Warnervale - an active airstrip north of Sydney

I feel like I'm cataloging airfields now, but each has a rich history and I intend coming back in due course to fill in the blanks.

Warnervale is in the Wyong district north of Gosford. It's an important regional airfield and one of the few remaining strips between Sydney and Newcastle. These days we have to catch a train or drive our cars first if we want to fly... and whilst flying is not the most fuel-efficient method of transport it's hardly going to be enhanced by extra car or truck journeys, is it? Alas airfields tend to secure an expanse of grass for runways and overruns, eventually attracting developers bent on turning the "wasted" grassy fields into houses or industrial estates. The airport itself may attract additional investment, leading to jobs, and further development. Which is a downward spiral leading to airport closure when newly local residents complain about the aircraft noise. Warnervale is secure for now but the fight to remain active is always on the horizon.  

Making Time for Flying: Moisture in the air and water in the tanks

After Patonga I adjusted my heading slightly toward Warnervale at 3500ft, with still lots of clouds in the Kariong area. I found Warnervale aerodrome, which is not really a challenge given its prominent location between the Pacific Highway and Tuggerah Lake. One lonely Cessna 152 was doing circuits at Warnervale. I made a call on the CTAF frequency advising everyone I was overflying the aerodrome and kept tracking north.

Here is an updated list of Sydney's airports.  

Love this story of meeting "Mr Lake" of Lake Road, Tuggerah

Woy Woy.net -A  Woy Woy Weblog

On the way out to the site I saw an old bloke walking a greyhound down the road and I pulled over to ask him if he knew of the airfield.
In a stroke of luck he did indeed know of the strip and pointed over the fence from where we were and said " that's it there " - right in the spot I suspected , he also told me to go see a local further down the road who had lived here all his life.
So I drove to the end of Lake road to see the " Mr Lake " , that was what the greyhound guy called him.

CSIRO radiophysics and RAAF Fleurs - the Sydney airstrip at Badgery's Creek

As I've mentioned several times before Sydney and nearby towns played host to a number of wartime airstrips including The Oaks, Cordeaux, Schofields, Hoxton Park and Woy Woy amongst many others. Some of these remain usable but others were re-used as motor racing tracks or simply became disused.

So here's RAAF Fleur (or Fleurs), another one with an interesting post-war use.

The CSIRO connection - Flowering_of_Fleurs

Fleurs is situated about 40 km west-south-west of central Sydney near Badgery's Creek, and occupies an expanse of flat land between South Creek and Kemps Creek adjacent to a disused WWII air strip. Between 1954 and 1963, Fleurs was the leading field station of the CSIRO's Division of Radiophysics, and was home to three innovative cross-type radio telescopes, the Mills Cross, Shain Cross and the Chris Cross (Figure 1), all of which played important roles in furthering international radio astronomy (Robertson, 1992). This article discusses these radio telescopes, and the research that was carried out at the Fleurs field station.

The Gliding connection - Southern Cross Gliding Club, Sydney

In 1946 the AWA Club moved to a disused wartime emergency strip just west of Cabramatta called Fleurs Airstrip which was only 3 Km away from the Doonside airfield. It was to become more or less a permanent home for gliding operations. Being on the bend of a river, it used to flood regularly and when a hanger was finally built the machines were always lifted up on top of 200 litre drums as a safety measure. On visiting the strip after one of these floods, the first job was always to retrieve the toilet hut which always seemed to be a couple of kilometres downstream.

At the end of '46 things were pretty busy at Fleurs. The clubs operating from there were the AWA Club, Sydney Metropolitan, Cumberland-Phoenix (now amalgamated) and occasionally Sydney Soaring.

Gliding moves to Camden - Southern Cross Gliding Club, Sydney

Late in 1953 the NSW Gliding Association decided to hold a "gliding pageant" at Camden. The Hinkler and Sydney Soaring Clubs were already flying their sailplanes from this site. Although the Southern Cross membership was down to five, they loaded the old Primary onto an antique Bedford truck and decided to attend the pageant as well.

They were very impressed with the long smooth Camden runways and decided not to return to Fleurs Airstrip which was destined to be taken over by the CSIRO for the Maltese Cross Radio Telescope. Besides Camden was totally deserted apart from a few gliding people and a locally owned Macarthur-Onslow Hornet Moth which rarely flew.

Checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports.

