Did you know that pioneer pilot, Nancy Bird Walton, was a good support for author, Stephanie Somerville, when her biography first started to take off.
Nancy Bird kindly offered to be a guest speaker at one of the book launches. With the support of the Australian Women Pilots Association (AWPA) in March 2007, our fourth book launch for Angels of Augustus was set in a gorgeous Mudgee vineyards, in the cellar of a winery, to a packed house of aviation enthusiasts, listening to Nancy giving accolades to the pioneering spirit of the outback nurses.
Nancy had fond memories of landing on the grass airstrip of Brewarrina when she was a pioneer herself, flying for the Far West Children’s Health Scheme in the 1930s.
Stephanie Somerville responded with a moving speech about the impact Nancy Bird had made on her life many years ago soon after the death of her brother.
We sadly acknowledge the passing of Nancy Bird Walton and watched tearfully her memorial service at St Andrews Cathedral, Sydney, today. Somehow, Nancy does not seem so far away. She is forever in the hearts and thoughts of the many people she inspired. JDB
