Success in New Zealand
Several factors lay behind the development of aerial topdressing in the apparent backwater of New Zealand. The New Zealand public service gave its employees time and resources to pursue their ideas and publish research. Many farms included hill country, where it was impossible to spread fertiliser by truck. New Zealand farms tended to be large enough to make the costs worthwhile. High prices for lamb and wool in the early 1950s gave farmers the extra capital. World War II had left behind cheap war-surplus Tiger Moths and highly trained ex air force pilots.
The majority of the 40,000 plus New Zealanders trained by the RNZAF were aircrew, because most were sent to Europe, and served in squadrons where the ground crew were from the United Kingdom. On returning to their rural homes, many bought cheap war-surplus aircraft, particularly the Tiger Moth primary trainer, available for £100. These were used for weekend flying, but also dropping fencing, feed and people into remote areas, as well as occasional aerial sowing and dropping of rabbit poison.
By the end of 1949 there were five firms; Airwork had five Tiger Moths, James Aviation three, Aircraft Services three, Gisborne Aerial topdressing (which was to become Field Air) had one, and Southern Scenic Airtrips had converted an Auster. In addition Wally Harding was top dressing his own property with his private Tiger Moth. Rex Garnham started Rangitikei Air Services with one DH82 and held the first Aerial application license Within the following five years nearly 50 other companies—mostly one-man operations—joined as competition. Collectively, they were called the 'Super men', and when amalgamation occurred it was these pioneers who came to dominate the New Zealand industry.
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