In the 1930s Lores Bonney created aviation history by being the first woman to fly around Australia, the first to fly from Australia to England and the first to fly from Australia to South Africa. Yet her accomplishments until recently have never received the recognition they deserve.

In 1933 she flew her De Havilland DH 60 Moth, affectionately named My Little Ship, from Australia to England becoming the first woman to do so. In 1937 she flew a Klemm 32, named My Little Ship II, overland from Australia to South Africa. Lores Bonney's stopped flying in 1939. She was awarded an Order of Australia in 1991 and died in 1994.

During training pilots and students needed to communicate with each other in draughty or open cockpits while travelling at over 100 kilometres an hour. This was a difficult business and the Gosport Tube overcame some of these problems by creating an acoustic system which connected the pilots. Instructors shouted their messages through the tubes which Functioned in much the same way as a stethoscope. These Gosport tubes were owned by Lores Bonney who may have used them for training or talking to passengers.

Geoff Barker, Assistant Curator, March 2007

References
Terry Gwyn-Jones, Pioneer Aviator; the Remarkable Life of Lores Bonney, University of Queensland Press, Queensland, Australia, 1988
William Joy, The Aviators, Golden Press, Sydney, Australia, 1983
Ellen Rogers, Faith in Australia; Charles Ulm and Australian Aviation, Ellen Rogers, Sydney, Australia, 1987
Leslie Jillet, Wings across the Tasman, A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, New Zealand, 1953
Blue File, Powerhouse Museum, B2604

Source:

Powerhouse Museum

Location:

Australia

Longitude:

135.0

Latitude:

-25.0