Trans-Australia Airlines Museum

Vale

The detailed life history or work (TAA) history, listed here, are provided to The TAA 25 Year Club by family and/or friends.

Disclaimer: The information provided is not vetted by the Museum and is presented as provided.

However, due to the size restriction on the Newsletter, we are unable to publish all we receive.

To keep these histories we have inserted them below.

Just Click on the Name to see the details.

Frank John Ball, AM, AFC

History provided by John Tilton, ex TAA public relations manager.

Date Provided. Published, 4 Sept 2009, The Sydney Morning Herald

Lance Erwin

Lance joined TAA in September 1946 at the age of 15, employed as junior clerk/office boy in TAA’s Chart House in Little Bourke Street. From there he moved to Essendon as a filing clerk, where amongst other duties, became the scribe for his supervisors – i.e. he wrote their memos!! Lance was a great orator as is witnessed in his memoirs.

After being good with the gab as he always has been, he was recommended by the Overhaul Division Superintendent, Gordon Myers, to become inducted in TAA’s initial round of apprentices. As a result, he became TAA’s first ever apprentice! He predominantly worked in Aircraft Maintenace, becoming the Dock Maintenance Superintendent and representing the airline on many occasions in the USA (Boeing etc) before retiring in 1991 after 45 years with the airline.

I have worked with Lance (Steel Wool to his friends) on many fronts during my 45 years with TAA, and have always found him to be professional, principled, disciplined and helpful. He encouraged and organised social functions, was the founder of the TAA Apprentice Social Club, and culminated in the initiation of the STAARS (Simply TAA Retired Staff) lunches (held quarterly) in 1995. In all that time, Lance only missed one of those lunches, in February this year, where he was too unwell to attend. I will always value that I was one of Lance’s closest confidants and will certainly miss him and value my memories of him.

History provided by Kevin Anderson

Date Published 6th April 2024

John Alexander "Jack" Taylor

History provided by

Date Provided.

Alfred John Harder

History provided

Date Provided. 29/11/2015

Ralph Gordon Conley AM

History provided by Ian Williams

Date Provided. 29/11/2014 Written for Courier Mail

Werner John

History provided

Date Provided. 01/02/2016

John Robert Sweetten

History provided by Peter Sweetten

Date Provided. 06/03/2016

Robert Francis O'Day

Date Published March 2024

William Arthur (Bill) Shepherd

History provided by Eddie Creaney

Date Provided. March - April 2016

Neville John Walker

History provided by David Reece

Date Provided. 10 January 2017

Don Fletcher

Brief history provided by David Reece

Date Provided. 19 August 2017

Pat Broad

Infomation provided by Eddie Creaney and Kevin Anderson

Date Provided. 03 March 2018

Donald Castle Ogborne

History provided by Captain Doug Cornwall,(ret.)

Date Provided. 9/08/2012

Elaine Junette Swain AM

History provided by Deirdre Lewis, Elaine Swaine's goddaughter

Date Provided. 9/04/2012, The Age newspaper, Melbourne

Captain Len Murphy

History provided by

Date Provided. 09/01/2015

Holly Hellwege

History provided by her Brisbane work colleges

Date Provided. 06/01/2015

Stanley Ernest RUTLAND (Stan)

The link below takes you to a funeral notice that appeared in the "Townsville Bulletin" a couple of weeks ago for Stan Rutland, he worked in TSV as a LAME and prior to his TSV days he was in dock maintenance in MEL.

https://shar.es/1upe44

History provided by Robert Merson

Date Provided. 12/10/ 2015

Denis Adams

History provided by Margaret Rush, Written for the Melbourne Age and Sydney Morning Herald

Date Provided. 07/07/2016

Marj Briginshaw

History provided by Frank Sullivan

Date Provided. 28/09/2016

Dorothy Victoria Tuff

History provided by Eddie Creaney

Date Provided. 30/01/2017

Ken Nathan

Infomation provided by Joan Nathan

Date Provided. 07/08/2017

Ron Adams

Infomation provided by Annie Adams

Date Provided. 30/09/2019

Margaret (Mardi) Ochernal

Mardi was the SA State managers Secretary, through at least 4 State Managers. She was 90 years old and the last of three sisters.

Infomation provided by Michael Turner

Date Provided. 27/06/2020

Capt. Len Heard

Infomation provided by Doug McKenzie

Date Provided. 11/08/2020

Terence Calvert [Cal] Walker

Infomation provided by Nancy Walker

Date Provided. 14/09/2020

Geoffrey Charles Stephens

Infomation provided by the Family

Date Provided. 23/06/2022

Gordon Reid

Australian Aviations Greatest writer. Story provided by Adam Thorn extract from Australian Aviation

Date Published 18 August 2021