Carol Berry (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise Bob De La Hunty, who is President, Chief Pilot and a Life Member of the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, which is known as HARS. It's located at Shellharbour Airport in my electorate of Whitlam. HARS is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers. It operates an award-winning aviation museum that is admired around the world as well as the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame. Bob is a veteran pilot who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the year 2000 for service to the preservation of Australian aviation history, particularly through HARS. He has been the heart and soul of HARS for decades, leading its mission to recover and, where possible, restore to flying condition aircraft or types of aircraft that have played a significant part in Australian aviation history. There are over 50 aircraft on display at HARS, with about 20 of them still airworthy. Bob is central to the preparations for the arrival, expected in May, of one of the remaining parts of a Boeing 707, donated by John Travolta, who is a renowned aviation enthusiast and a former ambassador for Qantas. Adding one of the last surviving examples of this rare Boeing 707 to HARS will further boost Bob's legacy.

I thank Bob De La Hunty for his huge contribution to the Shellharbour region and, more broadly, to preserving the history of Australian aviation for both current and future generations.