In the air and on the airwaves, Australian Aerial Patrol boss Harry Mitchell has been a prominent Wollongong presence for decades.
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For years, advertisements have reassured the aerial patrol is “here to help” and tout the service’s “shark patrols to keep our beaches safe”. Each summer, Mr Mitchell has been the face and voice of the region’s “eye in the sky”.
A smooth operator with links to charities, clubs and businesses across the region, the well-loved Kiama resident has always been keen to chat and spin a yarn. As a performer in long-running band, The Tornadoes, he proved a natural on stage, a skill backed up by many public speaking engagements.
Even as a child, Mr Mitchell was in the thick of the region’s social scene. He grew up working in his parents’ Atlanta Milk Bar, rubbing shoulders with rock stars, business owners and patrons who dropped in to the popular Keira Street venue.
As the aerial patrol’s public face and general manager, he has raised millions for its charity arm and has been a strong campaigner for other causes over the years: donating joy flights to raise money for kids with cancer or boosting awareness about bowel cancer after his own illness.
But amid the charity fundraising and easy charm, there have been a couple of eyebrow-raising moments in Mr Mitchell’s public life.
In 2007, he pleaded guilty to a list of gun charges after police found six unauthorised guns – including an illegal .357 Smith and Wesser revolver – locked in a cabinet in his Kiama home. He escaped conviction in a Newcastle court – where the case was heard after Mr Mitchell’s lawyer asked for it to be moved from Wollongong – arguing he had failed to renew his gun licence for four years because of ill-health.
More recently, his affiliation with the Fourth Reich Motorcycle Club hit the headlines as he came to its defence when police raided the club’s annual bike and tattoo day last October.
Scores of attendees were slapped with fines and vehicle defect notices in an apparent bid by police to water down the event. For at least 13 years, the club has donated the proceeds of the charity day to the aerial patrol.
“The guys are a nice bunch of guys,” Mr Mitchell told the Mercury. “They’re family guys. They’re middle age guys now, walking around with their grandkids, hand-in-hand, showing them their motorbikes and stuff.”
The Fourth Reich clubhouse neighbours the aerial patrol headquarters at Croome Road in Albion Park, and club members have said Mr Mitchell is a friend.
“Harry, from the patrol, has been a friend to a lot of us in the past,” an unnamed club spokesman said, explaining their donations ahead of the 2013 event. “But friendship is one thing, it’s the organisation that he has.”