IMAGE
Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
- Date
- 1917-1918
- By
- Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973; Berntsen, Paul, 1946-
- Reference
- PA-Group-00826
- Description
Negatives taken by Anton Berntsen who attended the Walsh Brothers' Flying School in 1917/1918 and got his wings in early 1919. The images record his time at the Flying School and also family life and people on Niels Johan Berntsen's farm at Waipatiki, towards the coast from Dannevirke.
The New Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama, Auckland, was established by pioneer New Zealand aviators, Vivian and Leo Walsh; it opened in October 1915. Its purpose was to train New Zealanders as pilots so that they could go on and join the Royal Flying Corps in England. From 1915 to 1919 the school trained 110 pilots. After the war the school struggled as civil air services did not exist at the time. Pilots from the school pioneered air mail delivery, and attempted to survive by providing popular entertainment like joy rides for the public. In 1924 the school was bought by the Government, and the Walsh brothers ceased to be involved in aviation. Seaplanes were used as trainers at the school, the first of which was a Curtis flying boat from the USA. The Walsh brothers subsequently remodelled this, and then began designing and building their own improved flying boats which evolved from their experience with the Curtis. In 1916 they also purchased the first two aircraft produced by Boeing, USA. These were B&W Boeing seaplanes designed by William Boeing and Navy Lt Conrad Westervelt.
Source of descriptive information - Group record and item records use information from prints and photograph albums lent by the donor, and from David Mulagan's book 'Kiwi's first wings" (Wingfield Press, Wellington, 1960)
Source of title - Title supplied by Library
Quantity: 74 b&w original negative(s). 62 photocopy/ies created by Library from prints lent by the donor. 1 photocopy/ies of an album lent by the donor.
Physical Description: Film negatives
Provenance: Donor is son of Anton Berntsen.
- Access restrictions
- No access restrictions
- Format
- 74 b&w original negative(s), 62 photocopy/ies created by Library from prints lent by the donor, 1 photocopy/ies of an album lent by the donor, Photographs, Film negatives
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Copyright
Unknown
Photocopies, made by the Library, of images of family members on a farm at Waipatiki, a...
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: PAColl-10055
Description: Note: These photocopies were made by the Library from prints and an album lent by the donor. The prints were identified on the backs and in captions, and enabled the archivist to describe the negatives in the collection. Includes a copy of the Berntsen family tree provided by the donor and the negative sleeve book that originally held the negatives in this collection. The first fourteen images relate to members of the Berntsen and Mollgaard families on the farm owned by Niels Johan Berntsen at Waipatiki out towards the coast from Dannevirke. Most of the people are identified and include - Niels Berntsen's children; Joe (Johannes Berntsen), Andy (Andreas Ries Berntsen), Kitty (Johanne Katherine Berntsen), Dina (Kirstine Marie Berntsen). George Peter Berntsen's children; Harold Johannes Berntsen, Elizabeth Berntsen. The Uncle Peter Berntsen in this collection is probably George Peter Berntsen, brother of Niels Johan Berntsen. The Mollgaards were family friends. Mollgaards included in this collection are - Elvina (Sister) Mollgaard, Rudolph Mollgaard, Hans Mollgaard, and Mr Mollgaard. There is also Uncle Ole Olsen, and a young woman called Marie. The rest of the images are a record of Anton Berntsen's time as a pupil of the Walsh brothers' New Zealand Flying School at Kohimarama, Auckland, which he attended in 1917-1918. Many of the students are identified as well as the three instructors, George Bolt, Bob Going, and Marmaduke Matthews. There are photographs of one of the two B&W Boeing seaplanes purchased in 1916, flying boats designed by the Walsh brothers and built at the school, the Curtis and Hall Scott engines bought in to power the aircraft, and views of everyday life at the school at work, play, and rest. The grandparents and fathers of the Berntsen children in this collection left Denmark in 1872 with 15 other Danish families, and joined the emmigrant ship `Ballarat' in England. The ship berthed at Napier, New Zealand, on the 15th of September 1872. The names of the Berntsen parents who emmigrated with their family were Anton and Bodil Katrine (nee Neilson) Berntsen. The children and young men and women in the first part of this collection are the children of their eldest child and son, Niels Johan Berntsen, and of their youngest child and son, Peter George Berntsen. Quantity: 62 photocopy/ies. 1 photocopy/ies of an album. 1 empty negative sleeve book.
View of hangar interior, New Zealand Flying School, Kohimarama, Auckland
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123891-F
Description: Interior view of an aircraft hangar at the New Zealand Flying School, Kohimarama, Auckland. Most of the view is taken up with an aircraft that may be being overhauled or under construction. The engine is uncovered and its wingspan is incomplete. Anton Berntsen is sitting in the forward cockpit. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen between 1917-1918. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
Kitty (Johanne Kathrine) Berntsen, Dina (Kirstine Marie) Berntsen, and Marie (Kirstine ...
Date: [ca 1917]
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123872-F
Description: Kitty (Johanne Kathrine) Berntsen, Dina (Kirstine Marie) Berntsen, and Marie (Kirstine Marie Ries) Berntsen, photographed on Niels Johan Berntsen's farm at Waipatiki east of Dannevirke. Kitty and Marie are dressed in men's clothing, and Dina in a long coat with a wreath of (probably) native clematis on her head. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen circa 1917. Kitty and Dina were daughters of Niels Berntsen. Marie was their cousin, and daughter of Niels Berntsen's younger brother, George Peter Berntsen. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
Mr Mollgaard, Uncle Peter Berntsen, and Uncle Ole Olsen
Date: [ca 1917]
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123878-F
Description: Mr Mollgaard, Uncle Peter Berntsen, and Uncle Ole Olsen, probably photographed on Niels Johan Berntsen's farm at Waipatiki, east of Dannevirke. Photograph taken circa 1917 by Anton Berntsen. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
View of a Curtis aircraft engine
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123928-F
Description: View of an American built Curtis aircraft engine in Walsh flying boat "B" at the New Zealand Flying School, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photograph taken circa 1917 by Anton Berntsen. The engine has eight cylinders so it may be the Curtis OX-5 aircraft engine which was state of the art new in 1917. If earlier it could be the Curtis OXX engine. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
B&W Boeing seaplane "F" in flight
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123887-F
Description: B&W Boeing seaplane "F" of the New Zealand Flying School seen in flight above Kohimarama, Auckland. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen between 1917-1918. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
Frances and Mary McLean
Date: [ca 1917]
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123874-F
Description: Frances and Mary McLean, both very young toddlers, seated on verandah steps. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen circa 1917. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
B&W Boeing seaplane "F" ready for inspection
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123895-F
Description: B&W Boeing seaplane "F" ready for inspection at the New Zealand Flying School, Kohimarama, Auckland. The aircraft is on railway tracks, and in the background can be seen other aircraft and the hangars. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen between 1917-1918. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
Aircraft flying above Waitemata Harbour, Auckland
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123893-F
Description: Aircraft high above Waitemata Harbour off Kohimarama, Auckland. Rangitoto Island can be seen in the background. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen between 1917-1918. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm
George Bolt working on an aircraft engine
Date: 1917-1918
From: Berntsen, Anton, 1898-1973: Negatives relating the Walsh Brothers' Flying School and farm life at Waipatiki, near Dannevirke
Reference: 1/4-123885-F
Description: George Bolt working on an aircraft engine at the New Zealand flying School, Kohimarama, Auckland. Photograph taken by Anton Berntsen between 1917-1918. George Bolt trained at the New Zealand Flying School, and then stayed on as an instructor of student pilots. Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s). Physical Description: Film negative, 8.8cm x 6cm