William Arthur (Bill) Black MBE

Sincere condolences to the family. Bill was an amazing man and hope that the wonderful memories you have will help you at this time. I still remember meeting him at the airport and he needed a ride home. Off we went and it was a trip filled with fun and information.

RIP Bill Black in the 60's you flew 2 mates and myself in a plane over our home towns Ohai and Nightcaps an experience to behold way back then across the Takis and then up the valley to Manapouri. Great pilot great man

Spent many hours flying with Bill up the Milford Track, Even had a flight on duel controls, Went for flight in his loved gyro copter, and was his neighbor for 12 years, Great man, will be missed, All the best to family,

I remember the time he took myself my sister's plus my father up in one of his helicopters and kept saying to us kids that he was having trouble flying up the side of a hill with all us kids laughing so he said he would have to get kicked up the hill by the hill and did we believe him no we didn't so he had all of us looking for the hill reaching out to kick us up and next minute sure enough we got the kick we needed to get up the side. RIP my dear you were an awesome man and you kept everyone guessing what you would do next.

Sincere sympathy to you all. Bill and his family lived in the same small town as I did Waiwera South and we went to the same school and were in the same class at Primary School so I remember him well. He went on to an amazing career achievement and will be remembered by so many.

Farewell old buddy it was great knowing you and sharing heaps of experiences both good and bad

To Shirley and family
Our thoughts are with you on your loss. May your Bill forever ride freely and at peace in the sky

Amazing times in the sixties.Bill was our neighbour and we had been caring for Marlene this day. Heard strange noise above our house and ran out to see Bill perched on the ridging of our house in his chopper.Was his signal to pick him up at the airport. Two marks were left on ridging. Didn't handle the home brew too well back then as have seen him legless getting home from ours. A great man taken too soon.RIP Bill. Fly High Faye and Merv Henderson

Hi Bill....legend pilot...loved flying with you...thnks for all the telling offs....learned alot...RIP Dave Macleod

Bill, the man who saved my life more than once and was great to work with.
. I flew many hundreds of hours with you. You will be remembered by all those who flew with you.. Fly high Bill RIP

RIP Bill Black. Thank you for your service. I met Bill in January 1976 on Mitre Peak in Milford Sound. I was with three other good buggers from the Palmerston North Tramping Club. We’d been climbing in the Darrens which is a an epic mountain range in Fjordland National Park. We were having a few days resting up and drinking beer at Milford Sound in our tent fly behind the kitchen to what was then the THC Hotel. We were drinking in the bar and met some crayfisherman who offered to take us across to the seawall of Mitre Peak the next morning. They’d pick us up on the way back and we’d do a gentle stroll up to the summit of Mitre Peak. Pretty straight forward really. The trickiest bit was climbing up the wet mossy Seawall, then tree to tree and onto the main ridge line between sinbad and mitre peak. A simple day trip. No need to take much gear. Good weather so light clothing and a raincoat. We were fit and experienced climbers who’d spent the better part of a month climbing, sleeping in snow caves and under rock bivvies. What could go wrong on this simple day trip.
About 100 metres from the summit I slipped on snow grass, dislocated my shoulder and started sliding toward the cliff edge. It was a vertical drop into the water 1600 metres below. Fortunately there was a big rock between myself and the edge so I was able to grab it.
The next 30 hours were misery. Some disprin, a raincoat (pretty good quality for those days but useless by today’s standards) and some snacks. Keith (RIP) and Lindsay Sands went for help. No radios, cellphones or PLBs in those days. Just feet to walk out. They spent a miserable night tied to trees on the steep side of Mitre Peak trying to get to the beach. Tim Short stayed with me and kept my spirits up. The weather turned bad, rain, cloud and wind.
At about 4-5 pm the next day a huge Bell Jet Ranger helicopter flew right into our location with a basket underneath. Bill Black was flying this machine and appeared just when I was thinking another night up there might not be a good option.
Suddenly the pain went, we threw ourselves and our gear into the basket and across to Milford Sound.
A dr waiting there gave me a jab of something that took the pain away. We were going to fly to Te Anau.
Bill asked how I was feeling. Relieved and finally pain free. “Do you want to go the quick way or the scenic long way”. Naturally I chose the long way.
Part way through the journey Bill rolled a cigarette while he was flying the helicopter. I didn’t smoke but how could you resist the offer of a rollie from a man flying a helicopter that had just saved my life.
I never did get to personally thank Bill for what he did, but I have always felt a sense of indebtedness to him. I dropped a six pack of DB draught off at the Te Anau police station the day after I was rescued for him as a small gesture of my thanks. I know Bill retired in Te Anau and I’ve read his book.
Thank you Bill, Rest In Peace.

My condolences to Marlene and family. So sad to hear the news of Bill’s passing. ‘I Did It My Way’ was a favourite read of Russell’s.
My thoughts are with you all. Jan Beer

sincere condolences family my thoughts and prayers are with you for comfort, and in time, your memories to lift you up.

Condolences from the Collins family of Riversdale. Bill will be always remembered by our family for all the kindness he showed while searching for Trevor and his mates when their plane went missing in Fiordland. Bill spent many hours of his own time in this search and we will be forever grateful.

