Malone was the great-grandson of Robert Trimble, a 19th-century member of the New Zealand Parliament, and the great-great-grandson of Abel Heywood, who served as two separate terms as mayor of Manchester in the 1860s and 1870s.
Malone owned a 1947 Auster JB1 Aiglet, ZK-BWH, and used it for access to the remotest parts of the Nelson District in what was probably New Zealand's first "flying vet" service.
Malone was appointed a justice of the peace in 1980, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the veterinary profession, in the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours,[4] and a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to local government and the community, in the 2000 New Year Honours.
[5] He was also Chair of the Network Tasman Trust from 1995 until 2005 when he was forced to quit after being diagnosed with a rare nerve disorder, trigeminal neuralgia.
This is a condition where severe pain can be triggered by such simple actions as brushing your teeth or touching your face, or even a slight breeze.