Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh (7 January 18956 April 1974) was an Australian aviator and businessman. A founder of the Australian airline company Qantas, Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania. Serving in the Battle of Gallipoli and Palestine Campaign as a lieutenant of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, Fysh later became an observer and gunner to Paul McGinness in the AFC. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross during the aftermath of the war for his services to aerial warfare.
Fysh, alongside Paul McGinness and Sir Fergus McMaster started Qantas in 1920. Despite government ownership, Fysh became managing director and chairman of Qantas. A committee member of the International Air Transport Association, he became president of the organisation in 1960. He was also one of the founders of the Australian National Travel Association, now known as the Australian Tourist Commission, a member of the Royal Aeronautical and British Interplanetary society, the Institute of Transport and the Australasian Pioneers Club.
Acknowledged for his work as an aviation historian, Fysh wrote books on the history and development of Qantas, exemplifying the airline's role in both military and civil aviation. Authoring a trilogy of memoirs dealing with the impact of Qantas in history, the series drew comparisons by critics towards Winston Churchill's The Second World War.
Fysh died in Paddington at the age of 79, on 6 April 1974.
Early and personal life
Wilmot Hudson Fysh was born in the city of Launceston in Tasmania, Australia, on 7 January 1895. His father, Frederick Wilmot Fysh, was a merchant, while his mother, Mary (née Reed), was the daughter of a famous landowner, Henry Reed. Fysh was the oldest of five siblings; Hudson, Henry, Margaret, Mary and Graham. He was also the great-nephew of Sir Philip Fysh. His childhood was marred by the failure of his parents' marriage and his father's business. Originally staying with his father, he ran away so often that eventually he was able to stay with his mother. Living in St Leonards—a suburb of Launceston—until 1914, he enlisted in the Light Horse upon the start of World War I.
Educated at Launceston and Geelong grammar schools, Fysh worked as a jackaroo and woolclasser after his education. He was also a cadet in the 70 Infantry Militia as a teenager, before volunteering for the Tasmanian 26th Light Horse upon the outbreak of war. After the foundation of Qantas, Fysh, being a poor student at school, tried to make up for his lack of training by studying economics and taking a course in pelmanism. After his retirement from Qantas, Fysh received an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering (EngD), in a commemoration ceremony from the University of Tasmania, in 1971.Fysh (1971). "Commemoration ceremony 1971".
Described as a man of "great political acumen" and having "a hard head for business", Fysh had a reputation as a stern, uncompromising taskmaster. This contrasted against his "shy, quiet" nature; he described himself as "painfully shy...as a child feeling looked down on, sensitive, and socially lost." Fysh felt these feelings never left him, being "ill at ease with fame or publicity." Described as single-minded in many instances, his insistence on using a D.H.86 (De Havilland Express 86) lead to a bitter clash and eventual fall-out between Fysh and Sir Gordon Taylor. Fysh also made rivals in other airline entrepreneurs such as Norman Brearley, a founder of Western Australian Airways.
On 5 December 1923, Fysh married Elizabeth Eleanor ("Nell") Dove, from Hunter River, in St James Church, Sydney. They had a son and daughter, John Hudson Fysh and Wendy Elizabeth Fysh, both born in Longreach, Queensland. Fysh described his family as "his bulwark against the [company's] relentless pressures"
World War I
On 25 August 1914, Fysh enlisted in the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade at a training camp in Pontville, Tasmania, following the declaration of the Great War. Initially commissioned as a private, Fysh was transported from Hobart on the HMAT Geelong to Egypt on 20 October 1914. He received his training in Egypt, and arrived at Gallipoli in May 1915; only two weeks after the initial Anzacs had arrived.Gunn (1985). "The Defeat of Distance", p. 7 Fysh was evacuated in December 1915, after serving for 7 months in the Australian Imperial Force.
He served in Palestine and Sinai, fighting in the Palestine Campaign for the 'C' Squadron of the Light Horse Regiment. He was transferred from Palestine on 17 July 1916, to the 1st Light Horse Brigade, Machine Gun Squadron. First promoted to corporal, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in January 1917. Fighting under lieutenant Ross Smith in the Light Horse, he soon replaced Smith as the section officer when Smith was transferred to the Flying Corps.
In July 1917, Fysh requested a transfer from the Light Horse Brigade to the Royal Flying Corps. After months of training, he qualified as an observer and gunner, in October 1917. Originally fighting for the Royal Flying Corps No. 67 squadron, he later fought for the No.1 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps, under the command of Major Richard Williams.
In the Flying Corps, Fysh was gunner to Major Sydney W. Addison and later to Lieutenant Paul McGinness. Engaging in battle as gunner in a Bristol Fighter, against German and Turkish aircraft in the Middle Eastern campaigns,Stackhouse (1995). "...from the dawn of aviation", p. 16 Fysh was an observer ace, shooting down 5 enemy aircraft. On 8 January 1919, Fysh was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross. The award was gazetted in the London Gazette and the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 8 February 1919 and 23 May 1919 respectively.
