Wanaka helicopter pilot Nick Wallis's zest for life and large heart remembered

Saturday, 27 October 2018

Two new helicopters bearing the initials of Nick and Matt Wallis and carrying their remains flew in ascending circles above the crowd at Nick's funeral.

The four Wallis brothers have taken one last helicopter flight together as youngest brother Nick was farewelled in Wanaka.

They departed in a brand new Hughes 500 bearing Nick's initials for its registration — HNW.

The coffin of Nick Wallis, who was almost two metres tall, was too large to be contained inside the helicopter with the doors closed.

Jonathan and Toby were flying, the ashes of Matt were on board and the coffin of Nick was strapped in to the back.

It flew in ascending circles from the Alpine Helicopters base followed by the family's other new helicopter with the registration HMW, for Matt Wallis.

The new helicopter has Nick Wallis's initials for its registration.

Family and friends carried Nick Wallis to the waiting helicopter while Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days played.

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'Looking at the registrations, you might be forgiven for thinking they've come back, but I don't think they have,' Jonathan told the crowd of almost 2000 people who gathered at the family-owned helicopter hanger at Wanaka Airport, on Saturday, to celebrate the life of Nick.

Nick, 38, died last week with Department of Conservation workers Paul Hondelink and Scott Theobald when their helicopter went down in Wanaka.

Wallis, 38, was well-known in the aviation and tourism industries.

The crash happened less than three months after Nick's brother, Matt Wallis, died when his helicopter plunged into Lake Wanaka during a short solo flight.

The pair were the youngest of four brothers in Wanaka's well-known Wallis family and were both helicopter pilots in the family's aviation and tourism businesses.

Toby Wallis and Sir Tim Wallis at the funeral for their brother and son, Nick Wallis, in Wanaka on Saturday.

Nick's wife Carrie led the tributes to her husband with a written reference from his former house master at Christ's College, Joe Bennett.

Bennett wrote: 'You can't fail to like Nick. Everything about his from his feet to his enthusiasm is large. He relishes life and smiles a lot…he has zest. His heart is large and generous.'

A screenshot of the tribute video for Nick Wallis posted by Alpine Helicopters.

Nick, a helicopter pilot and engineer, was an enormously proud father of twin seven-year-olds Genevieve and Katrina, she said.

'He always maintained that it was the sheer power of sperm that split the egg in half.'

She remembered him teaching the children to eat peas from the garden, engineering a cardboard boat for them, teaching them how to shoot with a pink Barbie gun and teaching them to feel the fear and do it anyway — by jumping from the Albert Town bridge.

The family had recently been on a family holiday to Noosa to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary.

In a special tribute his daughters declared together 'You will always be in our hearts. Love you Nicko.'

Nick stood at almost two metres tall and family and friends spoke of his larger than life personality and appetite, his passion for fishing, hunting, flying, photography, and the family business.

His mother Prue, Lady Wallis, talked of Nick's adoration of his father – pioneering pilot Sir Tim Wallis — and the similarities in their personalities.

'He had the same capacity from when he was a very small boy, if there was something he really wanted to do, we might as well get out of the way because it was going to happen…

'He had a very strong sense of what was right and wrong and a huge capacity for enjoying himself. Staunch is the word for Nick,' she said.

She said the family were grateful to have had Nick and Matt in their lives.

'As they go on their journeys, they take us with them and as we go on with our lives, they will be always with us.'

Toby spoke of it how unfair it was that Nick had left the family early.

'You will have to wait a bloody long time to see Jo Jo [Jonathan] and I,' he said.

Jonathan said it was comforting to believe Matt and Nick were together.

He told the crowd that there was a perception that helicopters frequently crashed, but that was not backed up by statistics.

He believed it was 'highly likely' that the exact cause of the accident would be identified.

Department of Conservation director general Lou Sanson also paid tribute to Nick who was one of their 'go-to' pilots for pest control and other department projects.

'We loved him to bits — his humour, his smile, his cooking, his ability to fly machines in the Southern Alps chasing wild animals at speed.'

A service for Paul Hondelink will be held at the same place on Sunday.

The Theobald family will hold two services, one on Wednesday at Glentanner Station in Aoraki/Mt Cook, and one on November 3 in Whangarei at a venue yet to be confirmed.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the cause of the crash.