And in a nod to the history of local aviation it is fitting that the aircraft, a Beechcraft B200 King Air turbo prop bears the name Capt Ron Walesby - a former pilot, novelist and aviation administrator who was the Captain of the first aircraft to land at the Port Macquarie airport, caring the dignitaries to its official opening in November 1955.

Eastern Air Service’s CEO Christian Corse and director Shane Moore said their plan was to initially fly charter services to the island while working with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on gaining a Regular Public Transport licence for a passenger service.

“It’s a bit like going back to the future,” said Mr Moore.

“Port Macquarie has very strong, historic links to Lord Howe Island. We see our decision to commence operations as re-establishing those important ties with the island,” he said.

“Many residents (on the island) either went to school here or have homes here. We have met with the residents and business community over there and we are very confident in fulfilling their needs.

“We have established a good working relationship with CASA – including a working group – and we will continue to work toward gaining a licence for passenger services.”

Mr Corse said the Beechcraft B200 was chosen because of its reliability record – it’s the aircraft of choice for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Air Ambulance – and its ability to handle the restricted runway on Lord Howe Island.

“The Beechcraft has turbo prop reliability, in our opinion has better performance aspects than a Dash 8 and can be configured to take up to 14 passengers. Although we believe nine seats is better suited to the island’s needs,” he said.

“It is also radar and GPS equipped and is pressurised.

“Our team has over 50 years’ experience dealing with the island and its conditions. And we want to re-establish those very strong ties,” he said.

Capt Ron Walesby is the doyen of aviation across the South East Asia and Pacific regions.

He flew protective convoy escort duties and carried out maritime surveillance during World War II but was ordered not to leave Australian shores following the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

After the war he joined East West Airlines as a Pilot. 

He eventually moved into management roles and became their most senior pilot so was he was the obvious choice to Captain the first aircraft to land at Port Macquarie in November 1955.

Eventually he took the role of general manager South East Asia for Fokker, spending 16 years with the Dutch-owned airline manufacturer until his retirement. 

Ron now 98 married Lois 73 years ago – November 15, 1944 – and the link to Port Macquarie is strong as he, his wife, their two daughters and son, along with six grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren now all reside in Port Macquarie. Only one grandson and one great grandson live elsewhere.