BAZflyer: Mary O'Brian

Half way between Lismore and Broken Hill is the small settlement of Walgett and a the Bazflyers chosen place to refuel and stretch the legs. It's a typical Australian outback town in the middle of nowhere; with houses clad in faded paint over weathered sunburnt timbers. A happy place ravaged by time, sun, wind and rain.

The great Australian outback has forever been a tough land. A place where travel often involves many tedious hours on hot dusty red roads. It's not surprising then that right from the outset outback people embraced aviation and one of those people was Mary Philomena O`Brien

Mary was born in Walgett in 1940 where she grew up on the family property at "Coolabong" on the Barwon River. After finishing school she gained her private pilot Licence at the Walgett Aero Club where she was also the first female club member. Then followed her Commercial Pilot Licence and instructors rating.

Her first employment as a pilot was in Sydney in 1969. A few years later she was in Singapore training pilots for Singapore Airlines. Mary from the outback was a true aviation pioneer. She was the first woman in Australia to Captain a Lear Jet aircraft. The first woman Examiner of Airmen with the Civil Aviation Authority and later as Flight Operations Manager at Bankstown airport she was the first woman appointed to an aviation operational management position.

Mary passed away in her '60s. She had flown over outback Australia, the deserts of Iran and Africa, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the Rocky mountains, and the jungles of Guatemala. She had piloted more than thirty different types of aircraft from the low speed fabric variety to high speed jets.

Her legacy lives on through her students, many of whom are still active in aviation. Meanwhile, back in her small home town of Walgett the local community has named the little airport terminal in memory of their by own Mary O'Brian.

Mary O'Brien airport terminal, Walgett NSW