Millicent Maude Bryant (née Harvey, 8 January 1878 – 3 November 1927) was an early Australian aviator. She was the first woman to earn a pilot's licence in Australia, Pilot's Licence No. 71, in 1927.[1] She was also first to receive her pilot's licence in the Commonwealth, outside Britain.[2]
Millicent Bryant | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 January 1878 |
| Died | 3 November 1927 |
| Occupation | aviator |
| Known for | first woman to earn a pilot's licence in Australia |
| Awards | inducted into National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame |
Early life edit
Bryant was born at Apsley, Wellington, New South Wales. Her parents were Edmund George Harvey and Georgiana Sarah Bartlett Harvey. She was one of ten children.[3]
Career edit
In March 1927, at age 49, Bryant earned a pilot's licence from the Australian Aero Club of New South Wales. With Evelyn Follett, she is believed to be the first woman to take a flying lesson in Australia and was the first woman to qualify for a private pilot's licence in Australia.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Personal life edit
Bryant was married to Edward James Bryant. They had three sons (born 1901, 1903, and 1908). She was widowed in 1926.[10]
Bryant died by drowning in Sydney Harbour in 1927, aged 49 years, one of the victims of the Tahiti-Greycliffe Ferry disaster.[11] Five planes flew over her funeral and dropped a flower wreath in tribute.[12] In the year following her death, her sons established the Millicent Maud Bryant Trophy to be awarded each year to the best all round pilot of the Australian Aero Club of New South Wales.[13]
Bryant's leather flying helmet is in the collection of the National Library of Australia.[14]
In 2001, Millicent Bryant was inducted into the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame. In 2007, to mark the 80th anniversary of her pilot's licence, an official plaque was attached to her tombstone by the Australian Women Pilots' Association.[15]
References edit
- ^ Arnold, Rosemary. "The Names Change But The Sky Is The Same". Love Air. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ^ Vicars, James (1 December 2020). "MILLICENT BRYANT, THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN WOMAN TO GET A PILOT'S LICENCE". History Guild.
- ^ "Mr. E. G. Harvey" Sydney Morning Herald (17 July 1933): 6. via Trove
- ^ "Millicent Bryant – Australia", Centennial of Women Pilots.
- ^ "First Woman Air Pilot" Tweed Daily (6 April 1927): 4. via Trove
- ^ Powerhouse Museum (2000), Women with wings : images of Australian women pilots, Powerhouse Museum, Ideas in Action, retrieved 12 December 2016
- ^ Mann, Sheila; Australia. Department of Aviation (1986), The girls were up there too : Australian women in aviation, Australian Government Publishing Service, ISBN 978-0-644-04154-6
- ^ "Women Aviators of New South Wales". Sydney Mail. Vol. XXXIX, no. 1010. New South Wales, Australia. 5 August 1931. p. 8. Retrieved 27 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Sky's the Limit". The Sun. No. 1527. New South Wales, Australia. 3 July 1932. p. 21. Retrieved 27 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Mr. E. J. Bryant" Sydney Morning Herald (16 February 1926): 12. via Trove
- ^ "First Woman Aviator: Mrs. M. M. Bryant" Sydney Morning Herald (5 November 1927): 18. via Trove
- ^ "Late Mrs. M. M. Bryant; Wreath from the Air" Wellington Times (10 November 1927): 13. via Trove
- ^ "IN MOTHER'S MEMORY". The Sun. No. 1314. Sydney. 3 June 1928. p. 39. Retrieved 24 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Aviator's flying cap worn by Millicent Bryant, 1926, retrieved 12 December 2016
- ^ Millicent Bryant plaque, Monument Australia.
External links edit
- Millicent Bryant at Find a Grave
- 1927 portrait of a smiling Millicent Harvey, in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum
- J. B. Vicars, "Flights of Imagination: Fictional biography and writing the life of Australia's first woman Pilot, Millicent Bryant" (PhD dissertation, University of New England 2014).