Iorana MANUTARA
The commander of the ship was Horacio Barrientos, the chief of the Quintero Air Force base, but the planning behind the flight was the work of his pilot, Roberto Parragué, who had first visited the Island as a seaman aboard the naval ship “Baquedano” in 1933 and 1935. He later entered the Air Force and upon graduating was able to fulfill his vision of projecting the first flight of the “Manutara”. Parragué had entrusted the task of preparing a 400 meter (1,300 feet) long airstrip to the Islanders Alberto Huke, Simón, Emilio and Napoleón Paoa, the Pakarati brothers and Domingo Paté. There was no machinery available for that type of job, but they weren’t lacking in enthusiasm. Compacting the terrain for the airstrip was the job of thirty volunteer women under the direction of Juan Edmunds, an employee of the Williamson Balfour ranch company. Alfredo Tuki remembers…“among them were Graciela Paté, Parapina Araki, Emilia Tuki-Kaituoe, Magdalena Hito and many more. During several years they removed rocks, carrying them in their skirts because there were no wheelbarrows. They made holes in the future airstrip and buried small rocks in them to make it firmer. There were also enormous rocks and the men had to break them up with sledge hammers, hoes and wedges and haul them away in ox carts. Some women on horseback herded animals over the strip, so that the running sheep, cattle and horses would compact the ground. It’s a shame that today there is no recognition of these Rapanui visionaries who put so much effort into preparing the landing strip.”
Featured Reports:
Sebastián Englert
ORO MATUASebastián EnglertPriest of Rapa NuiSebastián Englert, a Capuchin priest and researcher of the Rapanui culture, lived on Easter Island from 1935 until 1969, shortly before his death. The fourth of 17 children in the Bavarian Englert family in the village of...
Vaitea A Historical Place
VaiteaVaitea is the name given to the area in the center of the Island where there is abundant water coming from the Rano Aroi volcano. Each trip by road to Anakena Beach crosses through the forests of Vaitea, mostly eucalyptus trees, where Islanders will stop to...
American satellites tracked in Rapa Nui
American satellites tracked in Rapa NuiIt was the year 1966. A US Air Force base with 120 men under the command of Colonel John Ashley was installed on Rapa Nui with the name of Ionosphere Research Center ITT, which was authorized by the then Chilean president,...