NSW:Tributes flow for ABC newsmen feared dead

AAP General News (Australia)
08-19-2011
NSW:Tributes flow for ABC newsmen feared dead

By Lema Samandar

SYDNEY, Aug 19 AAP - Tributes have flowed in for three "gentlemen" ABC newsmen who
discovered and told great Australian stories, winning the praise of their peers as among
the best in the business.

Reporter Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst are presumed dead
in remote South Australia after their helicopter crashed on Thursday night.

Family, friends, media colleagues and politicians are mourning the loss of the trio,
who were working on news and feature stories at the time of the crash.

ABC managing director Mark Scott said staff at the public broadcaster were bracing
themselves for "the saddest of days" as they waited for confirmation of the deaths.

He described the men as "three news gatherers at the peak of their craft".

"These guys loved getting out and about and finding great Australian stories and bringing
them to the Australian people," he said.

"That's what they have been doing the last few days and their loss would be a terrible
loss to all of us here.

"(They were) absolute gentlemen, a delight to work with."

Lockyer was one of the most experienced journalists at the ABC and had also worked
at Channel Nine.

His career spanned 40 years and took him to Washington, Singapore, throughout Asia
and won him a Logie Award for best TV reporter.

"(He was) just an absolute gentleman ... and somebody who cared about the people around
him," veteran ABC journalist Kerry O'Brien said.

"Paul understood all our frailties and loved to tell positive stories as well as having
to report on the tragic."

Friend and former television presenter Ray Martin described his former colleague as
someone who liked a three-day birthday, had a great sense of humour and loved reporting
from the bush.

"I've got friends in the bush who've had him cover stories on them and they've just
rung me up and they've said, `Look that is exactly it. Somehow Lockyer's got it,'" Martin
said.

"So they'll be grieving west of the mountains today."

ABC journalist Chris Masters said Lockyer was greatly admired.

"I remember Paul in the early 80s in Bangkok and I remember thinking, 'Gee, I'd like
to be like him,' and I'm sure there's lots of ABC reporters who have thought and felt
the same."

Lockyer's wife Maria said he had been a loving husband and father, and a loyal friend.

"For 38 years Paul has been my soulmate ... He will be in our thoughts every day,"

she said in a statement.

Landline reporter Pip Courtney paid tribute to her husband John Bean, an award-winning
lighting and camera operator who worked for the ABC for 20 years.

"Devastated, broken, I will be lost without him," she said in a statement, adding he
was "the most wonderful husband a girl could wish for".

"I fell in love with him on the road and adored working with him. He was so, so talented,
I loved watching him at work. So privileged. I can't believe he's gone. Our families are
devastated."

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said she knew Bean as a caring person and a top professional.

"There is barely a place in Queensland where he has not been and on every story, in
every place and at every time, he always cared for the people, wanting to portray their
story to the absolute best of his abilities," she said.

Ticehurst was a vastly experienced pilot who had worked with the ABC since the early
1980s and had almost 40 years' experience.

"He was an absolute professional. He made you feel comfortable. He could really operate
the machine," said ABC television sports presenter Peter Wilkins.

He added that Ticehurst knew instinctively what pictures a camera crew needed.

Flying with him, you knew you were in good hands, O'Brien said.

"I've flown with Gary many times over the years and he, again, was a consummate professional
who loved his work and would always put safety first," he said.

"And he was also very good company."

Many others paid their tributes to the men on Twitter, ABC Online and other news websites.

Police say it could be days before they can formally identify the victims of the chopper crash.

AAP lxs/tr/jl

KEYWORD: HELICOPTER TRIBUTES WRAP

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