What isn’t so obvious are the small communities scattered across this vast area – many with a population less than 500 – that are the lifeblood of the region and keep its culture alive. There are more than 200 remote indigenous communities and 37 town-based communities throughout Western Australia. So, how do tourists, businesses and communities commute, connect and trade?

Co-founder of HMC Group, Michael McConachy says it was a “sliding doors” moment when HMC was first established in 2014. As an experienced commercial pilot with extensive entrepreneurial experience across agribusiness, construction, aviation and tourism, he and his co-founder, Geoff Hamilton, saw the opportunity to combine three of their passions – the love of aviation, destination tourism and the economic prosperity of the region.

Having completed the development of their first luxury, short-stay apartments, Freshwater Kimberley Apartments, the next of many businesses to be built was HeliSpirit, now Kimberley’s largest scenic helicopter flight operator, also providing specialised charter, airwork and emergency support services. Later, they acquired and expanded an aviation business, Aviair. This is a leading fixed-wing general aviation business that services regional Western Australia and special mission operations in South Australia, providing corporate charter, scheduled air services and some of Australia’s most spectacular scenic flights. Through these services, HMC facilitates essential transport services for employees who live in small communities to projects and workplaces, enabling local employment; while also providing tourism experiences and visitor mobility throughout the region.

Over the next few years, HMC added accommodation and unique tourist experiences – Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge, Bungle Bungle Guided Tours and Kimberley Experiences; a helicopter training service, the Australian Helicopter Academy; and a historic hospitality venue on the banks of the Ord River in Kununurra, the PumpHouse Restaurant.

“We didn’t want an investor that would turn us into a large corporate or institutionalise us. We wanted an investor that supported the current culture and team, while enabling us to continue to grow. The Australian Business Growth Fund will challenge us on our ideas and provide invaluable corporate experience to assist our businesses to grow.”

Now, with the backing of the Australian Business Growth Fund, HMC can support the growing demand for its high-quality aviation and tourism services and enable it to further build its regionally based operations across Western Australia and beyond. This will enable an expanded aviation fleet and network infrastructure. For Michael and Geoff, this means getting closer to their dreams of connecting regional communities and the state as a whole.