<p>New Zealand National Airways Corporation ‘Wings of the Nation’
</p><p>New Zealand National Airways Corporation, popularly known as NAC, was the national domestic airline of New Zealand from 1947 until 1978 when it was merged with Air New Zealand the international carrier. 
In April 1947 NAC began licensed operations serving Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Whangarei, Auckland, Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wellington, Blenheim, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika. NAC also begins Pacific services to Norfolk Island, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. The NAC headquarters was based in Wellington but they later opened offices in Hamilton and Rotorua during the year.
</p><p>NAC was a government led amalgamation of RNZAF 40 Transport Squadron, Union Airways and a number of smaller operators, and included the country’s first commercial air service Air Travel New Zealand Ltd. 
</p><p>NAC was originally equipped with de Havilland Dragon Rapides, de Havilland Fox Moths, Douglas DC 3s, Lockheed Electras, Lockheed Lodestars, and a de Havilland Express.  At the time of the merge with Air New Zealand in 1978 they had a fleet of 25 aircraft comprising of Boeing 737s and Fokker F27s.
</p><p>The company’s slogan was: “Wings of The Nation” – “Getting more people together”. They also had a frequent flyer program called an NAC Flightcard which included alliances with Air New Zealand, British Airways, Pan American Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Trans Australian Airlines (TAA).
</p><p>Records transferred to Archives New Zealand by Air New Zealand:
</p><p>Air New Zealand, Head Office, is considered to be the transferring agency for the records and ephemera from the New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC). Lack of documentation means that Archives New Zealand cannot ascertain the provenance of the records after the merger of Air New Zealand and NAC on 1 April 1978. However, it is assumed that Air New Zealand inherited all records from NAC from this date.
These records and ephemera are a valuable insight into New Zealand aviation, showing the history and development of commercial air travel in New Zealand and the beginnings of international airline travel in this country.
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The ephemera displayed here are only a small portion of the NAC collection held here at Archives NZ.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/35759981@N08">Archives New Zealand</a> from New Zealand
CC BY-SA 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/13277306634/">National Airways Corporation Archive of the Moment</a>