Sir Ivan Nello Holyman

Ivan Nello Holyman (1896–1957) was an Australian aviation executive who founded Australian National Airways.

Early life Ivan Nello Holyman was born in Devonport, Tasmania on 9 July 1896. He was the eleventh out of thirteen children born to William Holyman Jr. and Honora. Ivan's grandfather William Holyman founded a shipping company called William Holyman & Sons Pty Ltd in Launceston, Tasmania. Ivan attended Launceston Church Grammar School before becoming a clerk at William Holyman & Sons in 1911.

World War I On 18 August 1914, Holyman joined the First Australian Imperial Force. He served in the 12th Battalion at Gallipoli and the Western Front, fighting with distinction at Jeancourt, France in 1918. He was wounded three times before his service ended on 9 July 1919.

Career

After the war, Holyman returned to his family's shipping company and took over after his father died in 1921. He married Enid Coleville McKinlay on 2 April 1924. They had a daughter and two sons. Holyman Bros Pty Ltd. Victor flew passengers between Launceston and Flinders Island on a De Havilland Fox Moth. The company expanded by absorbing competitors and delivering mail to the mainland in 1934. That year, Victor died in an aviation accident over the Bass Strait and Ivan was left in charge of the company.

Holyman was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956. while on holiday with his family.