Education
Fysh worked as a jackaroo and woolclasser after his education. He was also a cadet in the 70 Infantry Militia as a teenager, before volunteering for the Tasmanian 26th Light Horse upon the outbreak of war. After the foundation of Qantas, Fysh, being a poor student at school, tried to make up for his lack of training by studying economics and taking a course in pelmanism.
Career
He enlisted with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, at the outbreak of World War I and saw active service at Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps. He was commissioned at a lieutenant and served as an air gunner with No. 1 Squadron AFC in Palestine and received a Distinguished Flying Cross for his gallantry in air combat and attacking ground targets in late 1918. He was credited with five enemy aircraft downed. After the war ended he gained his pilot's wings at Heliopolis, Egypt in February 1919.
Paul McGinness and Fysh surveyed an air route across northern Australia in 1919 using a Model T Ford. This journey led to the formation of Queensland & Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (QANTAS) in November 1920. Along with McGinness, he flew charter and joy-riding flights to raise capital. On 3 November 1922, Fysh flew the Longreach to Cloncurry section of Qantas' first regular passenger/air mail service. He was appointed Manager in 1923 and was responsible for overseeing the steady growth of the young airline over the next decade and beyond.
He later led the complex negotiations to form Qantas Empire Airways in 1934 in association with Britain's Imperial Airways and served as Managing Director until 1955 and then as Chairman of QEA during the period of federal government ownership. He retired in June 1966 and then authored an acclaimed three-volume history of Qantas.
Hudson Fysh was knighted in June 1953 for his services to civil aviation. He died on 6 April 1974 aged 79, having lived through an era encompassing both the Wright Brothers' flight and the introduction of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet.