ANSETT Airlines may be long gone but it is certainly not forgotten, with one of Australia's main custodians of its history being Murwillumbah resident Geoff Wilkes whose collection of the carrier's memorabilia is on display at the Tweed Regional Museum.

'It Started on a Plane' is the second in the museum's Collectors Cabinet series showcasing the collecting passion of local residents.

At a recent public talk director Judy Kean said her team had been unaware of Mr Wilkes' long-time passion for collecting until he volunteered to help pack up the museum's contents for the major renovation in 2013.

"The Museum is grateful to Geoff for allowing us to showcase a selection of his very large collection," Ms Kean said. "The collection truly reflects the history of Ansett as well as the history of Geoff's life."

Mr Wilkes, who worked for Ansett for several decades, told the well-attended gathering he'd become an airline fanatic after taking his first flight at the age of five. Indeed, his ticket and boarding pass from that youthful experience share museum space with aircraft models, brochures, in-flight drink coasters and other items, crew badges, and airline related postcards - around 15,000 of these at last count.

While still collecting, and dreaming of finding his 'holy grail', a die-cast model of an Ansett Viscount aircraft, Geoff doesn't trawl through eBay.

Instead, many items find their way from people aware of his passion, including the Ansett crew jumper he wore for his talk, and a stylish Ansett suitcase - both donated by Tweed based On Track Community Programs (OTCP), which found the items in its Ballina recycling shop.

Geoff spent several decades with Ansett, which flew from 1936 until its collapse in 2002, working in Sydney and later the Gold Coast. Although he had a student's pilot licence he worked as ground staff, still managing to clock up over one million air miles on Ansett and other carriers, collecting as he went.

His favourite plane is the Boeing 727 - "a magic aircraft" - a model of which, painted in an unusual orange livery, takes pride of place in the cabinet.

* Geoff Wilkes will give another free public talk about his collection on Saturday, September 17 at 11am. The exhibition runs until September 23, and will be followed by 'Beautful Butterflies' showcasing the collection of Greg Newland, with a free public talk on Saturday, October 8.