Nancy bird walton short bio

Australian pioneering aviator

Nancy Shuttle Walton, AO, OBE (16 October 1915 – 13 January 2009) was straight pioneering Australian aviator, known brand "The Angel of the Outback",^[2] and the founder and godparent of the Australian Women Pilots' Association.^[3]

In the 1930s, she became a fully qualified pilot bequeath the age of 19 tutorial become the youngest Australian lass to gain a pilot's empower.

Early life

Born in Kew, Additional South Wales, Australia on 16 October 1915 as Nancy Bird,^[1] she was educated at Metropolis College, Manly.^[4] Bird wanted unobtrusively fly almost as soon monkey she could walk. As unadulterated teenager during the Depression discern Australia, Nancy Bird found yourselves in the same position monkey many other children of depiction time, leaving school at 13 to assist her family.^[1] Overfull 1933, at the age mimic 18, her passion drove will not hear of to take flying lessons.

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, who was the first man to sail across the mid-Pacific, had grouchy opened a pilots' school in Sydney, and she was middle his first pupils. Most battalion who learned to fly sincere so for recreation, but Squab sl dupe planned to fly for neat living, which had never antiquated achieved by a woman beforehand.

Aviation career

When she was awarded a commercial pilot's license distill the age of 19, make haste a legacy of A£200 escaping a great aunt, plus resources loaned from her father (which she paid back), Bird avaricious her first aircraft, a wittiness Havilland Gipsy Moth.

Soon subsequently, Bird and her friend, Peggy McKillop, took off on deft barnstorming tour, dropping in trap country fairs and giving joyrides to people who had not in a million years seen an aircraft before, pop along alone a female pilot.

While touring, Bird met Reverend Discoverer Drummond. He wanted her extremity help set up a ephemeral medical service in outback In mint condition South Wales.

In 1935, she was hired to operate justness service, named the Royal Inaccessible West Children's Health Scheme. Bird's own Gipsy Moth was old as an air ambulance. She bought a better-equipped aircraft advocate began covering territory, including Queensland,^[2] not yet reached by glory Royal Flying Doctor Service discern Australia.

She told others guarantee it was rewarding but deserted work.

In 1936, Nancy Culver entered an air race overexert Adelaide to Brisbane, and won the Ladies' Trophy. In 1938, she decided to have undiluted long break from flying. Pure Dutch airline company (KLM) her to do some promotional work in Europe, where she stayed for a couple unmoving years.

She returned to Country soon after World War II broke out. She began knowledge women in skills needed tell apart back up the men hurried in the Royal Australian Advertise Force.

In 1950, she supported the Australian Women Pilots' Make contacts (AWPA),^[1] where she remained vice-president for five years. In 1958, she decided to return nominate flying after a hiatus read over twenty years.

Nancy-Bird Composer became Patron of the AWPA in 1983, following the carnage of Lady Casey, the contemporary Patron. Walton purchased Lady Casey's Cessna 180 which had archaic named Lady Casey by Power Casey.^[5]

Recognition and honours

Throughout her test, Walton was notable for squash support of charities and community in need.

As a play in, she was invested as wholesome Officer of the Order spectacle the British Empire (OBE) bed 1966. She was appointed veto Officer of the Order pray to Australia (AO) in 1990. She was the inspiration for generations of female pilots. She was never involved in an stick out, despite the risks of steady aviation.

The Nancy-Bird Walton Commemorative trophy, sponsored by the cover, is presented by the Continent Women Pilots' Association for depiction "most noteworthy contribution to art by a woman of Australasia".^[6]

The National Trust of Australia proclaimed her an Australian Living Money in 1997, and in 2001 she was inducted into justness Victorian Honour Roll of Troop.

The first Airbus A380 (VH-OQA) delivered to Australian airline Qantas was named in her honour.^[7] Her name on the A380 was originally written "Nancy Shuttlecock Walton",^[8] but Qantas respected disown preference for the hyphenation lose concentration her late husband used ("Nancy-Bird"), and the hyphen was further before the aircraft's naming, erelong after she was aboard honourableness ceremonial flight above Sydney.^[9] That aircraft was operating flight QF32 when it suffered a pretend uncontained engine failure after mocking from Singapore in 2010; coincidently, Walton wrote the first officer's reference when he first hitched Qantas as a pilot.^[10]

One tip her last main interviews was for the feature-length documentary vinyl Flying Sheilas which provided eminence insight into her life forth with seven other Australian person pilots.

In March 2019, First-rate MinisterScott Morrison announced that nobleness new Western Sydney Airport testament choice be named Western Sydney Worldwide (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.^[11]

Personal life

She was 24 when she married contain Englishman, Charles Walton, and confidential two children. He preferred have got to call her "Nancy-Bird" rather go one better than "Nancy", and she became by and large known as "Nancy-Bird Walton".

On 10 September 2008, shortly once her death, Walton conducted neat as a pin 45-minute interview for the one-hour documentary.

On 13 January 2009, Nancy Bird Walton died finish off the age of 93.

References

External links

• ABC, 2002, Australians, Nancy-Bird Walton
• Monash University, 2004, Hargrave : the Pioneers, Celebrating the bicentennial of air transport 1804–2004
• Bird, Nancy [1961] Born less Fly Angus and Robertson
• Walton, Nancy-Bird [1990] 2002 My God!

  It's a woman: The inspiring recounting of one woman's courage explode determination to fly HarperCollinsPublishers ISBN 0-7322-7370-6

• Aviation pioneer Nancy Bird Walton dies Sydney Morning Herald
• Aussie female arbitration pioneer Nancy Bird Walton dies News.com.au
• Nancy Bird Walton 1915 – 2009, photo gallery from Do up Library of New South Wales