Charles Maxwell Hazelton (6 May 1927 – 9 April 2023) was an Australian aviator and founder of

Hazelton Airlines Hazelton Air Services Pty Limited, trading as Hazelton Airlines, was an Australian regional airline which operated until 2001. It was established as an independent airline but by the end of its existence had become a subsidiary of Ansett Australi ...

, alongside his brother Jim, a regional Australian airline which became Regional Express Airlines after a merger in August 2002.

Biography

Born in May 1927, Charles Maxwell Hazelton, from a young age, aimed at becoming a pilot. He joined the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including ...

at the age of 16 but, when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

ended in 1945, he saw his pilot career under threat since the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

already had too many pilots, seemingly leaving him without a future in the industry.Max Hazelton
''

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

'' – Rural Legends, author: Bruce Reynolds, accessed: 5 August 2012 Working as an apprentice automotive engineer in Sydney, he continued his interest in becoming a pilot, eventually acquiring a private and, later, a commercial pilot's license. With support from his mother he purchased his first aircraft, an

Auster Aiglet Trainer The Auster J/5 Aiglet Trainer was a 1950s British single-engined four-seat high-wing training and touring monoplane built by Auster Aircraft Limited at Rearsby, Leicestershire. History Despite its name, the aircraft type had nothing to do with ...

for 2,500 Pounds. He started his own charter company in 1953 from his brother-in-law’s property at Toogong, New South Wales.Our company history – Hazelton
Regional Express website, accessed: 5 August 2012 In October 1954, he crashed his plane on a flight from Bankstown Airport in heavy rain near Oberon, but escaped uninjured. While only 16 kilometres from Oberon he got lost in heavy fog, hiking for six days and covering over 100 kilometres before returning to civilisation. Purchasing a new aircraft, a Cessna 180, he continued flying charters and applying fertiliser and pesticides. He was reported for night flying by the local police, then illegal, but was able to convince the authorities to lift the ban, pointing out that flying conditions were calmer at night and crop spraying was essential to local cotton farmers. In 1959 he moved operations to

Cudal Cudal ( ) is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. Cudal is in the Cabonne Shire Council local government area, west of the state capital, Sydney. The town was first surveyed in 1867. Running through the town is "Bor ...

, where he operated his own airfield. Not afraid of controversy, he piloted the

South African rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

during their tour in Australia and broke a union ban on

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

ram exports to Fiji in 1971 by flying them there. By 1968, his airline,

, operated 22 aircraft. By 1994, when he floated his company on the stock market, Hazelton Airlines carried 330,000 passengers a year. In November 1995, he stepped down as CEO of the airline after a boardroom fight for control of the company.Bush Folk Fear Loss Of Hazelton As Founder Flies Out
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', published: 9 January 2001, accessed: 5 August 2012 In 2001, the Hazelton family sold their stake in the airline to

Ansett Australia Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...

, after a take-over battle between the former and

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the List of airlines by foundation date, world's third-oldest airline sti ...

. After Ansett collapsed in September 2001, Hazelton Airlines continued operations and, together with Kendell Airlines, became Regional Express Airlines on 1 August 2002. Hazelton continued to be involved in the aviation industry, writing comments in the ''

Central Western Daily ''The Central Western Daily'' newspaper (also known as the ''Western Daily'') was founded in 1945 in Orange in the Central West region of New South Wales, its first edition being published on 3 October 1945. It followed a range of earlier p ...

'' on airline industry matters. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 1981 New Year Honours for service to aviation, and appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, again for service to aviation. Hazelton died on 9 April 2023, at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazelton, Max 1927 births 2023 deaths Australian aviators Businesspeople in aviation Members of the Order of Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian businesspeople Australian chief executives Australian corporate directors