On Thursday September 12th the Whakatane & District Historical Society held their monthly Coffee and Chat at the Whakatane Airport. Whakatane Airport Terminal Building was opened 50 years ago in 1974. In 1975 the terminal building received a Tourism Design Award, described as ‘excitingly different’. This award was followed in 2013 with an NZIA Bay of Plenty Enduring Architecture Award. It is also isted as a Category 1 Historic Place and is included as a heritage building in the Whakatane District Plan.

Morley West gave the assembled members a brief history of aviation in the Bay of Plenty. This was followed by members recalling their experiences of the early days of the airport and a talk by the airport manager sharing his knowledge of history of the airport. After this introduction members explored the building upstairs and viewed the very informative display boards recently installed by the Whakatane Museum staff.