Fishermen's Bend Aerodrome

In 1947 W. McIlroy, Secretary for Lands, wrote to Premier Thomas Hollway indicating that, in his opinion, it was time to cease prevarication between the Commonwealth (which continued to push to extend what was now referred to as the 'Landing and Testing Field' at Fishermens Bend) and State authorities.

McIlroy wrote: The existing facilities would appear to be ample for testing all classes of machines in a lightly loaded condition while the use of this field for heavily loaded aircraft would be most undesirable and dangerous in view of the close proximity of the field to the big industrial undertakings adjoining, the shipping lanes which flank the field on the northern and western sides and the shipping docks which are to be erected at an early date on the southern side of Williamstown Road.

[3] In 1959, James Grant of Grant's Helicopters wrote to the Minister for Lands, K. H. Turnbull, applying to lease 'some available block of between ten and twenty acres on Fishermens Bend for the purposes of a helicopter port and training school.'

Grant had learned that 'some 114 acres of Fishermen's Bend is now available for leasing, being no longer required by the Department of Supply of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corp.'[4] It appears this request was not successful.

At least one of the runways of the Fishermen's Bend Aerodrome were still in use in 1967, leased to the Department of Supply which 'conducted flying operations from it'.