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The Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA) was founded on 16 September 1950 by Australian aviation pioneer, Nancy Bird-Walton.[1]
The AWPA is organised at the national Australian and state levels. The association supports the interests of female pilots. Any female pilot who is in possession of a flight licence can become a member. The association advocates for equal treatment and pay for female pilots, and has a financial support program for the training and further education of individual pilots, including a Lady Casey Scholarship. The Nancy Bird-Walton Memorial Trophy is awarded for "the most noteworthy contribution to aviation by a woman of Australasia".[2]
Its members hold a national annual conference, as well as an annual general meeting.[3]
History
The first official meeting was held at the Royal Aero Club Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales and was attended by around 50 women.[1] Bird-Walton was elected the first chair of the AWPA. Maie Casey. Baroness Casey was the first patron.[4] Jacqueline Jones, manager of the Kingsford-Smith Flying School, at Bankstown was elected Federal secretary, and Nancy Ellis, the only woman flying instructor in Australia at that time, became the inaugural treasurer.[5]
Leading up to the establishment of the AWPA, meetings were held in 1949 at the suggestion of Bird-Walton to foster a closer relationship amongst women pilots.[6]
Lores Bonney was President of the Queensland branch in 1954–56; the state branch later established a trophy in her name. Bonney was awarded the national AWPA Nancy Bird trophy in 1981.[7]
References
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