To the family and friends of Bill:
During the late 1960’s and 1970’s it was a privilege to be aware of many of Bill’s amazing ambulance rescues from throughout Fiordland and further afield. Often these were undertaken with some personal risk during the recoveries and yet he always returned from those missions with his patients. Jan and I extend our sincere sympathy to you all and will remember Bill with appreciation for what he achieved. We have provided to ambulance archives in Auckland and Dunedin copies of “I Did It My Way”
so that his life story will remain in perpetuity.
Jan and Ron Palmer

Sincere condolences to Bill's family.Enjoyed flying with Bill when he was working for Luggage Game Packers,I was on school holidays and still talk of green stone creek and Jackson bay etc enjoyed those years and the memories they hold thank you Bill

Our thoughts are with you at this time Shirley. I spent many years being flown by Bill during my time on the takahe project in the Murchison Mountains, and always knew I was in safe hands no matter what conditions we were in. He was fastidious in everything he did around his machine, but never missed an opportunity for a practical joke on some poor unfortunate! What wonderful memories I have of him. He will be truely missed.

To Shirley and Family.
Deepest Sympathies to you all for your loss
A real true legend and as inspiration to all pilots.

Uncle Bill thanks for all the great memories. Flying Judy and myself to school in your helicopter and surprise visits to the farm. You always made us laugh and feel special. You are one of a kind and we are privileged to have known you.

With fond memories of flying my Tiger into Milford with Bill as my passenger as well as many other flights over the years. The last being a flight in his Gyrocopter at a wedding. Always fun to be with Bill and listen to his stories. He will be sadly missed.

On behalf of the children of Alister and Liz Swan, in memory of MY flying over the house when we were kids and the wonderful tales of Bill and his abilities.
Sympathies to the family on the loss of a flying legend

We are sad to learn that you have lost Bill. In earlier days of my aviation engineering, I had a number of occasions involving the recovery damaged aeroplanes and helicopters from varied terrain locations. Bill was always a pleasure to work with, and I quickly gained the utmost respect for his experience and flying skills. He will be sadly missed by his industry colleagues and friends.

I went to school with Bill and we travelled on the same school bus. I have very fond memories of him as a young man. He was a kind considerate man. Even as a youngster at school he was passionate about becoming a pilot, he never considered any other profession and he certainly made his mark in the aviation industry. You were a legend Bill, a real down to earth Kiwi bloke and one I was proud to know. RIP Bill. My sincere sympathy to all his family.

Our sincere condolences to the Black family for your sad loss of Bill, May the many great memories you will have of him carry you forward in the days ahead. Kind regards Pip, Balclutha.

Our thoughts are with Shirley, Marlene and your families. Bill was born to fly and was a master at it. We have many memories of how brave and unselfish he was in his rescue work and his care of hose flying with him.. Take comfort in your many great memories of a good Fiordland man.

SINCERE CONDOLENCES TO YOU ALL FROM KEVIN PENNELL EX. LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER PUYSEGUR POINT. I HAD HIGH RESPECT FOR BILL.

My thoughts are with you Marlene and your family at this sad time. Big hugs to you all. Take care my friend.

Our Condolences to Shirley and family .
We all have fond memories of flying with Bill into the Ranganui and having him share his demonstrations of superb skills and knowledge and love of the area , on the way . His enthusiasm for fishing and fish was contagious .
He was someone to always feel safe with , no matter the weather .
Accompanying Bill with a load of deer from NZ to Canada , I was in awe as I watched him politely tell the captain in mid flight that he was going to rearrange the bulkhead to help reduce the flow of ammonia gases building up in the back . He pulled out his knife and started vigorously reshaping the area behind the cockpit .
We are sorry to miss your send off Bill , but you leave us with many strong memories and respect .
Mike,Di,Tim,Cam,Sam

To Shirley and family.
Our thoughts are with you at this sad time. We all have fond memories of Bill.

To Shirley and Family,

Deepest Condolences to you all through this tough time. Bill was truly a one of a Kind Man and a legend in that.

To Shirley and family, please accept our sincere condolences for your loss.

To Shirley, Marlene and family,
Please accept me condolences at the loss of such a special man. He said to my late husband Peter during the schools holidays,
Jump in the helicopter I’ll take you down to the lighthouse. What an unforgettable treat. They were great mates during the days in the Fire Brigade. Kind regards Christina King

Hi, Shirley, from Otago Peninsula. Thinking of Bill today as I watch the tributes on the livestream coverage and dip into what I wrote about him in "Hurricane Tim".

He was a mighty fine pilot with some amazing stories to tell, not the least about his wildlife and nature conservation work.
Life won't be the same for you without Bill, but there are the photos and published words to remind you and your family of his epic career.
Kind wishes
Neville Peat

Our deepest sympathy to your family we watched it on live streaming and wished we could have been there spent many hours with you in the chopper, those days on the Ranganui back in the good old days were all going to miss you heaps jack ex builder on the Ranganui

Bill has been a special person in my family's world. He flew my Father,Fred Gill, into many Fiordland rivers to fish.They were good friends.Bill took Dad's ashes on their last flight together to Mt Titiroa..We have a precious video that Bill Black recorded of Dad fishing in the Greenstone, Doubly special because we hear Bills voice as he narrates.
I got to fly with them to Ruapuke Island -Marlene came too,and she and I rode the horses there.
He drop in a couple of times when we lived at Clifden,and took my son away flying with him.I never worried, I knew they would be safe.Wonderful memories.
I got to ride with him in the Gyrocopter
I flew with several times during the years I worked for DOC (I suspect he wasn't always impressed with DOC, but he seemed to accept me as a ok person, probably because I was my father's daughter)
I have felt deep sadness since hearing of his death. I watched online his farewell today, and realised how fortunate I was to have only wonderful memories of him. Shirley, please know that he will always have a special place in our hearts.
Carol Gardner

Hello Shirley,
I just want to add my condolences to the long list you have already, which is to be expected considering how we all think we know of Bill and what great service he provided to so many over so many years. My thoughts are with you and family,
Your Chicken Man