Millicent Maude Bryant (née Harvey, 8 January 1878 – 3 November 1927) was an early Australian aviator. She was the first woman to earn a pilot's licence in Australia, Pilot's Licence No. 71, in 1927. She was also first to receive her pilot's licence in the Commonwealth, outside Britain.
Early life Bryant was born at Apsley, Wellington, New South Wales. Her parents were Edmund George Harvey and Georgiana Sarah Bartlett Harvey. She was one of ten children."Mr. E. G. Harvey" Sydney Morning Herald (17 July 1933): 6. via Trove
Career In March 1927, at age 49, Bryant earned a pilot's licence from the Australian Aero Club of New South Wales. With Evelyn Follett, she is believed to be the first woman to take a flying lesson in Australia and was the first woman to qualify for a private pilot's licence in Australia."Millicent Bryant – Australia", Centennial of Women Pilots."First Woman Air Pilot" Tweed Daily (6 April 1927): 4. via Trove
Personal life Bryant was married to Edward James Bryant. They had three sons (born 1901, 1903, and 1908). She was widowed in 1926."Mr. E. J. Bryant" Sydney Morning Herald (16 February 1926): 12. via Trove
Bryant died by drowning in Sydney Harbour in 1927, aged 49 years, one of the victims of the Tahiti-Greycliffe Ferry disaster."First Woman Aviator: Mrs. M. M. Bryant" Sydney Morning Herald (5 November 1927): 18. via Trove Five planes flew over her funeral and dropped a flower wreath in tribute."Late Mrs. M. M. Bryant; Wreath from the Air" Wellington Times (10 November 1927): 13. via Trove In the year following her death, her sons established the Millicent Maud Bryant Trophy to be awarded each year to the best all round pilot of the Australian Aero Club of New South Wales.
Bryant's leather flying helmet is in the collection of the National Library of Australia.
In 2001, Millicent Bryant was inducted into the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame. In 2007, to mark the 80th anniversary of her pilot's licence, an official plaque was attached to her tombstone by the Australian Women Pilots' Association.Millicent Bryant plaque, Monument Australia.
References
External links
1927 portrait of a smiling Millicent Harvey, in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum J. B. Vicars, "Flights of Imagination: Fictional biography and writing the life of Australia's first woman Pilot, Millicent Bryant" (PhD dissertation, University of New England 2014).