His citation read:
Career
Survey of the Great Air Race
On 28 February 1919, at Heliopolis, Fysh received his flying licence, graduating as a scout pilot. In March 1919, an announcement was made by the Prime Minister of Australia, William Morris Hughes, of a Great Air Race for the "first successful flight to Australia from Great Britain in a machine manned by Australians".Stackhouse (1995). "...from the dawn of aviation", p. 17 The prize money was £A10,000 (or £8,000 sterling), under the condition that the flight is completed within 720 hours, and before midnight of 31 December 1919. Deciding to join the race, Fysh regrouped with Paul McGinness as his co-pilot.
To fund the race, McGinness approached Sir Samuel McCaughey, the man who donated the plane that McGinness flew in for World War I. McCaughey agreed to fund the race, and they were joined by Arthur Baird, their flight-sergeant engineer during the war.Brown (1997). "Aviation History", p. 17. Prior to the race, on 25 July 1919, McCaughey died and his executors refused to honour his agreement with McGinness. As a result, plans for the race were abandoned. Instead, Fysh and McGinness were commissioned to survey Northern Australia for the preparation of the Air Race, by Major-General James Gordon Legge (later Lieutenant-General) from the Defence Department. They were instructed to survey the route from the town of Longreach, past Katherine, and ending at the state capital of Darwin, in the Northern Territory.Stackhouse (1995). "...from the dawn of aviation", p. 18
Arriving in Longreach in August 1919, they acquired a Model T Ford, as a transport for the survey, and were accompanied by a mechanic, George Gorham. Leaving Longreach on 18 August 1919, the group traveled through Winton, Kynuna and McKinlay, reaching the town of Cloncurry on 20 August 1919. They were the first people to travel across the Gulf of Carpentaria, using an automobile. The team traveled through Burketown, the stations of Westmoreland and Wollorgorang, before reaching Hobble Chain Creek. From there, they traveled through Big Running Creek, Calvert River, Warbys Lagoon, Snake Lagoon, Fulch River, Werrin River, Fletcher River, Feathertop Creek. As none of the rivers have bridges, the group had to wade across the rivers. Following a route taken by Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845, they reached Borroloola. Fysh began a diary of maps and photography, to record their journey across Northern Australia.
Leaving Borroloola on 25 September 1919, they followed the Roper River, and arriving at Katherine on 8 October 1919. From Katherine, they took a train, Leaping Lena, to Darwin. In total, the pair had traveled through 2180 kilometre in their Model T Ford, taking up 51 days for their trip from Longreach to Katherine. As a result of their journey across the outback, the group found Legge's route lacking the necessary open space for aircraft landing. Fysh and McGinness became convinced that an alternate route through the Barkly Tableland will be more convenient for the winners of the air race, after talking to some motorcyclists from Sydney.
Upon reaching Darwin, McGinness and Gorham traveled back to Cloncurry to survey and build landing routes on the way there, while Fysh was to stay in Darwin and create suitable landing strips there and at Katherine. In a letter addressed to General Legge dated to 30 October 1919, Fysh rejected the use of the racecourse in Darwin, which was originally picked by Reginald Lloyd (the head of the first ground survey to find a suitable route for the aircraft), as the landing ground for the winning aircraft. He then suggested an alternate strip, locating one near Fannie Bay, to the north of Darwin.Gunn (1985). "The Defeat of Distance", p. 12 Shortly before the landing of the Smith brothers, the landing strip at Fannie Bay was completed at the cost of £A700.Gunn (1985). "The Defeat of Distance", p. 13
On 10 December 1919, the team of Ross Smith, Keith Smith, Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers, winners of the Great Race, arrived in Darwin and were greeted by Fysh (as the official representative of the Defence Department). Deciding to return to Longreach in May 1920, Fysh met Alexander Kennedy, when he was given hospitality in Kennedy's homestead, Bushby Park.Stackhouse (1995). "...from the dawn of aviation", p. 22 As McGinness had stopped at the homestead earlier on his way to Cloncurry, Kennedy told Fysh about McGinness' idea of an airline service for the region.
Foundation of Qantas
After reuniting at the Cloncurry Post Office, McGinness and Fysh started to make plans to build their airline service, confident in the future of commercial aviation. Writing about his experiences in the outback in his autobiography, Fysh commented that:
Earlier on, McGinness had met a grazier, Fergus McMaster, when McMaster's car axle had broken down on a bed in Cloncurry River. McGinness fixed the car, gaining the respect of McMaster. McGinness and Fysh headed off to Brisbane, further developing their plan along the way. Coincidentally, McMaster also went to Brisbane. Upon realising this, Fysh and McGinness, explained their airline plans to him. The initial plans for the airline service consisted of joyriding, air taxi trips and charter services spanning the Northern Territory— Western Queensland region of Australia.Simpson (2004). "On The Move", p. 139. As a result, on 20 June 1920 in Brisbane's Gresham Hotel, McGinness, Fysh, McMaster and Alan Campbell, an adviser for the Queensland Primary Producers, began to register the new airline company. The registration of the company was not finalised that day. It took several months before a name and the necessary funds were found for the business.