Harvey Else awarded an Order of Australia Medal on Australia Day

For his outstanding service to the aviation industry and the Taree community, Mr Else was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) on Australia Day.

Originally stunned by the news, Harvey said he was nevertheless humbled. 

“Needless to say, the award came to me as a complete surprise, with multiple mixed feelings that so many friends, others and I should share.

“I hope that I am able to represent them with the honour they have bestowed on me.

“To receive acceptance of this award brings back memories of the many people I worked with whilst flying helicopter surveys all over Australia, the territory of Papua New Guinea with its massive Owen Stanley Range, Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, West Irian (now Western New Guinea), and twice in Antarctica. 

“I think of those who survived these operations and of those who didn’t.

“I am also proud of Lilian (his wife) and my children who accepted my long weeks and months away from home,” Harvey said.

Throughout the early stages of his life, Harvey knew he wanted to pursue a career in aviation. 

“I always wanted to be a pilot and by the time I was old enough, the war (World War II) had ended,” he said. 

He left Taree High School in the 1940s and took up work in his father Fred’s garage in Cundletown until he was 18.

Harvey later linked up with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to train as a pilot.

Instead of jumping into the cockpit, Harvey completed a medical course and served in the RAAF Medical School in Victoria for several months.

He was then discharged at his own request to continue flying training at the Old Bar airstrip.

“I was one of the original ones with (longtime friend) Col King,” Harvey said.

“From there I wanted to try and get into the airlines so I went to Newcastle Aero Club and got my private pilot licence and then commercial pilot licence.” 

With his new credentials, Harvey envisioned a career with Qantas.

That’s when tragedy struck the Else family.

“I did a Qantas radio course in Sydney but my father died right at the examination day so I had to come back to manage the service station.

“I went back and passed the exams but they said to apply in six months time (for work).

“I never got around to applying,” he said.

After training to be a flying instructor with Newcastle Aero Club, Harvey helped form the Manning River Aero Club. 

“When we opened the airport in Taree, we started the Manning River Aero Club and I was the instructor until we got up and running.”

In 1964, Harvey was offered to train as a helicopter pilot with Sydney’s Helicopter Utilities.

At the time, he didn’t think about it due to commitments with the aero club and the service station in Cundletown. He later accepted their offer.

Harvey said there were a few hiccups early on. 

“I only did it a couple of hours and I began to wonder if I’d every learn to fly,” he laughed.

“It was quite difficult, particularly the earlier models.”

Once trained up, Harvey flew jet helicopters for the company for national mapping, ground marking and measuring operations in the late 1960s and early ’70s. 

His work took him all over Australia, south-east Asia and the Pacific Islands.

His expertise was also used for lantana and insect control spraying and geological surveys for mining purposes.

Helicopter Utilities soon became involved with the Australian National Antarctic research expeditions. 

The company supplied fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to Antarctica and needed two pilots to go down and operate them. That’s when Harvey stepped up to the plate. 

“They said to me, ‘you're the only one around here who is qualified and has enough experience’,” Harvey said. “Next thing I was on the ship to Antarctica.”

Harvey said the cold climate hampered his flying ability.

“The big thing down there was the weather.

“Sometimes you wouldn’t fly for a week – you’d become very impatient.”

In the late ’60s, Harvey was tasked to the Antarctic again to position surveyors and geologists along the mountainous ranges.

“Then we had to get them out again when they were ready,” he said. “We couldn’t get up there sometimes because of the weather.”

For his time on the ice continent, Harvey had two landmarks named after him. 

Six snow covered rocks were collectively named ‘Else Nunataks’ while an elevated flat area of rock was labelled ‘Else Platform’. 

“It was on the second trip we went to this lake area before bringing some surveyors back to base.

“One of them needed a shot from the area back up to the mountain to fill in a few gaps where he’d been working so he asked if I could land. 

“From there it was straight ice for 80 odd miles across the other side of the lake.

“There was a nice flat area of rock and I said it was a good place to land.

“Later it was called Else Platform.

“It (the name) had to go through a national (naming) system, you don’t just called it anything you want,” Harvey smiled.

That would be his last trip to Antarctica. 

“There was a possibility of me going down the next year but unfortunately we lost the contract to someone else so I wasn’t able to go a third time.

In the early ’80s, Harvey was back in Cundletown to run the garage and resume his role as chief flying instructor for the aero club. 

He was contacted at the time to fly a helicopter for the cult classic film ‘Mad Max II’. 

“I saw it as an opportunity to fly the jet ranger again – it’s a beautiful helicopter,” he said.

“I was out there for about three weeks to a month, I enjoyed it and it was great fun.”

Harvey proudly has a profile on Internet Movie Database for his work in the film. 

He said that was the last time he flew a helicopter.

“I don’t know if I could fly one now,” he said with a wry grin. 

All the great times weren't without tribulations.

Harvey had several close calls with mechanical failures, forcing him to land helicopters in a swamp, crocodile infested river and in the ocean.

He was seriously injured in a crash in Taree in 1961. It left him in a coma for several weeks. 

A massive heart attack in the 1980s resulted in open-heart surgery and the loss of his pilot licence.

He later regained his licence and continued to instruct until the mid ’90s. 

While the passion for aviation is far from gone, he smirked at suggestions of learning to fly a drone.

Heavily involved over the years with the Cundletown Historical Society and Rotary Club of Taree, Harvey said he was proud to be from the Manning. 

“I’ve always liked Taree and Cundletown,” he said.

“I’ve done a lot of work with Rotary and enjoyed my time with the historical society.”

Harvey outlined what it means to be Australian. 

“Having lived and worked in a lot of countries, particularly south-east Asia, this is the best country in the world,” Mr Else said.

“I think we’re very lucky to have the country we’ve got.” 

Harvey joins Trevor Leggott, Narelle Clapson, Beryl Fenwick, Don Secomb and Andrew Sheriff as Manning and Great Lakes OAM recipients on the 2019 honours list.