The founder of Ansett Airlines has been named as one of six new inductees into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame (AAHOF).
The Australian Air Force Cadets will also be presented with the Southern Cross Award for outstanding contribution to aviation by an organisation at the induction dinner on Saturday November 8 at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga.
Sir Reginald Ansett, a qualified pilot, began Ansett Airways in 1936 with a six-seat Fokker Universal flying between Hamilton and Melbourne.
From those beginnings, the airline grew to over 100 aircraft and served more than 80 Australian and international destinations, as well as membership of the Star Alliance, before it collapsed in 2002.
The other five members to be inducted into the Hall of Fame are:
– Senja Robey, founding member and past president of the Australian Women Pilots Association;
– Horace Brisnmead, AFC Lieutenant Colonel, the first controller of civil aviation in Australia;
– Harry Hawker, the co-founder of Hawker Aircraft;
– Col Pay, a pioneer of aerial work, crop dusting and water bombing aircraft in Australia, and;
– Ingo Renner, a four-time world and 19-time Australian gliding champion.
“The awards represent those who have not only achieved incredible feats personally but have also made outstanding contributions to the development of aviation and the fabric of Australian life,” AAHOF chairman Steve Padgett said in a statement.
