ID :
204414
Tue, 08/30/2011 - 14:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204414
The shortlink copeid
Ticehurst saw 'bloody goodness' everywhere
Gary Ticehurst saw the "bloody goodness" in everything he did during a four-decade career as a helicopter pilot, which included saving the lives of sailors.
The ABC's man in the sky was described at his Sydney memorial on Tuesday as having the "eyes of an eagle and the hands of a surgeon" when it came to helping to capture beautiful images of Australia.
He was also a big-hearted, gregarious character who rescued stranded sailors and bushwalkers, and brought joy to children in small towns by letting them sit in the cockpit of his ABC "squirrel".
There was standing room only as hundreds of mourners gathered in a marquee to farewell one of the national broadcaster's finest.
Alongside yachts moored at Rushcutters Bay in eastern Sydney, veteran ABC journalists, cinematographers and loved ones remembered a "60 years young" man who was due to become a grandfather of twins this year.
His son Matt Ticehurst described his dad's love of the Sydney Swans and said he would have loved the turnout at his memorial service.
"I have a direct message to you from him: `How bloody good is this?'," he said.
"Dad was someone who saw the inherent `bloody goodness' in every single aspect of life."
Almost a fortnight has passed since Mr Ticehurst was killed in a helicopter crash during an ABC assignment filming Lake Eyre filling with water.
Veteran journalist Paul Lockyer and cameraman John Bean also died, and Lockyer's wife Maria joined the mourners on Tuesday.
Matt Ticehurst called on the mourners not to see his father's death as a tragedy.
"A tragedy is when someone passes who wasn't able to extricate every single inch of beauty, excitement and wonder from their lives," he said.
"Dad was a rare individual who was able to do all of the above and how bloody good is that?"
Mr Ticehurst's wife Teresa, whom he met in 2005, recalled how he proposed to her from his Sydney hospital bed on a first date.
"The doctor was in shock when, after Gary had delivered `the mother of all kidney stones', he gets down on bended knee in his backless hospital gown and, in fits of laughter, joy and love he begged me to marry him," she said in a message read by ABC newsreader Helen Tzarimas.
"How could I not?"
Mrs Ticehurst was credited with convincing her husband to shave off his moustache and eat tinned fish on assignment rather than steak and chips.
His talents capturing Sydney also featured in the 1999 blockbuster The Matrix.
Sixty Minutes cinematographer Andy Taylor, a former ABC colleague, marvelled at his ability to fly sideways "very low and very fast" sometimes between the crests of waves.
Mr Ticehurst covered 29 straight Sydney to Hobart yacht races, and in 1998 played a pivotal role in rescuing dozens of sailors in rough seas.
He started his chopper career as an army pilot during the Vietnam war before flying for the NSW police.
In 1980, he became the ABC's first full-time pilot and donated his time helping the Variety children's charity.
ABC managing director Mark Scott joined veteran television journalists Chris Masters, Caroline Jones, Quentin Dempster and Peter Wilkins in farewelling their much-loved colleague.
A wake was held at the nearby Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
The ABC's man in the sky was described at his Sydney memorial on Tuesday as having the "eyes of an eagle and the hands of a surgeon" when it came to helping to capture beautiful images of Australia.
He was also a big-hearted, gregarious character who rescued stranded sailors and bushwalkers, and brought joy to children in small towns by letting them sit in the cockpit of his ABC "squirrel".
There was standing room only as hundreds of mourners gathered in a marquee to farewell one of the national broadcaster's finest.
Alongside yachts moored at Rushcutters Bay in eastern Sydney, veteran ABC journalists, cinematographers and loved ones remembered a "60 years young" man who was due to become a grandfather of twins this year.
His son Matt Ticehurst described his dad's love of the Sydney Swans and said he would have loved the turnout at his memorial service.
"I have a direct message to you from him: `How bloody good is this?'," he said.
"Dad was someone who saw the inherent `bloody goodness' in every single aspect of life."
Almost a fortnight has passed since Mr Ticehurst was killed in a helicopter crash during an ABC assignment filming Lake Eyre filling with water.
Veteran journalist Paul Lockyer and cameraman John Bean also died, and Lockyer's wife Maria joined the mourners on Tuesday.
Matt Ticehurst called on the mourners not to see his father's death as a tragedy.
"A tragedy is when someone passes who wasn't able to extricate every single inch of beauty, excitement and wonder from their lives," he said.
"Dad was a rare individual who was able to do all of the above and how bloody good is that?"
Mr Ticehurst's wife Teresa, whom he met in 2005, recalled how he proposed to her from his Sydney hospital bed on a first date.
"The doctor was in shock when, after Gary had delivered `the mother of all kidney stones', he gets down on bended knee in his backless hospital gown and, in fits of laughter, joy and love he begged me to marry him," she said in a message read by ABC newsreader Helen Tzarimas.
"How could I not?"
Mrs Ticehurst was credited with convincing her husband to shave off his moustache and eat tinned fish on assignment rather than steak and chips.
His talents capturing Sydney also featured in the 1999 blockbuster The Matrix.
Sixty Minutes cinematographer Andy Taylor, a former ABC colleague, marvelled at his ability to fly sideways "very low and very fast" sometimes between the crests of waves.
Mr Ticehurst covered 29 straight Sydney to Hobart yacht races, and in 1998 played a pivotal role in rescuing dozens of sailors in rough seas.
He started his chopper career as an army pilot during the Vietnam war before flying for the NSW police.
In 1980, he became the ABC's first full-time pilot and donated his time helping the Variety children's charity.
ABC managing director Mark Scott joined veteran television journalists Chris Masters, Caroline Jones, Quentin Dempster and Peter Wilkins in farewelling their much-loved colleague.
A wake was held at the nearby Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
