Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Ben Buckley

Mr T BULL (Gippsland East) (13:01): A massive crowd gathered at the Benambra recreation reserve on Friday to bid farewell to an East Gippsland legend in Ben Buckley. You could not get a car park around the footy oval, where Ben was part of the furniture for many, many years, in more recent years as a goal umpire. He had a career in local government that spanned over 40 years, but that was second to his aviation record and his aviation theatrics, which often got him into quite a bit of trouble. Ben used to say rules were to be used as a rough guide, not to be obeyed. He dropped the first phosphate on fires, and he flew under bridges and powerlines when he was not allowed. There was a time when two Irish tourists jumped from the Snowy River bridge after Ben made a beeline for them before ducking under the bridge at the last minute in his aircraft. When investigated he dismissed this with a wry smile, saying they must have had hallucinations from taking in the local trumpet lilies that grew in the area. He was really a character. He also fronted a hearing one time for allegedly flying under a bridge but got off when he showed the plane’s wingspan was greater than the bridge pylon span, only to joke later after leaving the court that if you had the plane in a horizontal position, you could easily make it between the bridge pylons. He was a character, he was a man of integrity, he saved many lives by flying those who had medical emergencies when weather conditions prevented others. Vale, Ben Buckley.