was made to either close Wigram or RNZAF Woodbourne near Blenheim. Despite having just been renovated at great expense, it was decide to close Wigram. The aircraft and squadrons moved to

RNZAF Ohakea RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is located near Bulls, 25 km north-west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu. It is also a diversion landing point for civilian aircraft. The b ...

and recruit training went to Woodbourne. The closing parade was held on 14 September 1995. Wigram Aerodrome maintained its aviation character, with several aviation businesses using its facilities. These included Pionair Private Aircharter, Christchurch Parachute School and Christchurch Flying School. Three

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

units, and a

Cadet Corps A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes ...

unit also presently occupy buildings within the aerodrome. Christchurch's Air Force Museum of New Zealand is located at the northern side of the aerodrome. It houses a large collection of aircraft and interactive displays, and is the only museum of the RNZAF in New Zealand.

Wigram Airfield Circuit Wigram Airfield Circuit was a temporary motor racing circuit at Wigram Aerodrome, Christchurch, New Zealand. The airfield is a former base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It is named after Sir Henry Wigram. The temporary circuit was with ...

was a temporary motor racing circuit at the Wigram Airfield. The temporary motor racing circuit was long and considered as the oldest motor race circuit in New Zealand since it had been racing in 1949. The RNZAF still own the original gifted part of the airfield and it is now the home of the Air Force Museum and Historic Flight. But the majority of the airfield, control tower, hangars and new fire station was returned to Ngāi Tahu Property as part of a treaty settlement claim. The fire station became the home of the civilian fire service until 2018. Since 2008 the Ngāi Tahu land has become the suburb of Wigram Skies.

Closure

On 9 July 2008 Television 3 News broadcast a news itemTelevision 3 news item (video)
/ref> stating that

, the owners of the aerodrome (acquired as part of a

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...

settlement claim) would close Wigram Aerodrome by February 2009. Wigram airfield officially ceased operation as an airfield at 00:00 Sunday 1 March 2009 NZ Local time. After the Christchurch earthquakes of February 2011 resulted in much of the Central Business District being off limits due to earthquake damage with office buildings largely damaged, destroyed, or inaccessible, Ngāi Tahu moved its offices to the Wigram site using a mix of prefabricated relocatable buildings, and a refurbished Control Tower building to house most of its staff until a permanent long-term solution could be found.

Housing development

In late 2009, Ngāi Tahu Property began redeveloping the Wigram aerodrome site as a new housing development. Named ''Wigram Skies'', the development proposes 1600 residential sections, a shopping centre, and an industrial area in the east adjoining the existing industrial area. The aerodrome's old sealed runway forms the development's main street, aptly named The Runway, with other street names having an aviation, flight or sky theme. The historic control tower and hangars remain as they are heritage protected buildings.

References

External links

RNZAF Central Flying SchoolAir force MuseumPionair Air CharterCanterbury Aero Club
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Photo of an Air Force refresher course at Wigram c1926
{{authority control Defunct airports in New Zealand Transport in Christchurch Transport buildings and structures in Canterbury, New Zealand