Pioneer aviator Nancy Bird Walton was born in Kew in 1915 and also lived in Kendall

THE story of Australian pioneer aviator Nancy Bird Walton is very much in the public eye at the moment, both locally and nationally.

Walton was born in Kew in 1915 and also lived in Kendall.

Named in her honour, Western Sydney International Airport was officially opened on Sunday, 25 October.

An artistic tribute to Walton can be seen above the domestic departure gates and the air traffic control tower is named Walton Tower.

Several roads, Nancy Drive, Trailblazer Drive and Barnstormer Way, and children’s play areas are also named in her honour.

Camden Haven Historical Society’s fitting tribute at the Camden Haven show that same weekend highlighted her life and achievements.

Museum staff dressed in aviation costumes and staged augmented reality experiences, as well as other activities for children.

“Nancy’s grandson Baron Walton was at the show with his family on the way to Sydney for the opening of the Western Sydney International Airport,” society president Bernice ‘Fancy Bird’ Wood said.

“He spent time talking with locals, helping to keep her story alive.”

Nancy Bird Walton would fly in and take people on a joy flight, called barnstorming.

“Her first experience of barnstorming was at the Wingham Show when she was 13,” Wood said.

“It’s great to be able to show children that growing up in an area like our that, like Nancy, they can achieve great things.”

Society secretary, Dr Stephen ‘Smitty’ Smith said people have been fascinated by Nancy’s story and keen to learn more about her.

“She was very much a social reformer,” he said.

“Aviation was her vehicle, figuratively and literally.”

Nancy Bird Walton joined Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s flying school and became his first pupil.

In the 1930s she took to the air at the age of 19, the youngest female pilot in Australia and the youngest commercial pilot in the British Empire.

She bought her first plane, a Gypsy Moth, and painted the word ‘woman’ underneath.

Walton’s passion for flying showed courage and determination. She flew medical supplies to remote communities, earning her the name ‘Angel of the Outback’.

The Camden Haven Historical Society is in Bold Street, Laurieton. It’s well worth a visit to explore more about Nancy Bird Walton and the history of the Camden Haven area.

By Pauline CAIN