These maps are associated with Australia's most renowned woman aviator, Nancy-Bird Walton. They are also associated with the first use of a commercial pilot's licence by a woman in Australia. Nancy Bird was the youngest commercial pilot in the British Empire at the time.
Nancy's first commercial operation was a barnstorming tour through New South Wales. Her 'co-pilot' was Peg Kelman who also possessed a commercial licence. Nancy, as the owner of the aircraft was, it appears, officially deemed the commercial operator rather than Peg.
After the second barnstorming tour of New South Wales Nancy chartered her aircraft to the Far West Children's Health Scheme flying the nursing sister to remote areas. During this period she was stationed at Bourke but, when the Health Scheme subsidy was removed she moved first to Charleville and later to Cunnamulla in Queensland to maintain her livlihood.
The map was printed at the Government Printing Offices and published at the Survey Office of the Department of Public Lands, in Brisbane, Queensland, in January 1936.
The map was used by the pioneer woman aviator, Nancy-Bird Walton, when she was undertaking charter flights in Queensland in 1937-8. According to Nancy, the map was given to her by a Western Lands representative who was so horrified that she was flying with an Atlantic Union garage road map. She used it while flying in Bourke and Western Queensland. She thought it was such a beautiful map that she could not bear to use or dirty it but apparently she did as it has flights marked on it.
Nancy Bird was born in 1915 at Kew, a small town in northern NSW. She learnt to fly at Mascot (Sydney) Aerodrome in 1933 and in 1935 gained her commercial pilot's licence. She was the youngest woman in Australia to hold a commercial licence. With her family's assistance she bought a second-hand Gipsy Moth aeroplane, VH-UTN.
In 1935 Nancy decided to go on a 'barnstorming' tour of NSW country towns with a friend, Peg McKillop who was a licensed pilot. The women gave joy-rides to earn money. Aviation was in its infancy and the sight of an aeroplane was still very much a novelty. While in Dubbo, Nancy met the Rev. Stanley Drummond, the founder of the Far West Children's Health Scheme. At the time, the Nursing Sister of the Scheme used to travel from Bourke over rough roads visiting isolated homesteads. The Rev. Drummond asked Nancy to make a trial flight from Bourke, taking the Nursing Sister to remote areas. The trial flight was successful and Nancy Bird then stationed herself at Bourke with the Scheme paying her a yearly retainer to have her aircraft in readiness to make 'clinic' runs as required. Nancy bought a new plane, a Leopard Moth (VH-UUG), which had a cabin rather than an open cockpit. During this time, (1935-36) Nancy also made charter flights. Over the following two years she did charter flights in Queensland.
In March 1938 ill health forced Nancy to abandon her outback flying. She later went on tour to Europe, Sweden and the USA and the following year returned to Australia and married Charles Walton. During the 1939-1945 War she served as a Commandant in the Women's Air Training Corps.
In 1950-51 Nancy continued her work for the Far West Children's Health Scheme but as a dental nurse rather than a pilot. In 1958 she resumed flying and later in the United States, took part in three 'Powder Puff Derbys'. In the early 1960s efforts were being made to establish an aerial ambulance organisation in New South Wales. In conjunction with Arthur Butler, Nancy did much work fundraising to buy an aircraft and in 1967 the NSW Aerial Ambulance was eventually established.
Nancy-Bird Walton was awarded an OBE in 1966 and the Order of Australia in 1990 for her outstanding contribution to aviation and her support of women pilots over the years. Nancy died in Sydney in January, 2009.
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