A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
In the following observations I follow the example set by Pythia, the oracle of Delphi, whose pronouncements were always artfully ambiguous — one never knew exactly which way she was leaning, but she couldn't be wrong!
Despite very little signage, the approach to Gisborne Airport was marked by the sight
of an artefact (an aircraft) that signified one was in the right place! This has now been removed, ostensibly because it was suffering from the weather and dilapidation (does this sound familiar?) but possibly seen by some as a symbol of European settlement, creating an empty space just waiting to be filled. We are told that “this marks the end of a long tradition of aviation craft-based landmarks at the airport entrance”.
At the other side of the city there is an empty space where a similarly significant artefact cannot be erected due to ground contamination. Consideration should be given to the choice of a more appropriate alternative site.
At the Trust Tairawhiti AGM on August 12, attendees were treated to a lengthy description and explanation of the significance of the styling features of the new airport terminal. Reference was made to the close-by Oneroa beach where the Horouta waka is reputed to have made landfall. Consideration should be given to the prospect of a more appropriate entrance to this new complex: a gateway commemorating a journey from Hawaiki to Turanga, perhaps.
As it's quite possible that this option has already been mooted, and steps already taken, consideration should be given (subject to checks for contamination due to aluminium corrosion) as to whether such a move would provide a suitably meaningful symbol of transportation totally in keeping with the style of the rest of Turanganui a Kiwa Airport, saving around a quarter of a million dollars in remediation costs in the process.
