The Grand Old Lady of the Sky

Posted by on 24 February 2010 | 0 Comments

I and several planeloads of people had a nostalgic trip in a DC3 from Manapouri over Fiordland recently. This grand old lady of the sky was built by women in California during the war years and her career has been varied and interesting from transporting troops and tourists to being used for top-dressing.

It's really great to see her fully restored, owned by a trust and here for future generations and it is also interesting to note that her wings are the same length as today's Boeing aircraft.

The opening of the Fonterra expansion gave us an opportunity to have a tour of this huge enterprise which now proudly boasts the largest drying capacity in the world. It can process one farm's milk supply in a few minutes, and you realise what a large global business this is and how important it is to our export and dairy industry in New Zealand.

I had the opportunity to meet Prime Minister John Key at the Fonterra opening as well as the Waimumu Field Days. It is pleasing to see that he takes the time to attend these important functions in New Zealand. The field days are a truly great event for our farming industry and in showcasing our province.

I was very proud of our Council tent and big thank you must go to the Communications team who created a wonderful display, including a piece of Fiordland together with its own "glow-worms."

People were particularly interested in the Bio-Filtro display on the new sewerage treatment plant at Edendale-Wyndham and also in the history, both the timeline and old photographs. Displays on building control, resource management and roading were also popular. GIS mapping was quieter than previous years, but still provided several farm maps to interested ratepayers. Communications and GIS staff were present for the entire three days and were well supported by councillors and staff.

I spent last week in Wellington, and had a very hectic time with meetings where we discussed road funding, cycle trails and the other usual suspects. It was also a great opportunity to share and talk to other rural provincial Councils.

I did take the opportunity with my precious spare time to see Avatar in 3D and also to have a quick look at the Pompeii Exhibition at Te Papa. The water schemes and toilet facilities were an impressive feat of Roman engineering. Pompeii was destroyed on August 24 79AD when Mt Vesuvius buried it, encasing it in a time capsule of ancient history for 2000 years. Looking at this early history, you realise that people faced the same challenges that we do today!