- Tim Wallis
Sir Tim Wallis was born in
Greymouth , on the West Coast and attended Christ CollegeHis father was in the timber industry.
Pioneer of the live
deer recovery industry inNew Zealand 's South Island, Wallis built an aviation empire aroundhelicopter operations, pulling valuable animals out of the rugged high country. For many years he held monopoly over the rights to commercial hunting inFiordland National Park . Moving into deer farming during the 1970s, he was among the first to see the potential of the industry in New Zealand and his farm, Criffel, became a centre of excellence for high quality genetics and served as a model for many other farmers. Wallis forged trade relationships in Russia, Korea and Hong Kong that saw exports of velvet, antler, pizzle and even live deer to Asia.The book "Hurricane Tim" documents the life of Wallis.
Wallis is the Founder of the
Alpine Fighter Collection and theNew Zealand Fighter Pilots' Museum .He also started theWarbirds over Wanaka airshow in1988 .Wallis is a strong supporter of the
New Zealand National Party .He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in
1994 for services to deer farming, export and the community.Sir Tim was seriously injured in a helicopter accident in
1968 but managed to continue his flying career until a crash of his historicSupermarine Spitfire aircraft in1996 left him medically unfit to fly.External links
* [http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/ New Zealand Fighter Pilots' Museum]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
