GEOFF GOODALL

10th January 1947 - 5th January 2024

 

TRIBUTES

If you wish to post your own tribute to Geoff, please do so on one of the following websites. Alternatively, you may send an email to Geoff's Webmaster who will transcribe your message on to this page. Only your name and geographic location will appear. Email addresses will not be published and all submissions will be moderated. This page will be archived in perpetuity with the rest of Geoff's website.

 

Today I lost a great friend, and we lost one of Australia's leading aviation historians.

There will be much more to be said in the coming weeks, but for now let me just say that Geoff Goodall had a profound effect on my own life by opening my eyes to Australia's rich CIVIL aviation history. He was a man of seemingly boundless knowledge and equally boundless willingness to share it with anybody else.

I only got to know Geoff in the last 25 or so years of his life but we corresponded nearly daily for much of that time. I was also fortunate to live nearby, and so we regularly met for 'Gentlemen's Aero Lunches' where Geoff would usually expound on some fascinating, and often obscure, aspect of aviation history in his legendary storytelling style. I will miss these things enormously.

However, the world - and my own life - is far richer today for having had Geoff Goodall in it.

My thoughts are with Geoff's wife Jane and their two daughters.

Phil Vabre, President Civil Aviation Historical Society
5 January 2024

I had the honour and privilege of studying at the feet of the master aviation historian for most of my life. Geoff was a mentor to many, both in his professional ATC career and in his passion for aviation history. If you were to ask Geoff if he had a photo of a particular aircraft he would invariably respond with a selection of photos and chapter and verse on the aircraft's history. What set Geoff apart from many others is that he was always happy to share his vast knowledge. This desire to share reached its pinnacle when Geoff wisely decided to make his research freely available on the World Wide Web. You don't have to create an account. You don't have to create a convoluted password and above all, you don't have to pay an annual subscription. It's all there free of charge and so it shall remain. Geoff's domain will be maintained online in Geoff's memory for as long as is possible. Ultimately, the content of the website is archived by the National Library of Australia so its survival is assured. Geoff's fellow historians, who always struggled to keep up with him, have concluded that the content of his website should be frozen as none of us feel that we have the capacity to update it as Geoff would have wished. Geoff is simply irreplaceable. It's been an honour to know you Geoff. This website is just part of Geoff's rich legacy.

Ron Cuskelly, Geoff's Webmaster
6 January 2024
Very sad to just learn of Geoff Goodall's passing. I worked with Geoff for over a decade as an ATC work colleague in Perth. Always a consumate professional and an extraordinary aviation enthusiast. A sad loss and my sincere condolences to his family.

Pete Christophersen
21 January 2024
I was saddened to hear of Geoff's passing. I never met him but we corresponded on a number of occasions. He was very generous with his time and research notes when ever I needed information. RIP Geoff you will be missed.

Ray Christensen
Melbourne
24 January 2024
I was sad to hear of Geoff’s passing. He was most generous to me with help in finding aircraft photographs and information to use in my book Ten Journeys to Cameron’s Farm, the story of RAAF Hudson A16-97 and the ten men who died in it on 13 August 1940. In an email on 2 February 2011, John Hopton conveyed the wonderful camaraderie of this community of hugely knowledgeable enthusiasts by referring to Geoff as "Awesomeness Personified Goodall". As a historian with no background in aviation, I would have been lost without the unstinting and warm hearted aid of Geoff and his friends.

Dr Cameron Hazlehurst FRSL FRHistS
ANU
11 February 2024
I sent Geoff a couple of e-mails since his passing (not knowing of his death) and have only discovered this morning that I'll never get one of his cheery "thanks a lot Dave" replies again. Geoff was, perhaps, Australia's greatest aviation researcher. As a glance at his website shows, he delved into all manner of aviation topics usually starting with what was known from official records and adding to that with other material from published sources and interested individuals, supplemented by wide-ranging photos. Geoff was a keen photographer and many of the photos used on his website were taken by him in the course of his many visits to airports and aircraft owners across the country which began in the 1960s. The Geoff I'll always remember was the cheery guy with a welcoming smile and great sense of humour who grew up in Adelaide and became a world authority on surviving 'warbirds' and many facets of Australian aviation history. It's very sad news that he has passed; he will be sorely missed by both family and his many friends.

Dave Vincent
01 Narech 2024
I met Geoff while I was working as an electrical technical officer for the Department of Civil Aviation at Perth airport in the 1970s. I was more interested in the aircraft and the ATC than I was with the electrics. Consequently I spent quite a bit of time in the tower, frequently with Geoff on shift. I always found him to be a cheerful and energetic person who seemed to take my intrusions in his stride. I clearly remember being required to do a shift during a very stormy night one winter. Geoff was on duty in the ATC rooms located on the first floor of the terminal building. It wasn't particularly busy but there was a Qantas flight due from Johannesburg and Geoff coached me before allowing me to instruct the flight to begin its descent into Perth; a big thrill for me at the time and not something I've divulged previously. Although our lives diverged shortly afterwards, I was pleased to discover his website and enjoyed much of the memorabilia and admired the sheer volume of information. A gentleman who will be sorely missed by those who knew him.

Lance Rattigan
04 March 2024

It was a sad day to hear that AHSA honorary life member, Geoff Goodall, had passed away on 5 January. He had suffered a short illness.

Geoff was a towering giant in our field of aviation history, and well known for his Geoff Goodall’s Aviation History website. In that he covered the history of so many Australian aircraft in particular the early days and in between the wars and the immediate post war era. He also covered the history of a number of overseas aircraft of interest. He had been one of the founding authors of the Warbirds Directory and was up to issue no.7, now on the internet. He covered the warbird aircraft movement. He was a fire bomber enthusiast. He also had a love for the venerable twin engined Beech 18. The amount of history material that he included in the history site is enormous. Without Geoff’s recording and documenting, that information would be lost.

Geoff was known for a number of articles that he wrote for the AHSA journal Aviation Heritage.

A friend to all, he would gladly answer questions put to him by serious researchers. His website gained him contacts from all around the world, asking questions and also giving him additional information. His column helped spread the knowledge of aircrati, Australian in particular, to others around the world.

It has been said that to replace a DC-3 aircrati you simply get another DC-3. There will however, never be a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for Geoff Goodall.

I had known Geoff since the early 1960’s. Born and bred in Adelaide he joined the Department of Transport and worked as an Air Traffic Controller. While in Adelaide he founded the West Beach Aviation Group and their newsletter, which is still going.

Geoff was the consummate aviation historian and enthusiast.

Awards are made twice a year in Australia. Some go to people who have been paid to do a job. Others go to people who have had a lobbyist leaning on decision makers. If ever there was a person who deserved an award for unpaid service to aviation history, Geoffrey Goodall is that person. The only regret is that any award to Geoff would have to be made posthumously.

There will never be another Geoff Goodall. We will miss him. Geoff leaves his wife, Jane and two daughters.

PS: Geoff desired a private family funeral, and this has taken place. The opportunity for a celebration of Geoff’s life may align with the launch of his final book Double Sunrise, which the AHSA is planning to publish later this year.

Dave Prossor
President
Aviation Historical Society of Australia
February 2024

Click on the image to read AHSA's tribute to Geoff.