Hudson Fysh

Who was Hudson Fysh?

Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh KBE, DFC 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 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.