Paul was born in 1970, every bit a child of those
hopeful and turbulent times. The youngest of 4 children, Paul
enjoyed a wonderful, happy and carefree childhood, often observing
and learning from the mistakes of his elder siblings. Being
the youngest in a household of 6 could not have been easy, and
Paul learned quickly to express his wants and needs in a group
where it was all too easy to overlook the needs of the others,
particularly the youngest brother. this developed in Paul an
ability to be heard, and to persuade the older and much bigger
siblings of his point of view. So good did he in fact become
at being heard, that on a flight to the U.K. in 1972 at the
age of 2, Paul was overheard to tell a male steward on the Qantas
flight to "keep quiet for Christ's sake", this was
the source of much amusement for many years, this feisty little
boy telling it like it was.
This ability to have his point of view heard was
fundamental in shaping the young man who was to emerge. Dur9ing
his childhood and early teen years Paul strived to shake off
the mantel of baby brother, for in his eyes he was the equal
of any of his older and more experienced siblings, and did not
easily or quietly take to being told what to do, or how to do
it. Paul was very much his own person. Paul would quickly let
anyone know when they had crossed the line.
High School was initially spent at Scot's College
at Bathurst before returning to be closer to family at Turramurra
High School. Paul was a young man of his times, always very
well presented; he easily impressed his friend's parents, his
polished appearance masking the typically rebellious streak
of youth that lay within. Paul was very popular at school, making
many lifelong friends; he enjoyed his school days enormously.
His Senior School days were particularly memorable, his weekends
and holidays spent boating down at the Hawkesbury, and partying
on Saturday nights at whichever of his friend's house was not
inhabited by parents, it was an idyllic period, the Tom Cruise
Classic "Risky Business" was both his favourite movie
of this period, and also his preferred method of operation.
Whilst still at school and aged about 14 Paul
started part time work at Amber Tiles at Waitara, he quickly
learned the value of hard work and persistence, under the expert
tutelage of his brother Greg, and Mike Kirkby-Jones, both of
whom were to be vital mentors to Paul's entrepreneurial spirit,
and who guided and mentored him in those early formative years.
After successfully completing the Higher School
Certificate, and following 12 months full time at Amber Tiles,
Paul followed a suggestion from our mother Olive, and applied
for the position of Property Manager at Raine and Horne at Neutral
Bay. This was to prove inspirational guidance from his Mother.
They say that good luck is when opportunity meets
ability, and seldom have I seen a better example. Paul's natural
ability to deal with people, his high level of customer service,
presentation and professionalism, quickly ensuring a standout
and lasting success. Long work days were followed by late nights
studying for his Diploma in Real Estate, and Auctioneer's Licence
at Nth Sydney TAFE, somehow Paul managed to fit it all in and
still remain close to the people around him.
At the age of 21 Paul found his true lifelong
love when he met Fiona, the girl who would become his wife and
best friend. Ever the incurable romantic, Paul was so happy
with his new love, showering Fiona with gifts and affections;
they quickly became a beautiful and loving couple.
Opportunity again found Paul's talents when in
1996 he and business partner Frank Biggs bought the business
of Raine and Horne at Northbridge, together they forged a winning
team, taking the run down business and converting it into a
thriving and successful enterprise. Paul and Fiona bought a
unit at Gladesville and renovated it to a very high standard.
By age 29 Paul and Fi were renovating their second
property in Gladesville, Paul having turned his very significant
Business ability into property development, and with his typical
no nonsense approach, a glowing success was assured.
With age 30 approaching, Paul felt the pangs of
some deeper yearning. A successful business and an emerging
property development career somehow no longer fulfilled him
to the extent he would have liked, these were very much mountains
Paul had already climbed, and he was needing fresh challenges
to renew his sense of accomplishment.
Paul had loved aviation since his childhood, and
had started learning to fly in 1998, whilst pursuing his Real
Estate career. Aviation represented the very combination of
challenges that Paul was seeking, science, art, adventure and
ambition all rolled into one very intoxicating package. After
12 years of successful involvement, and with the complete support
of Fiona, Paul left the Real Estate business and in March 2001
commenced a full time course to achieve his ambition of becoming
a professional pilot.
Not content with the very high workload require
in this full time flying course, Paul and Fiona, also planned
a beautiful wedding, as part of a holiday to Canada and Alaska.
Paul was incredibly happy, fresh challenges arose every day,
both in an aircraft, and in the classroom, and the wonderful
prospect of marriage to the love of his life.
Everyone who knew Paul during this time will attest
to his overwhelming happiness. Paul and Fi were married in a
beautiful and very romantic service in Alaska in 2001, Paul
taking 5 weeks off from his hectic study schedule for the wedding
and the holiday of a lifetime. The beautiful photographs of
Paul and Fiona taken whilst in Alaska fittingly showcase this
perfect time.
All too soon it was back to work and back to the
job of growing his aviation career and his life together with
Fiona. Paul graduated from his aviation course in July 2002
and quickly gained work at Merimbula Air Services on the far
South Coast of NSW. Accommodation was hard to find at reasonable
cost, so in typical fashion, Paul and Fiona bought a beautiful
little flat, close to the beach, and Paul started the job of
renovating it to his high standards. These were busy times as
Paul flew during the day and worked on the flat at night, and
Fiona spent a lot of time driving down to Merimbula for weekends.
In December 2002 Paul moved back to Sydney to
be back home with Fiona, and started working for Illawarra Flying
School at Bankstown Airport, and then Basair where he had trained.
This was not an easy time in the Aviation industry, the post
september 11 climate had reduced the amount of flying and the
Industry was suffering a serious down turn, that Paul was able
to keep flying and building his experience during this period
was strong testament to his perseverance and determination,
and also to the strong partnership he and Fiona enjoyed, for
without her complete support it would not have been possible.
Paul moved to Horn Island to work in February
2005, chasing the next step of his growing career, that of building
up the twin engine experience in order to apply to a regional
airline. Paul was utterly determine to succeed and he knew that
he would achieve greater advancement by going away and chasing
the hours than by staying at home, even though it was for both
he and Fiona very hard to be apart. The work in the Torres Strait
was hard and demanding, long days, busy schedules with up to
10 flights per day, short runways, and hot and wet conditions,
but Paul loved it. The hours were coming together quickly, he
knew he would reach his target more quickly and gain much more
experience in the Torres Strait than anywhere else, it was a
well trodden and successful path, with many of our aviation
colleagues having been down this path.
Paul's last days were truly happy, he had achieved
his ambition of being an airline captain, commanding his own
aircraft on a demanding schedule of flights throughout the region
and up to Niugini, he was well on his way to reaching his ultimate
goal of a career flying a jet for a major airline.
Captain Paul Norris's life is a shining example
to all of us. Paul dared to dream, he dared to have a vision
of a bright and better future in which he and Fiona achieved
their dreams, he showed us all that with hard work, sacrifice,
talent and passion we can achieve our dreams.
We owe it to Paul's loving memory to seek our
goals and dreams, to dare to have a vision and to pursue that
vision with all of our passion and commitment, because that's
exactly what Captain Paul Norris always did.
In loving memory of Capt Paul Norris
"Forever in our Hearts"
by Tony Norris, 29th May 2005
