Nhill Air Pageant, April 1933: The Day Gran Took Flight

 Among the photographs in my grandmother's albums are several taken at the Nhill Air Pageant in April 1933.  They are fascinating images of a time when aviation was still in its infancy and the sight of an aeroplane drew an entire community together.

One photograph has always been my favourite.

In it, my grandmother, Eva Jean Pilgrim, is wearing a leather pilot's helmet and flying goggles.  Standing beside an aircraft, sh is grinning while being watched by her mother and siblings.  it is a simple family photograph, but every time I look at it, I see see something different.

Eva Pilgrim about to board her first flight, with family watching on

My grandmother described herself as a shy country girl.  Adventure was not a word I would have automatically associated with her.  Yet in this photograph she appears completely at ease, embracing an opportunity that must have seemed extraordinary in 1933.  Flying was still a novelty for most Australians.  Commercial aviation was in its infancy, and for many people a flight in an aeroplance was a one in a lifetime experience.

Looking at that photo, it is easy to imagine the excitement of the day.  Families brought a picnic and gathered around the aircraft, children wanted to get a closer look, the sound of the engines roaring and the distinctive leather helmets and goggles.  For a young country girl, the chance to climb aboard and see the world from above must have felt magical.

The image is made even more meaningful because that first flight was only the beginning.  Over the years, my grandmother would fly many more times, but this photograph preserves the moment when it all started.  It captures the anticipation of a new experience.

The album also contains photographs of several of the aircraft that attended the pageant.  Among them is one of the most famous aeroplanes in Australian History, the Southern Cross, flown by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.  

The Southern Cross was the first plan to fly from USA to Australia in 1928

What I enjoy most about these photos is how they connect national history to family history.  Aviation enthusiasts wouls see historic aircraft and the excitement of early flight.  Although I see those things too, I also see my grandmother, standing on the edge of a new adventure with a smile on her face.

Nearly a century later, that smile still tells a story.

It reminds me that courage does not always look dramatic.  Sometimes, it is simply a shy country girl putting on a leather flying helmet, climbing into an aeroplane for the first time, and saying yes to the first of many adventures.

This post has been inspired by Sepia Saturday 849