Don Greenway

A Message To All Our Veteran Traffic Friends:

It is with sadness that I bring you the news of the passing of Don Greenway.
Don’s time with us goes back to the wonderful days of the ‘Old Terminal’.
However, Don spent much of his 35 Qantas years supporting the QF brand in outstations around the world.
Spending significant time in Fiji, Indonesia, the UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada, to name a few.
I remember Don doing a Load Sheet or two in the ‘Old Terminal’ in the late 60’s before they sent him off to perform elsewhere.
Don fell in love and married his favourite Ground Hostie, Dorrie Allott and enjoyed an instant family life.
After retirement he and Dorrie continued to enjoy travelling both within Australia and overseas.
With his memory and health fading, Don passed away toward the end of April this year.
At 92, he enjoyed a good life, well lived.
‘Rest in Peace’ Don.

Words on LinkedIn by his son, Steven Greenway:

We are the sum of many parts - My father, Don, was core to who I am, passed end-April. He nurtured my love of airlines, in my formative years he exposed me to the workings of Qantas (35 years loyal), provided access to industry journals (ATW, etc.), I was acquainted with many airline veterans/characters, and extensive travel that was at the time a “privilege”, not a “right” as it is today - Getting stuck in some random place on ID/staff standby was the norm, but also an adventure. Ultimately, I followed the path of 4 out of 5 of my immediate family to work for the Flying Kangaroo.

From a Victoria farming family, he travelled the world, married late, and to a divorcee (Not the done thing in his time), became a father to mum’s kids, adopted me, all without blinking an eye - He did however, try to sell my sister to some ne'er-do-well once, but that’s another story ;) Having lived/worked in Fiji, Indonesia, the UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Canada, he was colour blind, simply expecting mutual respect.

Growing up in the shadow of WWII, he reflected little on the past apart from an Italian POW interned with his family, whose Red Cross packages brought chocolate (A rare commodity at the time), and a blind horse he and his brother rode for hours to school and back. A man of humble tastes, he was an undisputed BBQ master. His love of Chardonnay (Australian, of course, “none of that foreign rubbish” except when travelling overseas) was unrivalled - Indeed, he disposed of a few glasses of the stuff when we had our last lunch together in March.

A staunch Labor (ALP) man of Whitlam, Hawke and Keating times, a believer of an Australian republic in his lifetime and a “fair go”, my brother and I were excommunicated from said family numerous times for thinking/voting otherwise. Watching the TV news as a family was a fraught affair if opposing views were expressed - Perhaps this is where my argumentative side comes from?

He enjoyed a crude joke - Think Sir Les Patterson (Australia’s leading cultural attache … “Are you with me?”) - Often lobbing one into a conversation, then sitting back with a wry smile, unapologetic, seeing responses garnered.

He saw the first Greenway through university … Me. Given a life well-lived, he sparked in me a sense of adventure and gave ample bandwidth to make decisions, good or bad. Make a mistake, well, “sort yourself out” was typically the reply. Sympathy was negligible.

Retirement saw Mum and him tour Australia and the world more extensively. He learnt French (Poorly, he said), made new friends, and pursued clubs and sports - I was lucky enough that he visited wherever I found myself.

At 92, he had a good innings - With his memory and health fading, it was time to move on.

I hope that you continue to keep a watchful eye, while I honour your belief and love in me. Never one to overprocess things, when last we spoke, he said, “Don’t be another management d*ckhead.” Fair enough, to the point, and I’ll try.

Vale Don.