Some initial investigations into the history of the Sydney-Newcastle or F3 freeway

Before the F3 there was the Pacific Highway - a wondrously snaking road that originally crossed the Hawkesbury at Peats' ferry. And what a marvellous way to cross a mighty river - slowly. Just imagine the queues at either end these days! Well the ferry ended in c1945 (although there are substantial remains at each end) and the replacement bridge is still in use. (Let's not forget the rail bridges downstream, either, and the remnants of the original rail route.) Alas the F3 did away with the old and swept in the new, but it's still interesting to reflect on how we got where we are now, and the options that were spurned.

So why replace the old road? Traffic - too much of it. I do remember the traffic jams at the Hawkesbury crossing and at Wyong. Endless jams. And my father's car boiling over in summer. One time we stopped at a creek on the old highway and topped up with pure river water, bellbirds tinkling around us. I also remember my father dodging the 20cent toll. Doesn't seem like a lot now but "toll dodging" (usually by joining or exiting the "freeway" at Mount White) remained a popular sport for years, until the toll was lifted.
 
Ozroads: Sydney-Newcastle Freeway

Following World War II, it was glaringly obvious that the existing route between Sydney and Newcastle, not even 20 years old by that time, was completely inadequate for the amount of traffic it carried. By 1960, traffic across the 3-lane Peats Ferry Bridge had reached a daily average of 6,600 vehicles, rising to over 18,000 per day in holiday times. The existing two-lane, winding alignment was unsuitable to carry this amount of traffic, let alone any future increase, and there was considerable local-through traffic conflict through the busy town centres of Gosford, Wyong, Swansea and Belmont.

Interesting that the government of the day considered a private toll-road at the time but was pressured by its own bureaucrats to fund it publicly, even if a small toll was still required. It would have brought forward the idea of a "public-private partneship" by some years, had it gone ahead. Of course money for infrastructure was always - and remains - the main issue in a country so big in area yet small in population.
 
Ozroads: Sydney-Newcastle Freeway

the DMR was always against letting the private sector construct such an important project and the commissioner of the time, Howard Sherrard, threatened to resign when the government decided it would take Solomon up on his offer. This caused the government to abandon the private sector idea, and announce in January 1962 that it had accepted a proposal from the DMR for the construction of a four-lane expressway that would not only connect Sydney and Newcastle but form part of an improved route to the north and north-west of the state. In 1965, the proposal was refined to include a new route across Mooney Mooney Creek downstream from the Pacific Hwy crossing that would render the existing Peats Ridge route redundant. However, it was recognised that construction would not be possible until at least the mid-1970's due to financial restrictions.

Although there's a lot more that interests me about the F3, I'll also link to this history of Peats Ridge Road and allow you to read the details. If you ever drive this road (which proceeds northwards from Calga to almost Ourimbah) you'll be struck by its mostly excellent construction, its width and general feeling of over-engineering for the current task. And of you are old enough to remember when it was a national highway you'll understand why! Personally I remember stopping at the Oak roadhouse at Peats Ridge (now a strip of shops including a cafe with some memorabilia to look over) on a number of occasions, including when it must have been quite fresh and new. (There's another roadhouse at the old road on the southern side of the Hawkesbury, near Brooklyn - unused and strangely moth-balled but well worth a look-see.)    

Ozroads: Former NH1 Peats Ridge Rd

Peats Ridge Road itself was constructed purposely by the DMR to take the National Highway 1 shield (then National Route 1) as the main route between Sydney & Newcastle. However, it was not given the NH1 shield until the arrival of federal funding via the National Highway system in 1974. Prior to this, the route was signposted as either 'Newcastle via Peats Ridge' or 'Sydney via Peats Ridge'.

Peats Ridge Rd carried the steadily increasing expressway traffic for 22 years (12 years as NH1) until the 7km shorter expressway route between Calga and Somersby opened to traffic. Some of the original route was retained, the 7km between Somersby and Ourimbah was duplicated and incorporated into the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway. National Highway 1 was removed from Peats Ridge Rd in December 1986

Investigation into Sydney's International Airports - chronology from 1946

I am assuming that in 1946 Sydney's "International Airport" was actually Rose Bay Flying Boat Base. If that assumption is right then this link below takes us back to the decision to anoint the swampy airfield site at Mascot as "the" International Airport of the future. If you follow the chronology a 2nd "major" airport is considered in 1964 when the Towra Point Folly first comes up. Somersby also gets a guernsey in the 1970s, along with Galston and Duffy's Forest. All 3 drew a lot of protest from locals, for good reason. They were also the most challenging sites to build on, so the fight perhaps wasn't that hard to win in retrospect.

