James Cuthbert Mercer (16 September 1886 – 30 June 1944) was a pioneer New Zealand aviator, establishing the country's first commercial airline,

Air Travel (NZ) Ltd Air Travel (NZ) Limited, a small airline based in Hokitika, was the first airline in New Zealand to fly licensed scheduled air services. They took delivery of their first De Havilland biplane aircraft at the end of 1934 and made it their busine ...

, in 1934 based around services operating between

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

and settlements in

South Westland Westland District is a territorial authority district on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council. The district's population is History Westland was originally a part of Canterbury Prov ...

Early life

Mercer was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

and when he left school, he worked as a bicycle and car mechanic. Mercer learned to fly while working as a mechanic at the Sockburn airport in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and became the Canterbury Aero Club's first instructor when it formed in 1928.

Career

In 1934 Mercer set up Air Travel (NZ) Ltd, which became the first licensed airline to commence services in New Zealand with its inaugural flight on 18 December from Hokitika. Very shortly after the airline began delivering mail. When the service began operating in 1934 along the West Coast, Mercer used a

de Havilland Fox Moth The DH.83 Fox Moth was a successful small biplane passenger aircraft from the 1930s powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Major I inline inverted engine, manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The aircraft was designed late in 1 ...

Death and legacy

Mercer died in an aircrash in 1944 when the company's

de Havilland Dragon The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon is a successful small commercial aircraft that was designed and built by the de Havilland company. Design and construction Following the commercial success of its single-engined de Havilland Fox Moth that had f ...

ZK-AHT, piloted by Colin Lewis, crashed on Mount Hope, en route from Nelson to Westport. He is buried in the

Hokitika Cemetery Hokitika Cemetery, also known as Seaview Cemetery, is the cemetery for Hokitika in New Zealand. The cemetery is located on Hospital Hill Road in the suburb of Seaview on an elevated site north-east of the town, giving a good outlook over the set ...

. In 1945, Air Travel (NZ) Ltd came under government control but continued until 1967 when the national air carrier NAC began flights into Hokitika. Eleven pilots flew for Air Travel (NZ) Ltd between 1934 and 1947.

References

External links

Information about New Zealand airlines and various publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Bert 1886 births 1944 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Burials at Hokitika Cemetery New Zealand aviators Businesspeople from Dunedin Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in New Zealand Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944

Early life

Career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links