Hudson Fysh

Grantlee Kieza

Nov 2022 · Bolinda · Narrated by Tamblyn Lord

Audiobook

13 hr 48 min

Unabridged

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About this audiobook

Hudson Fysh was a decorated World War I hero who not only founded Australia's national airline, Qantas, but steered it for almost half a century from its humble beginnings with two rickety biplanes to the age of the jumbo jets. One of Australia's celebrated Light Horsemen at Gallipoli, Fysh went on to fly death-defying missions for Lawrence of Arabia with the Australian Flying Corps and battle Germans in deadly dogfights in the skies over Palestine. On his return from the Great War, Fysh launched his bush airline, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (Qantas), with the help of a wartime pilot friend and some western Queensland graziers. After flying the first scheduled Qantas passenger flight in 1922, he ushered in the Flying Doctor Service that still assists remote communities. Fysh went on to guide Qantas through the dark days of the Great Depression, the perilous years of World War II and into the great boom in international tourism that followed with the jet age, giving millions of Australians their first experience of international travel.

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About the author

Award-winning journalist and bestselling author Grantlee Kieza OAM held senior editorial positions at The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Courier-Mail for many years and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his writing. He is a Walkley Award finalist and the author of more than 20 acclaimed books, including the bestsellers Hudson Fysh, The Kelly Hunters, Lawson, Banks, Macquarie, Banjo, Flinders, Mrs Kelly, Monash, Sons of the Southern Cross, Bert Hinkler, Sister Viv and Mary Penfold. His latest work is Ellen Savage and the Heroes of AHS Centaur (2026).

Tamblyn Lord is an Australian actor and voice artist. He has featured extensively in Australian theatre and television for over 35 years, appearing in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, The Secret River, Satisfaction and Cliffy. He has previously narrated Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori trilogy and The Inheritance by Gabriel Bergmoser. He is also recognisable as the voice of the meditation and mindfulness app Smiling Mind.

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