True Aussie inspiration: Sam Bailey remembered as local legend, pilot and farmer

Tributes have been shared following the sudden death of local legend, pilot and farmer Sam Bailey, aged 58.

The word ‘inspirational’ is often overused but in Sam’s case – it seems an absolute understatement.

At the age of 19, Sam became a quadriplegic when he suffered a C6/C7 spinal cord injury in a car accident. Despite this life-altering event, he continued to chase his aviation and agricultural dreams. Overcoming adversity to achieve tremendous and admirable success in so many aspects of his well-lived life.

Fulfilling his desire to be a farmer just like his father, Sam conquered accessibility challenges by doing what farmers do best – using grit and innovation to adapt equipment, such as devising a hoist to get into farm machinery and ultimately learning to fly an ultralight.

“With a bit of guts and determination, I was about to turn it around and make a life for myself on the land,” Sam told the ABC’s Radio National Sunday Extra program in 2024.

Sam’s remarkable and well-known story of resilience is one he shared with his wife Jenny, together – the pair became popular public speakers and won the hearts of the nation through their appearances on ABC TV’s Australian Story program and their book “Head Over Heels: A story of tragedy, triumph and romance in the bush”.

Sam’s surprise proposal to his wife Jenny live on air while she was working as a rural reporter at the ABC in Tamworth is one of those special and magical moments readers might remember or have heard replayed on the ABC airwaves in recent days.

“The phones jammed and the fax machine ran out of paper as the congratulations flowed in,” states the Head Over Heels blurb and the proposal.

“Head Over Heels is a reminder to us all that when you love your life, nothing is impossible.”

The Baileys gave back to the community including as ambassadors for the Sargood Foundation, an Australian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people living with spinal cord injuries.

“Sam was a warm, engaging and kind person who was always willing to give his time,” said chief executive officer Andrew Edmondson OAM.

“He was a great advocate for what you can do with a spinal cord injury in the bush.”

Sam’s passion and drive seemed to be endless, most recently it’s understood he was working towards becoming the first quadriplegic in the world to fly a helicopter.

The Sargood Foundation’s website said Sam’s story “epitomises the great Australian spirit of ‘having a go’.”