IN 1975, the year I arrived in Fingal Bay, I was introduced by my next door neighbour to a slight, elderly gentleman by the name of Geoff Wikner.
It was only after hearing stories and reading certain articles that I came to the realisation that there was far more to the man than I had envisaged.
Geoffrey Wikner was an Australian born aircraft engineer and pilot who flew an ex-military Halifax bomber to Australia in 1946, after the Second World War, carrying his family of four and sixteen paying passengers.
He named his Halifax bomber ‘Waltzing Matilda’.
When he arrived in Australia in June 1946 he attracted much media attention.
This was the first private flight from England to Australia after the end of the Second World War.
Soon after arrival in Australia, he and his wife Patricia established a camping area at Nelson Bay, which they named Halifax Park.
Wikners establish Halifax Park in 1946
The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported on 25 December 1946:
“Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Wikner left a palatial English home surrounded by its own park lands, bought an R.A.F. Halifax bomber – Waltzing Matilda – and flew to Australia.
“They now live in tents on the camping ground at Nelson’s Bay, where they are establishing a model camping area and pleasure resort.
“Mr. Wikner has a number of men employed. They have built sanitary conveniences and shower blocks of concrete bricks, sank water spikes, and cleared camping areas.
“Three acres will be reserved for cabins, and three for tents. The main thoroughfares will be lighted.
“Search lights will be used to floodlight the general ground. Over the holidays, a large gum tree will be decorated with coloured electric lights.
“Electricity for the scheme, which provides for a service to individual camps, will be supplied by two mobile generating plants.
“In the centre of the ground there will be a park area. Music will be relayed over a set of amplifiers. When possible, a dance hall will be erected on the ground.”
Soon after Wikner sold his beloved Halifax plane to Aircarriers Pty Ltd in December 1946, it had a troubled future.
After a failed commercial flight in June 1947 from Sydney to Singapore, carrying a mixed cargo, the plane returned to Sydney with engine problems and never flew again.
The plane was advertised for sale in the Sydney Morning Herald of 18 August 1947 and 18 December 1947.
The plane was broken up for scrap at Mascot Airport during 1948.
Halifax Park was the first caravan park of its type developed in Australia.
Wikner and his wife, Patricia, were still managing Halifax Park in 1963.
The Halifax Holiday Park at Nelson Bay is currently under the ownership and management of Port Stephens Council.
In October 2016, a celebration was held at Halifax Park to mark its 70 years of history.
By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE
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