Big birds take to the sky this Sunday at the annual Rathmines Catalina Festival.
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Rathmines was home to the largest seaplane base in the southern hemisphere during World War 11 and played a pivotal role in the Allies’ Pacific war effort.
The festival is a proud initiative of Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park Association, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of the history of Rathmines RAAF Base and Catalina aircraft.
“There used to be 42 Catalinas, plus other aircraft, based here and upwards of 3000 personnel,” according to RCMPA president Penny Furner, whose father was commanding officer during the war and again up until shortly before the base closed in 1960.
“They used to fly from here to Cairns and Darwin and then on up into the war zones.
“Many people aren’t aware of the contribution these people made because so many of the missions were secret – mining harbours and so forth.”
Rathmines was a training base for the crew and carried out a lot of maintenance. After the war it was officer training base and used for personnel training.
“What the RCMPA is trying to do with this Heritage-listed site is establish a lasting tribute to history of the area, and the dedicated personnel who flew the seaplanes,” Mrs Furner said.
“There’s only handful left. Over 320 base members gave their lives during the war.”
The RCMPA is in the process of establishing an aviation museum at its site to house a PBY-5A Catalina purchased from Puerto Rico in 2012 and shipped to Australia in five pieces.
“The restoration is coming along really well,” Mrs Furner said. “The fuselage is almost complete, they’re doing the cockpit at the moment, and then they will start on the wing sections.
“The tail section and an engine are currently down at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia.
“We need the hangar to house the plane and other museum memorabilia, and that’s why we’re having the festival.”
The restoration and festival are the result of a huge volunteer effort utilising the skills of a diverse range of people.
“Ultimately its a massive community effort done for the community, Lake Macquarie and the state,” Mrs Furner said.
