Uiver plane landing enthusiast calls for first floor tourist drawcard at Albury post office

The area was home to ABC radio station 2CO and a phone exchange in 1934 when the Dutch plane was forced down at Albury racecourse during the London to Melbourne air race.

Uiver historian Noel Jackling wants Albury Council to explore re-creating the first floor as it was when radio host Arthur Newnham urged townsfolk to illuminate a landing strip with their cars.

"If you did it not as a static display but as some sort of active display I think you could attract a number of people," Mr Jackling said.

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"I think you could do something very clever which would attract cultural tourism in a significant way.

"My understanding is the first floor has been vacant for many year but it would involve whoever owns that building."

Australia Post did not reply to The Border Mail on Thursday.

Mr Jackling said he had raised his proposal informally with some councillors, including David Thurley who is on a newly-formed Albury heritage working group.

He plans to now raise it officially with that body and councillors.

Cr Thurley said it the concept was worth examining.

"Access is an issue but let's not write it off until we look at those things," Cr Thurley said.

Reports of the drama unfolding with the circling Uiver were relayed from the racecourse to the post office by Beatrice Peacock, the wife of the secretary of the Albury Racing Club.

This week Albury Council decided not to pursue national heritage listing for the Uiver sub-collection.

It was found a location is needed to qualify for such listing and the racecourse, as the emergency landing area, fitted the bill but it was not deemed worth pursuing.

To engage a heritage consultant to continue the process was estimated to cost between $5000 and $30,000.

Mr Jackling was not fussed by the council decision.

"My view is the racecourse is not where people are, it's where people go on a small number of occasions for horse races," he said.

"It's not where I would put financial resources.

"The Uiver story should remain a prominent part of Albury's identity and it's best for that to take place down town somewhere."

Meanwhile, the heritage working group has been given a brief to look at the city's history from pre-European contact with Wiradjuri members to the 20^th century.

Charles Sturt University heritage advisor Dirk Spennemann will lead the review.

It will seek community nominations for historic sites and merge previous Albury and Lavington heritage studies into a city-wide survey.

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