Originally established in 1933 as a small local aerodrome, it was commandeered as an air force base by the RNZAF at the outbreak of war in 1939.
The New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy established a radio intercept and direction finding (D/F) station here as part of a network throughout the country.
Originally it was used as a maritime aviation patrol base using elderly Vickers Vincent bombers scouting the northern approaches to New Zealand and looking out for German surface raiders that were operating in the area.
[3] At the end of hostilities in 1945, the airbase was closed and facilities abandoned, the far more suitable Kaitaia Airport nearby being developed with a paved runway.
Today remnants include the command bunker, some weather-worn revetments and the base hospital which is now the Waipapakauri Hotel.