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Hundreds of people have attended a service in Orange to remember a "pioneer of Australian aviation" who "broke a few rules".
Key points:
- Max Hazelton founded Hazelton Airlines, which linked regional communities with capital cities
- Mr Hazelton has been described as an ambitious man who "made his own path"
- He was famously lost for six days in 1954 when the aircraft he was piloting crashed in the NSW Central Tablelands
The memorial for Max Hazelton, who died in April at the age of 95, was held in a hangar at Orange Airport beside a four-seater Auster Aglet — one of the first planes he flew — with a 34-seat turboprop Saab 340 sitting on the tarmac outside.
Mr Hazelton's colleague Gerald Ingham described him as a hero who was famous for his "that was unfortunate" quote when things didn't go to plan.
"Max used to get into the odd scrap or two with aeroplanes," Mr Ingham said.
During Mr Hazelton's years of flying, "the odd scrap or two" included running out of petrol, overshooting runways, and famously, being lost for six days in 1954 after crashing his aircraft at Oberon.
Regional Express deputy chair John Sharp spoke about a flight where Mr Hazelton sat in the luggage hold when there were no spare seats on a commercial flight from Orange to Sydney.
"Max had an ability to do things others wouldn't do, he broke a few rules along the way," Mr Sharp said.
"He was a pioneer for regional Australia and the establishment of Hazelton Airlines connected people in the regions with capital cities.
"Max didn't follow the road ahead, he made his own path and that's what pioneers do."
Ken Barber, president of the Orange Aero Club, known by locals as the Max Hazelton Aero Centre, described Mr Hazelton as a true national treasure with a cheeky sense of humour.
"We'll never see another Max Hazelton story in Australia," Mr Barber said.
"He started from nothing with the ambition to start an airline and he achieved it."
An aviation legend
Mr Hazelton grew up near the small farming community of Cudal in central west NSW and left school at the age of 14.
He fell in love with aviation in his early years — while riding his bicycle backwards on the local airstrip — and went on to become a mechanic.
In the 1950s, he purchased a single-engine Auster plane to run charter flights in rural areas, before forming his own company, Hazelton Airlines.
It became one of Australia largest regional operators, employing 270 people and carrying 400,000 passengers a year.
In later years, the company became part of Ansett Australia and then Regional Express.