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My God! it's a woman
Nancy Bird's training began in 1933, at the age of seventeen, in Sydney, where she was one of Charles Kingsford Smith's first pupils. Despite many obstacles, including being too small to reach an aeroplane's controls without the aid of cushions. Nancy was determined to fly, and in 1935, she became the youngest Australian woman to get a commercial pilot's licence.My God Its a Woman spans Nancy's flying experiences in the Outback, her travels in Europe and the USA, her association with famous aviators such as Jean Batten and Amy Johnson, and her flying comeback in the 1950s. In 1966, Nancy was awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her support of charities, and in 1990 her significant contribution to aviation and her courageous work in the Outback was recognised with an Order of Australia. Qantas named its first A380 jet in her honour, in 2008.Her biography is a fascinating glimpse of a determined, courageous and glamorous aviatrix.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 20, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
An endearing memoir of an Australian pioneering icon of the skies, Nancy Bird-Walton.
Considerate in her recollections and anecdotes concerning the luminaries of early flight, and the many who perished on their journey. She reflects on how many of these successful pilots (male and female) were Australian.
“Little Bird” is also magnanimous in detailing the accomplishments of many many many of the pioneering women aviators and associated workers. Including the many “firsts” achieved by many of them. We tip our hat to them all.
We acknowledge her achievements, now forever memorialised by having the new (Oct 2026) western Sydney airport named in her honour and memory. It’s seems fitting that her friend and one of her early teachers and mentors, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith already has the naming right for Sydney’s other already established international airport.
An endearing memoir of an Australian pioneering icon of the skies, Nancy Bird-Walton.
Considerate in her recollections and anecdotes concerning the luminaries of early flight, and the many who perished on their journey. She reflects on how many of these successful pilots (male and female) were Australian.
“Little Bird” is also magnanimous in detailing the accomplishments of many many many of the pioneering women aviators and associated workers. Including the many “firsts” achieved by many of them. We tip our hat to them all.
We acknowledge her achievements, now forever memorialised by having the new (Oct 2026) western Sydney airport named in her honour and memory. It’s seems fitting that her friend and one of her early teachers and mentors, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith already has the naming right for Sydney’s other already established international airport.
August 8, 2017
My Inspiration
November 22, 2013
I borrowed this book because I've just received a new book by Fiona Kidman. It's called Infinite Air and it's about New Zealand's most significant aviatrix, Jean Batten. I thought it would be interesting to learn something about the history of Australian aviation prior to reading this new book.
But truth be told, My God! It's a Woman is a bit of a disappointment. I did enjoy the first part, about Nancy Bird's childhood and early ambitions to fly. It was interesting to read about the barnstorming era and the opening up of the Aussie outback by courageous aviators of both sexes. It was also interesting to see how Nancy Bird overcame the disadvantages of her sex to achieve a whole stack of firsts, and how she went on to have a distinguished career in the service of aviation even when her barnstorming days were over.
But the last part of the book degenerated into a terribly dull catalogue of female firsts. I understand her motivation: she was keen to redress the lack of recognition for women pilots in Australia and these chapters show that there were many remarkable women who did remarkable things. But there are only so many record-breaking feats that one can read about before the interest palls, and that's what happened. I just got sick of it: so-and-so was the first one to fly from such-and-such, over and over again, without the human interest to enliven it.
So while I think this book, in its print form, would be a valuable resource for someone researching the history of aviation in Australia, I didn't find all of it very interesting to listen to...
But truth be told, My God! It's a Woman is a bit of a disappointment. I did enjoy the first part, about Nancy Bird's childhood and early ambitions to fly. It was interesting to read about the barnstorming era and the opening up of the Aussie outback by courageous aviators of both sexes. It was also interesting to see how Nancy Bird overcame the disadvantages of her sex to achieve a whole stack of firsts, and how she went on to have a distinguished career in the service of aviation even when her barnstorming days were over.
But the last part of the book degenerated into a terribly dull catalogue of female firsts. I understand her motivation: she was keen to redress the lack of recognition for women pilots in Australia and these chapters show that there were many remarkable women who did remarkable things. But there are only so many record-breaking feats that one can read about before the interest palls, and that's what happened. I just got sick of it: so-and-so was the first one to fly from such-and-such, over and over again, without the human interest to enliven it.
So while I think this book, in its print form, would be a valuable resource for someone researching the history of aviation in Australia, I didn't find all of it very interesting to listen to...