As I have pointed out several times it's wrong to say Sydney needs a "second" airport. Sydney already has Mascot, Bankstown, Richmond and Camden plus it had Schofields and Hoxton Park. Not forgetting The Oaks and a bunch of WWII airstrips. Whether it "needs" a 2nd major airport is a harder question to answer.      

Second Sydney Airport-A Chronology (September 2003)

A study is undertaken to determine the best site for the development of an international airport in Sydney. Sites studied include Towra Point, Bankstown and Mascot. Between 1946 and 1968, Federal, State and local governments discuss the Towra Point site, which is eventually ruled out because of environmental difficulties.

Checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports.

Active gravel runway at Wallsend

WALLSAIR Airport

Wallsair is a collection of 17 like minded aviators who enjoy their flying, from GA to ultra-lights. Conveniently located 4 Nm west of Newcastle, Wallsair has a 750 meter dirt strip oriented 30 and 210 degrees,

Currently 2 Hangars and a Clubhouse.

GPS Co-ordinates

S 32 degrees 52.977

E 151 degrees 40.977

Visitors are welcome, but where possible landings and takeoffs are to be to and from the north. If landing from the south is necessary, approach down the green corridor running south west of the strip. If the strip is wet, land and takeoff on the western side of the centre. Circuits are to be wide to the west around Maryland residential. Beware of HT power lines running along the west of the strip.

Wallsair flyers are all on radio and use Newcastle frequency 132.100 Mhz.

Here is an updated list of Sydney's airports.  

The Entrance Airstrip - gone but not entirely forgotten

I believe The Entrance airstrip was by-and-large at the site now occupied by the The Entrance District Sporting and Community Centre (EDSACC), located on The Entrance Road, between Yakalla Street and Eastern Road. Several people have placed it either side of The Entrance Road, but by most accounts it was on the ocean, or eastern, side. 

In any case, Wyong/Central Coast Council has a photograph and a little more detail of it, here.  

Several alternative locations have been proposed, but that pic establishes that it was close to Blue Lagoon Caravan Park. It's only the alignment of The Entrance Road that appears in doubt.

There is one source that places Bateau Bay airstrip at The Entrance, in the grounds of what is now the Entrance High School. That's probably a confusion of schools. It's possible, but it's very close to the township itself and on sloping ground. It's not consistent with the image, anyway.

The alternative school site at Bateau Bay proper is flatter and better in every way (for an airstrip), barring some 'swampiness'. In accord with the image above, it may have only partly have been on the school site, in any case.

Bateau Bay, New South Wales at AllExperts

* Bateau Bay was once home to an airstrip known as The Entrance Airstrip. The site of The Entrance Airstrip is now within the grounds of The Entrance High School *

Much more likely is a slightly more southerly location, including the sports fields and possibly part of the school site. It is mentioned by a Gosford Aeromodeller: "The first time I spotted radio control models was in 1972 at the old The Entrance airstrip near Bateau Bay. This area is now occupied by sports fields and a High School. They drew a big crowd on Sundays because of the nearby Entrance road. The club however was soon on the move because permanent flying fields were hard to find, even in those days. By the time I had decided to join they were no longer at Bateau Bay and for a time I was unable to locate them." 

So in any case it was closer to Bateau Bay than The Entrance, putting it down on the flatter land to the south on what is now at least partly Tuggerah Lakes College (formerly Bateau Bay High School). This site fits with my recollections as well - although I didn't come to the coast a lot in the late 60's early '70s I could have sworn I saw an old strip down on the flat near the main junction (now a roundabout).

See the comments below, placing the airstrip immediately south of the current school grounds. 

Checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports.

Taking off from Somersby airstrip, 2007

Below is a description of taking off from the Lackersteen's Rd airstrip, Somersby.

Interestingly there's what looks to be another old, unused airstrip on the other side of Peats Ridge Rd (ie to the north but running more east-west) - perhaps the Somersby strip used to be longer with a crossing strip or L shaped configuration and was cut by the roadworks? I do have doubts about the terrain, though - it may be a bit lumpy just there between the 2 sites.

Print Page - Back To The Nest - Bundaberg 2007

The engine takes a while to warm as the temperature is a bit on the cool side, but we are soon taxying to the run-up area, at the southern end of the strip. The engine run-up checks are all OK and the pre-flight essential check-list complete, so we taxy to the end of runway 35, make our departure call, log the time at 1008 and give the engine full throttle as we turn onto the runway for a short field take-off.

With the T’s and P’s in the green and the ASI rising, we accelerate down the hill that is a characteristic of the Somersby airstrip bouncing over the rough stuff and gently raising the nose of the aircraft for a short / rough field take-off. The Jabiru being full of fuel, two POB and holding a reasonable amount of luggage, is reluctant to leave the ground, but once it does we accelerate quickly in ground effect before raising the nose to the best angle of climb attitude and settling into the climb out. Once clear of the tree-line, we pick up the effects of the cross wind and adjust the flight path to suit. Lowering the nose to the best rate of climb attitude, I allow the aircraft to accelerate to the top of the white arc and then clean up the flaps. Fuel pump off – engine still running (always a good thing) and the rest of the post take-off check list completed T’s and P’s in the green, accelerate to the cruise climb speed of 90 KIAS and then 100 KIAS still gives a good rate of climb.

Here is an updated list of Sydney's airports.  

The Gosford City Aeromodellers at Narara Airstrip

Our Field/Getting Here - Gosford City Aeromodellers

Located at the top of Mangrove Road at Narara, we are very central on the coast and easy to find. There are 2 ways to access the club, from the north and from the south. From the northen end it's easiest to get to the club via Dog Trap road at Ourimbah, which tee's off the Pacific Highway opposite the RSL club and links up with Mangrove road once you cross the freeway. The Southern end is accessed by getting onto Narara Valley Drive and following it until you can turn off directly onto Mangrove road, I would recommend coming from this direction as it is fully tarred where Dog Trap road still has a dirt section.

Here is an updated list of Sydney's airports.  

Central Coast Soaring Centre - not quite an airstrip, definitely a landing ground

This strangely almost L-shaped block of mown grass on Bloodtree Road is the home of the Central Coast Soaring Club (judging by the sign at the gate, anyway). I presume there are sailplanes - gliders - onsite here.


There are buildings that could conceivably work as hangars, anyway.

Here is an updated list of Sydney's airports.   

Lost airfields of the Central Coast - Tuggerah

So far I have counted over 40 airstrips, airfields, airports, landing fields and aerodromes within 100km or so of Sydney, give or take a few more distant outliers. Many are lost, however, redeveloped and recycled for other uses. Tuggerah is one of those "lost" but not completely forgotten WWII 'dispersal' strips. There are many online sources available and I quote some sources as I go - but here is my take on its story.  

Tuggerah airstrip was constructed as a single runway by the Australian Army at Lake Road, Tuggerah, in 1942 (by one account "over 100 men" worked on the construction from a camp based in Church Rd). 

The gravel runway ran from Wyong Road in the south to a point north east of the current substation near Lake Road (possible named for a Mr Lake rather than its proximity to Tuggerah Lakes, BTW).  This is my 'indicative' image of that runway alignment, with thanks to Google Maps:

A network of coastal landing strips were constructed at this time to be used for emergency landings by land-based aircraft travelling along the seaboard. As engine failure and bad weather quickly closing off alternative navigational options were very real issues faced by aviators at that time, emergency strips were considered vital to safety. That situation really only changed in the immediate post-war decades as aircraft reliability, fuel range and navigational aids improved steadily. 

It was this fear of "ditching" or "buying the farm" that prolonged and promoted the use of seaplanes and flying boats over "land-based" aircraft for many years. There was of course a major RAAF seaplane/flying boat base at Rathmines on Lake Macquarie, just north of Tuggerah. PBY-5 Catalinas, a flying boat equipped with retractable landing gear, were known to use Tuggerah for "circuit and bump" or "touch and go" (sometimes also called "crash and dash"!) practice. Now that would have been memorable for the locals!

WWII satellite airfields also allowed larger squadrons (of fighters or bombers) to split up for safety (the 'fewer eggs in one basket' tactic) and to ease congestion and storage constraints at larger fields. These airstrips would work as satellites from a larger parent aerodrome, be it a Navy or Air Force base. Whilst a strip may putatively "belong" to the RAAF or RAN it was often operated by British or US forces. Typically they contained aircraft "hides" and possibly hangars plus rudimentary support buildings for pilots, emergency and maintenance crew. 

