George Bolt was a pioneer of commercial aviation in New Zealand, working as a pilot trainer and engineer for the Walsh Brothers New Zealand Flying School from 1916. He pioneered air mail services with flights connecting Dargaville, Thames. Whangarei and Auckland, and made the first one-day flight from Auckland to Wellington in October 1921.
During World War II he held the rank of Wing Commander with responsibility for repairs, maintenance and assembly of aircraft at Ohakea and Hobsonville air bases. After the war he was appointed Chief Engineer of TEAL (Trans Empire Airways Limited), the forerunner of Air New Zealand, a position he held until retirement in 1960.
His engineering achievements showed the possibilities for a new technology that others could use in productive endeavours. In a hilly country like New Zealand. road and rail links were expensive to build and maintain. It was the use of pioneering aviation, such as Bolt’s, that revealed the possibilities for connecting the nation’s widely dispersed population.
George Bruce Bolt’s Wikipedia Page
