Bill’s Ansett Museum service receives Council honour

NEARING the end of his tenure as Sir Reginald Ansett Transport Museum president is Bill Sharp, standing next to an example of an early 1940s airline uniform. Bill’s long service and the museum’s popularity for tourism was recognised in the Southern Grampians Shire Council meeting last week. Photo: SUPPLIED.

By Mark Rabich

May 19, 2023 | 7:00 PM

LAST week the Southern Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) took a few minutes towards the end of its May meeting to formally recognise one of the stalwarts of the Sir Reginald Ansett Transport Museum after he flagged his impending resignation as president and chairman.

Although Bill Sharp is technically yet to ‘file the paperwork’, Council knew about the announcement and decided to honour his contribution to the important Hamilton tourist attraction, describing his service as “outstanding”.

SGSC mayor, David Robertson referred to Bill’s “exceptional work … which included over 20 years on the committee made up of stints as both president/chairman and treasurer” and the advance of the museum as a tourism attraction.

“It’s well recognised, I think probably more so outside our town, that it gets more hits on social media of looking (it) up than anything else in town here,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work still to do and as we know as councillors, we’ve still got an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to develop over the years.

“But Bill’s been there for the last 22 years, getting (it) up to where it is today and most people say it is a very significant collection of items there.”

Cr Katrina Rainsford also spoke and called the museum “a great asset” that was “like a Pandora’s Box” with its “varied material”.

“I think there’s a huge potential in the future for what can be done there with the continued support of the community and the understanding of the important history that transport makes,” she said.

“One day I’d like to see a train going down past the other side!

“Well done, Bill and hope you’re happy with what we’re doing in the future.”

Interviewed by The Spectator earlier this week from his home in Barwon Heads, Bill admitted his involvement with the museum since 2001 wasn’t actually born out of an aviation background – “I don’t have an aeronautical bone in my body” - but due to the keen interest in expanding tourism.

However, Bill noted it was an “interesting time” to begin his involvement given it coincided with the last days of the airline; Ansett Australia had ceased operating in September 2001 and despite a brief return to limited operations with an attempted corporate rescue a few weeks later, it closed down permanently in March 2002.

“The museum is a little older than that,” he said.

Bill said at the time he had been running a bed and breakfast in Branxholme and was “flogging tourism for Hamilton, which was a bit of a dead horse”.

“Manning the museum was a fairly important strategic move to get a tourism attraction in Hamilton that people would actually come and see,” he said.

Bill said the hard promotional work done over more than two decades has really started to pay dividends this year.

“We’re only halfway (through) and we’ve already reached our annual average,” he said.

“So we reckon we’ve got something to be proud of and develop.

“It’s been a huge effort by a number of volunteers that run the show, and Heather (Kruger) in particular, who is the acting secretary, volunteer organiser (and) coordinator … but it’s the effort of those volunteers that makes this thing strong.”

With a brilliant collection of transport-related items that bear either the Ansett name or one of its related companies, Bill said they had “expanded it very strongly” to even include a jet engine “that only needs a tin full of diesel put in it and it would run”.

“It’s a magnificent thing, it’s probably worth about a million bucks on its own,” he said.

“We’ve probably got a uniform from every era of Ansett, so there’s an incredible collection.

“So you get my enthusiasm.”

Bill pointed to a popular global tourism website that listed the museum as second in popularity in the area only to MacKenzie Falls in the Grampians and said its prime location - “it’s absolutely brilliant” - was definitely one the museum prized, but he admitted it was true that most visitors were from out of town as “for the last two years, we’ve got some sort of a collection of postcodes” in the visitor book.

“One makes an expectation that local people know what’s there and what’s in it,” he said.

“Even some of my closest friends and loved ones say, ‘Oh, I’ve never really been there. I really must go one day’.

“That’s unfortunately, just the way it is … you live there (but) you don’t take any notice of it.”

But nevertheless, people still come “from all over Australia” and despite his ongoing passion to see the attraction grow even further, he said his move to Barwon Heads some years ago and his status as an octogenarian - “I don’t like to talk about age!” - were both factors influencing his decision to step down.

“You never get that old, but you do get old enough to think you just can’t provide the service,” Bill said.

“I’d gladly run it from here if I could, but I think that one misses out by not being actually on site and being able to eyeball people.

“Rolling up and down to Hamilton for meetings is not really on.”

With his car still serviced next to the museum, friends also in town and “various great grandchildren floating around in that region” he said he’d still make the odd trip, but in the meantime was honoured by the Council’s recognition and wanted to make sure he left a good legacy.

“Your succession plan really is the museum that you’ve developed,” he said.

“I’m intrigued by the notation that’s been given because I’ve spent a fair bit of time working with it and worrying about it – you can ask my wife about that.

“It’ll be in good hands. So I’m still hopefully recognised as a committee person and can keep contributing at a distance.”

Bill Sharp’s record at the Sir Reginald Ansett Transport Museum

2001 Annual General Meeting (AGM) - originally elected as committee member, also in 2002 and 2003

2004 AGM - elected a committee member and treasurer

2005 AGM - elected treasurer

2006 AGM - nominated for the chairman position (declined), but appointed treasurer

2007, 2008, 2009 AGM - elected treasurer

2010, 2011 AGM - elected treasurer and public officer

2012, 2013 AGM - elected treasurer

2014 AGM - resigned as treasurer but remained a committee member

2015, 2016 AGM - re-elected as committee member (circa December 2016 departed Hamilton)

2017, 2018 AGM - elected a committee member