Nancy Bird-Walton
Encyclopedia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, OBE, DStJ
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
(16 October 1915 – 13 January 2009) was a pioneering Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n aviatrix, and was the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' Association.
In the 1930s, defying the traditional role of females of her time, she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of 19, and became the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot's licence.
Biography
Born in Kew, New South WalesKew, New South Wales
Kew, New South Wales is a small town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council local government area. Kew is one of the communities that make up the Camden Haven district of Port Macquarie-Hastings....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 16 October 1915 as Nancy Bird, she wanted to fly almost as soon as she could walk. As a teenager during the Depression in Australia, Nancy Bird found herself in the same position as many other children of the time, leaving school at 13 to assist her family. In 1933, at the age of 18, her passion drove her to take flying lessons. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith
Charles Kingsford Smith
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
, who was the first man to fly across the mid-Pacific, had just opened a pilots' school near Sydney, and she was among his first pupils. Most women learnt to fly for recreation, but Nancy planned to fly for a living.
When she was awarded a commercial pilot's licence at the age of 18, through a legacy of 200 pounds from a great aunt plus money loaned from her father, (which she paid back), Nancy bought her first aircraft, a de Havilland Gipsy Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
. Soon after Nancy Bird and her friend Peggy McKillop took off on a barnstorming
Barnstorming
Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight...
tour, dropping in on country fairs and giving joyrides to people who had never seen an aircraft before, let alone a female pilot. Whilst touring, Bird met Reverend Stanley Drummond. He wanted her to help set up a flying medical service in outback New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. In 1935, she was hired to operate the service, named the Far West Children's Health Scheme. Bird's own Gipsy Moth was used as an air ambulance. She bought a better-equipped aircraft, and began covering territory not yet reached by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. She told others that it was rewarding but lonely work.
In 1936, Nancy Bird entered an air race from Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, and won the Ladies' Trophy. In 1938 she decided to have a long break from flying. A Dutch airline company (KLM) invited her to do some promotional work in Europe, where she stayed for a couple of years. She returned to Australia soon after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out. She began training women in skills needed to back up the men flying in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. She was 24 when she married an Englishman, Charles Walton, and had two children. He preferred to call her "Nancy-Bird" rather than "Nancy", and she became generally known as "Nancy-Bird-Walton". In 1950, she founded the Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA), where she remained president for five years. Nancy Bird-Walton became Patron of the AWPA in 1983 following the death of Lady Casey, the original Patron. In 1958, she decided to return to flying after a twenty year absence.
Throughout her life Walton was notable for her support of charities and people in need. This generous spirit saw her invested as an Officer of Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in 1966. She was later appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
. She was the starting block for generations of female pilots. She was never involved in an accident, despite the risks of early aviation.
The National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
declared her an Australian Living Treasure
Australian Living Treasures
Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
in 1997.
The first Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
(VH-OQA) delivered to Australian airline Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
was named in her honour. Her name on the A380 was originally written "Nancy Bird-Walton", but Qantas respected her preference for the hyphenation that her late husband used ("Nancy-Bird"), and the hyphen was added before the aircraft's naming ceremony.
One of her last main interviews was for the feature length documentary film Flying Sheilas which provided a unique insight into her life along with seven other Australian female pilots.
On 10 September 2008, shortly before her death, Walton conducted a 45 minute interview for the one hour documentary A Very Short War
A Very Short War
A Very Short War is a one-hour documentary produced in 2010 by Karl Conti of Conti Bros Films. It was written by Susan Young and directed by Bill Young and Myles Conti...
.
On 13 January 2009, Nancy Bird-Walton died of the age 93
External links
- ABC, 2002, Australians, Nancy Bird-Walton
- Monash University, 2004, Hargrave : the Pioneers, Celebrating the bicentennial of aviation 1804-2004
- Bird, Nancy [1961] Born to Fly Angus and Robertson
- Walton, Nancy Bird [1990] 2002 My God! It's a woman: The inspiring story of one woman's courage and determination to fly HarperCollinsPublishers ISBN 0-7322-7370-6
- Aviation pioneer Nancy Bird Walton dies Sydney Morning Herald
- Aussie female air pioneer Nancy Bird Walton dies News.com.au
- Nancy Bird Walton 1915 - 2009, photo gallery from State Library of New South WalesState Library of New South WalesThe State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...