This week, Roy has been really interested in flying boats. He was at the International Fleet Review last week in Sydney and saw one of the beautiful old Catalina’s fly overhead, and when he saw the postcard of the Empire Class Flying Boats which we wrote up earlier this week, he was sold – he had to learn more about these amazing planes. Then, he remembered that I had taken him to Rose Bay to see the site where the flying boat airport once was. He thought this would be the perfect place to take his online friends.
If you would like to visit the old Rose Bay Flying Boat Base, it is located in Lyne Park in Rose Bay. To get there, follow New South Head Road along the waterfront of Rose Bay until you see a park on a piece of land jutting out into the water. This is Lyne Park. Drive in and find somewhere to park and have a wander around. This is also where the Rose Bay Ferry Wharf is, so if you like you could visit by ferry! There is plenty of room for a picnic, to fly a kite or kick a ball.
Rose Bay was not just the home of the flying boats, but was actually Sydney’s first International Airport, serviced by these extraordinary aircraft. The airport opened in 1938 when the first of the Empire Class Flying Boats arrived. The flying boats landed not on the water like a modern seaplane, but in the water, like a boat and although they were slow by today’s standards, they were at the time far faster than travelling by sea, or even by other planes. They were also amazingly luxurious, with a ticket price to match – a single ticket cost more than the average yearly wage! When war broke out, only a year after the International airport opened, the flying boats went into war service, being used for a variety of purposes. This was also the time when the most famous of the flying boats, the Catalina’s arrived in Sydney. Many of the flying boats which served during the war were based in Rathmines (to find out about Roys visit to Rathmines, click here), but others remained in Rose Bay at the flying boat base.
After the war, there were other planes which could make international journeys more quickly than the flying boats, but the luxury of travelling by flying boat meant that they continued to be used. The flying boats were not only a way to travel though. They were part of Sydney culture. In 1957 a popular restaurant was built in Rose Bay near the Flying Boat Base by Jim Bendroit. It was called Caprice and was very popular, not only providing good food, but allowing diners to watch the flying boats come and go. Today the restaurant remains in Lyne Park, though it is now called Catalina in deference to the history of the area. The flying boats were also featured in local radio program with Sammy Sparrow (a sparrow) and Garry O’Callaghan of 2UE not only entertaining young listeners on their way to school, but noting when the flying boats were coming in to land. Apparently this was the signal for many to head out the door and off to school! The flying planes even carried Sammy Sparrow off on his honeymoon when he married another sparrow, Eleanor. Today, they are but a memory with the flying boat base closing in 1977.