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Nostalgia abounds around Aeroview.
Peter and Larraine have spent their lives gathering fascinating
jewels from a by-gone age and these items are available to view and
provide the icing on the cake to visitors and guests.
AVIATION
The WWII North American Harvard trainer.
A World War II era ex RNZAF Harvard training aircraft is
slowly emerging from a pile of components collected up over more than
two decades from all over New Zealand and the USA. Originally obtained
as a rusty decrepit tube cockpit frame, the project has grown to more imposing
proportions and is now “sitting on its main gear”.
The de Havilland Devon being lifted into the workshop.
The Harvard shares the Aeroview Restoration Workshop with the
fuselage of a former RNZAF De Havilland Devon of the early 1950’s and
the cockpit of what is the oldest surviving substantial section of a
former RNZAF wartime DC3/Dakota warbird. This cockpit not only survived
the war, but also scrapping in the 1950’s, and ultimately the Christchurch
earthquakes after it was painstakingly removed from a crumblinbg inner
city bar where it has served as a prop for more than 20 years.
ANTIQUE AUDIO
Some of the projectors, valve radios and telephones on
display.
An obsession with all things vintage extends to the colourful collection
of antique Edison Phonographs, 78 rpm Gramophones, valve radios, vintage
Black and White TV’s and classic broadcasting equipment. There’s even
old radio broadcast consoles, studio microphones from the 40’s, and an
example of the first type of NZBC Studio Television cameras used in the
pioneering days of television in New Zealand, the ubiquitous Marconi Mk
IV.
A collection of early telephones.
MODEL T FIRE ENGINE
Under restoration, a 1924 Model T Fire Engine based on a popular choice
of chassis for many small-town fire brigades throught the 20's and 30's.
Aeroviews Model T started life as a car, but like many "back in the day"
was adapted by individual brigades for their own use. The designs and configurations
were many and varied. When completed, Aeroviews Model T will be available,
along with the rest of the collection, for photo shoots and backdrop appearances.
CAMERAS
Aeroview is home to a fine collection of early domestic cameras
from the folding/bellows types, thru box brownies to clockwork cine
camera of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.
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