December 24, 2012
I so wanted to enjoy this book, but I found it disappointing on a number of fronts. Not to mention the title which comes over as a trifle self-indulgent. Disappointing partly because there is a tendancy to meander. But mainly because the Nancy pilot component, ie pre WWII, is so amazing and so inspiring that the rest of the book, the bulk of the book and the greater part of the timeline, goes into a long nosedive. For me anyway. Normally I would emerge from such a book with an enhanced opinion of the subject person, in this case not. But what she accomplished in those early days remains "right up there".
April 7, 2023
‘Australians first became warbirds in 1915 when the Indian government asked our government to provide air support in the Middle East during World War I.’
Nancy Bird Walton, AO, OBE (16 October 1915 – 13 January 2009) was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as ‘The Angel of the Outback’ and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' Association. Born in Kew, New South Wales, Nancy Bird left school at the age of thirteen to assist her family during the Great Depression. In 1933, aged seventeen, she became one of Charles Kingsford Smith’s first pupils. Many of the women who learned how to fly did so for recreation, but Nancy Bird intended to fly for a living. It was not easy.
‘I can laugh at myself now. However, prior to leaving the industry I made a press statement which in part stated: ‘There is no future in the air for women as pilots; I have sold my machine and given up my career as a pilot to concentrate on commercial ground organisation.’
I was talking to a friend about early Australian aviators, and he lent me this book. I’d just read a biography of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and have bought a book about the Holyman family of Devonport, Tasmania. One of the Holyman family, Sir Ivan Nello Holyman (1896-1957) founded Holymans Airways Pty Ltd in the 1930s. I am interested in the history of aviation in Australia.
Yes, I had heard of Nancy Bird Walton, but I really did not know much about her. I learned that she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of nineteen, becoming the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot’s licence.
I found Nancy Bird Walton’s story inspiring, especially those parts which dealt with her own achievements, challenges, and experiences. Nancy Bird Walton also wrote about other women who were aviators (including Jean Batten and Amy Johnson).
‘Today, women have become airline captains, trained as Air Force pilots and have even gone into space. It would seem the sky is no longer the limit.’
If you are interested in the history of women in aviation in Australia and their challenges, this book is worth reading.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Nancy Bird Walton, AO, OBE (16 October 1915 – 13 January 2009) was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as ‘The Angel of the Outback’ and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' Association. Born in Kew, New South Wales, Nancy Bird left school at the age of thirteen to assist her family during the Great Depression. In 1933, aged seventeen, she became one of Charles Kingsford Smith’s first pupils. Many of the women who learned how to fly did so for recreation, but Nancy Bird intended to fly for a living. It was not easy.
‘I can laugh at myself now. However, prior to leaving the industry I made a press statement which in part stated: ‘There is no future in the air for women as pilots; I have sold my machine and given up my career as a pilot to concentrate on commercial ground organisation.’
I was talking to a friend about early Australian aviators, and he lent me this book. I’d just read a biography of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and have bought a book about the Holyman family of Devonport, Tasmania. One of the Holyman family, Sir Ivan Nello Holyman (1896-1957) founded Holymans Airways Pty Ltd in the 1930s. I am interested in the history of aviation in Australia.
Yes, I had heard of Nancy Bird Walton, but I really did not know much about her. I learned that she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of nineteen, becoming the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot’s licence.
I found Nancy Bird Walton’s story inspiring, especially those parts which dealt with her own achievements, challenges, and experiences. Nancy Bird Walton also wrote about other women who were aviators (including Jean Batten and Amy Johnson).
‘Today, women have become airline captains, trained as Air Force pilots and have even gone into space. It would seem the sky is no longer the limit.’
If you are interested in the history of women in aviation in Australia and their challenges, this book is worth reading.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
May 8, 2018
The sections where she discussed her experiences as an Australian woman coming up through the field of male-dominated aviation were exciting and interesting and inspired a sense of patriotism. But then she’d move on to cataloguing other women throughout the Western world and their achievements and while they too were interesting it wasn’t what I was there for. I don’t feel like I learnt too much about Nancy Bird in comparison and this seems to be a common complaint amongst readers. It took me back to reading one of the first post mortem biographies of Robin Williams and how it was more analytical and focussed on listing achievements and downfalls than it did on being warm and interesting like Williams was. I understand and am proud of the space women carved out for themselves in the field of aviation but an anecdote here and there would have been sufficient- not chapters dedicated.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews