A MEETING was held at Lautoka on June 9, 1946 to protest against the decision to have Nausori as a base for an airport.
On June 10, 1946, The Fiji Times reported about 60 people in the meeting claimed expenditure on the Nausori airfield “represented needless extravagance” since “facilities already existed at Nadi.”
The meeting resulted in the participants sending a letter of protest to the Fiji Government and to cable the Governments of New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.
The protest stemmed from a proposal from the president of the Suva Chamber of Commerce, Sir Maynard Hedstrom, Mr Clive Brewster, vice president and Mr DMN MacFarlane to the Acting Colonial Secretary.
The Fiji Times on May 16, 1946 reported the men voting unanimously at a meeting of the chamber. Mr Brewster said: “At present our customers are Australian National Airways and Pan American Airways. Both Captain Taylor and Mr Harold Gatty have been unequivocal in stating their preference for Nausori.”
“At Nadi there are few facilities for looking after travelers, while at Suva there are many. Certainly the Suva-Nausori road will have to be straightened but if Nausori becomes the main airport; this will follow as the night the day,” he was quoted as saying.
MacFarlane, who seconded the motion, said it would be strange and a remarkable thing to have the Colony’s main airport far removed from the capital.
“You don’t find Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane putting their airport somewhere out in the bush,” he stated.
“The last-minute and last ditch effort to place the national airport under the loving care of the Suva commercial interests was inaugurated in what is known here as your “Suva still loves Suva” issue of May 16,” writes Mr CA Adams, Lautoka in a letter to the editor.
“It appears certain that the only prospect of success in this desperate effort is to stampede Government into immediate action — for to have any delay would prove fatal to their case as it would enable unprejudiced aerodrome experts to give a true assessment of the present value and future possibilities of the two aerodromes in question.
“In this important issue Nadi will fight back. Nausori may be classed as a night and day aerodrome, but I hope to show that those nights and days will have to be carefully chosen.”
Seventy three years later, the decision proved the critics wrong, as the airport served as one of the important strategic location for travellers.