Plans were made to house up to 8 "medium bombers" at the site, the strip to be operated as a satellite of  Fleurs, located just under 100km by air south and west of Tuggerah and west of Liverpool, near Kemps Creek in Sydney. Fleurs was 'home' - the parent airfield in Sydney - for a US Naval Air Wing during part of WWII. However as the Pacific War rapidly advanced and the active Japanese threat changed the US Naval operations focused on bases in Brisbane and Perth. It is not known exactly what (if any) US operations actually occurred at Tuggerah.

It has been said that post-war the Tuggerah runway was built over on the southern end with the then state Electricity Commission and a local landowner taking possession of much of the northern section. Other reports have been sighted that following decommission attempts were made to keep Tuggerah as an emergency landing ground for commercial air traffic between Brisbane and Sydney. A further newspaper article suggested that the airstrip was heavily depleted of gravel by locals, rendering it unusable. Shortly after fences were built across the strip, as this newspaper report of a 1950 Avro Anson crash illustrates.

• RAAF Rathmines - flying boats on Lake Macquarie
• See also the Woy Woy/Ettalong airstrip

Another airstrip was apparently located north of this Tuggerah site, just south and east of Wyong Racecourse. Wyong Airstrip was reportedly operating between 1970 and 1990; originally a 2000' strip, the direction was changed and a 3000' strip created.  Reportedly made on an original landing site used by Reg Ansett c1936, the airstrip was closed due to contaminated ground from a chemical fire rendering more development unviable. However the site is now the location for the Mercure Kooindah Waters Resort... so they remediated the contamination?

Apparently, yes!

Prior to construction the site (Kooindah Waters - my addit) had been described in the environment impact statement (EIS) as highly degraded. On the site extensive earth works and the removal of vegetation had occurred, dense weed infestations had colonised the earth works areas and actual and potential acid sulphates had been placed at the surface following the excavation of lakes. Large amounts of fill material had been spread across the site some containing coal chitter which was considered contamination.

Additional challenges were faced where a drum dump had been declared over what would be holes 10 and 11. The drum dump was due to a fire of stored paints onsite in 1987. Soils contained heavy metals and extensive remediation was required.

Quoted from an AGCSA website document. 

My list of Sydney's race tracks and circuits. 

or checkout my list of Sydney and surrounding airstrips and airports. 

WWII plans to disable strategic railway tunnels - including the Woy Woy tunnel. That would slow your commute down

I've seen the tunnel mentioned on the site (click link below) and it's worth checking out the full details. It all makes sense of course. The sense of threat posed by the Japanese forces in WWII has receded with time (as you'd hope) and it's quite striking to reflect on the fears held at the time an dteh preparations made. My grandparents cartainly had a bunker in their backyard in case of bombing, for example, and had stockpiled food. But for some strange reason I never really quizzed them, or my parents, about the war years. The stories I did get were more about the dances at the Palais!

All things Woy

During WW2 with the threat of Japanese invasion quite real , a national defense plan was set into action.
Part of this plan was to disable the railway system so the Japanese could not use it if they invaded along the coast.
The Americans were in charge of coastal defenses in 1942 and trialled demolishing railway tunnels with explosives at an old tunnel near Otford on the South Coast.
Explosives were lowered down an air shaft and detonated , successfully collapsing the tunnel roof , it was proposed to repeat this plan at several other tunnels along the coast including Woy Woy tunnel.

Another Central Coast airfield - an active one at Somersby on Lackersteens Road

Just one of those things I wanted to note down. It's a short, natural-surfaced airfield adjacent to the F3. I haven't found anyhistorical detail as yet but it's certainly been there for the 10 years or more that I have known of it.

Microlights fly out of here and there is a small collection of hangars half-way down the strip. A motor sport facility was proposed on adjacent land at the F3 end of the field but I don't know the status of that.

Somersby Airfield - YSMB

Somersby Airfield - YSMB

Here is an updated list of Sydney's airports.  

"Old Banks' on the Paterson: not exactly Sydney but an interesting early extension of Colonial administration

History of Paterson and its people

'Old Banks' is the name of a site on the western bank of the Paterson River that was the hub of early European activities and settlement in the district.[1] It appears near the bottom of the map of Paterson Plains c1830, and is indicated on Dangar's 1828 map by the symbol of a tent with a flag on top.

In 1804 a permanent penal settlement was established at Newcastle for convicts who had re-offended in the colony. In that same year convict timber-cutters began operating on 'Patersons River' where they were 'severely beat-up by black natives'.[2]