The 75th anniversary of the Lake Boga Flying Boat Depot is fast approaching.
To mark the milestone, the museum will host a three-day celebration.
In the 1980s, Kangaroo Lake local and Lions Club member Dick Peel had the foresight to suggest there should be an actual Catalina at Lake Boga.
“I suggested at a Lions meeting one night that we should get some Catalina pieces to commemorate the depot,” Mr Peel said.
Eventually the club found some Catalina pieces that were transported to Lake Boga on the back of Mr Peel’s truck.
“I put about three quarters of the Catalina together myself,” he said.
“My wife used to say ‘I thought I was your only love, but I have to share you with a Catalina’.”
Mr Peel’s involvement in the flying boat depot began when he was just a young boy.
“I rode in the Catalina on the lake for my 12th birthday during the war,” he said.
“A lot of pilots used to come out to my parents fruit farm in Tresco.”
He now regularly volunteers at the museum and takes joy in teaching others about the history of Lake Boga’s flying boats.
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Flying Boat Depot, Mr Peel’s band, Dick Peel’s Catalina Dixieland Jazz Band, will perform as part of organised activities.
To read more about this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (March 3).
