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General Information About Richard Pearse Airport

Richard Pearse Airport (TIU) serves as the primary airport in South Canterbury and acts as a primary hub for Air New Zealand Link services to Wellington. It can be found off Pleasant Point Highway near Washdyke and 12 kilometres northwest of Timaru; its upgrade cost was approved by Timaru District Council in November 2015.

Richard Pearse was an early pioneer aviator from our community who is widely credited with designing the first practical aeroplane. His inventions used materials from junk shops or recycled from old farm machinery; pieces of wire; bits of tin tubing; as well as metal tubing to construct their aircraft. This airport bears his name.

In 1921, Pearse relocated to Christchurch and purchased a quarter-acre section on Breezes Road for PS45. On this plot of land he built his bungalow home - featuring a small workshop for future use - complete with its own driveway.

Pearse first received a patent for an innovative bicycle using a bamboo frame with vertical-drive pedal action, rod-and-rack gearing, backpedal rim brakes and integral tyre pumps. He followed this with the creation of an aircraft capable of taking off vertically from any backyard: His Utility Plane.

Pearse also invented other items such as a needle threader, power cycle and potato planter made entirely from junked or recycled materials like farm machinery, wire scraps and tubing from metal tubing or tubular metal pipes discarded during farm repairs or other forms of waste disposal. He remained relatively unknown among his peers before the Wright Brothers' historic powered flights in December 1903. Pearse never married or settled down and lived as an eccentric recluse throughout most of adulthood.