Aviatrix buried in unmarked grave

Australia’s first woman pilot has languished in an unmarked grave in the Sydney suburb of Manly for 80 years, all but forgotten by the public.
Millicent Bryant had just achieved the historic milestone when her life was tragically cut short by what is still Australia’s worst peacetime maritime disaster – the collision between the Sydney ferry Greycliffe and the steamer Tahiti.

That the 49-year-old widowed mother of three was buried in an unmarked grave in Manly Cemetery remained unnoticed until grandson John Bryant went to see if he could find it.

“About two years ago I was going past Manly Cemetery one day and I thought, gee, I must go and find my grandmother’s grave,” Mr Bryant said.

“I walked up and down the cemetery for about three hours and there was no sign of it.”

A visit to Manly Council revealed that Mr Bryant’s grandmother was buried with her husband in an unmarked grave.

Other family members had quite elaborate headstones and Mr Bryant said it was still a mystery why his grandparents’ grave was unmarked.

But that has changed with the unveiling of a plaque and headstone commemorating Ms Bryant’s feat.

Her family was joined by aviation pioneer Nancy Bird Walton, world solo flyer Gaby Kennard and Australia’s first woman helicopter pilot, Rosemary Arnold, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the milestone.

Millicent Bryant was born in rural NSW in 1878 but moved to Sydney after marrying Edward James Bryant at the age of 19.

A busy life saw her raising three sons while enjoying golf, bridge, politics and charity work.

An interest in modern machinery and a love of cars led her to become one of the first women in NSW to get her driver’s licence. It was probably this that led to her decision to start flying at the age of 48 under the tutelage of legendary pilot Captain E.W. Leggat.

A first solo flight on February 7, 1927, caused a stir in aviation circles and newspapers reported that her instructors and other aviators were filled with admiration at her cool efficiency.

It took 60 flights and 34 flying hours to gain licence 71 on March 23 after she took a de Havilland up for just over an hour.

Mr Bryant said that while the breakthrough attracted considerable publicity, her death nine months later meant she was overshadowed by the exploits of women pilots such as Ms Bird and Amelia Earhart.

“There wasn’t necessarily any great panic that she had to get airborne or across here or across there, or do things that nobody else had done,” he said.

“Those were all things that were all there for the future to do at her leisure.”

Despite the low public recognition, Mr Bryant said his grandmother featured in books and information was available on the internet.