“Air fare for garden party.” Central Coast Express Advocate, 22 February 1995.
This article documents Warnervale Airport functioning as a gathering place for the wider aviation community in the mid-1990s. The inaugural aviation garden party brought together recreational, commercial, military and general aviation interests, with aircraft displays, flying competitions, parachuting and aviation organisations represented at the event.
The Central Coast Aero Club had a direct role in the event. Club pilots were scheduled to compete against commercial pilots in a landing challenge using a Cessna 150, while the club was also providing lunch. The reference to displays in the clubhouse area further demonstrates the club facilities being used as part of a substantial public aviation event.
The range of organisations invited—including Qantas, Ansett, Impulse Aviation, Eastern Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Civil Aviation Authority—shows the breadth of the aviation community associated with the event.
The aircraft mentioned also provide a useful snapshot of Australian aviation heritage at the time. Displays were expected to include the CT-4, Winjeel, Cessna Bird Dog, Wirraway and Harvard, while a former Papua New Guinea Defence Force Douglas DC-3 was specifically promoted as one of the attractions.
Unlike much of the contemporary reporting concerning proposed commercial development and expansion of Warnervale Airport, this article records the aerodrome’s established role in recreational aviation and community engagement.
Historical significance reflects the importance of an item in documenting the history of Warnervale Airport, the Central Coast Aero Club and the surrounding community. A high significance rating does not indicate that statements, opinions, claims or predictions contained in the original material are endorsed by the Central Coast Aero Club or remain accurate today. Newspaper reports, letters and other historical documents are presented in their original historical context.
This historical newspaper article is reproduced as part of the Central Coast Aero Club Historical Archive for research, education and the preservation of local aviation history. Copyright in the original article, photographs and other published material remains with the respective authors, publishers and/or other copyright holders.
Where known, the original publication, date and other source information have been acknowledged.
If you are the copyright holder, or represent the copyright holder, and believe material displayed in this archive should not be reproduced, please Contact Us. We will promptly review the material and, where appropriate, remove it or amend its attribution.
Let us know what you were trying to find and we’ll point you in the right direction.