Nancy Bird Walton Sponsorship for Female Adventurers

The afternoon was dragging on, four o’clock hits and the count down begins for the start of the weekend. Then my phone rings, answering it, I find out that its Kylie from Australia Geographic. My heart sank, I knew it, my virtual (online) interview I had to do last week was bad, and now I beat you she is going to ask me to do it again. This might not be a bad thing anyway, because I was really nervous!

But that wasn’t what Kylie was calling me about at all, ‘Danielle, I have some great news for you, you have been selected for the Nancy Bird Walton Sponsorship for female adventurers!’

I couldn’t believe my ears ‘really! Wow that’s amazing, I honestly thought I had missed out, since it had been so long’

‘It had taken this long for everyone to be able to sit down together and go through all the applications. We had Nancy Bird’s daughter and granddaughter on the panel.’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing…‘You will be given a medal, and we will send a journalist and photographer to get a shot of you and that flash bike of yours for a press release we will be doing.’

‘My flash bike’ I laughed ‘is currently it in pieces, but I hope to have it back together sometime this month’

After I hung up the phone, I could contain my smile, I was grinning from ear to ear. I just had to call Mel, Louise, and Danielle to tell them my awesome news. For the next thirty minutes, all I could think about was opening up a bottle of champagne the second work finished!  

Nancy Bird Walton, is a remarkable woman. She had a dream of becoming a pilot and defying social constraints, she achieved it. In her lifetime, Nancy Bird Walton met with kings and queens and dined with the world’s most impressive dignitaries. She counted celebrated pioneering airwomen Jean Batten of New Zealand and Germany’s Elly Beinhorn as friends and in 1997 was named a Living National Treasure by the National Trust.

Nancy Bird Walton has been a trustee of the Australian Geographic Society for ten years and in recognition to her years of service, Australian Geographic Society pays a tribute to her in by setting up a new sponsorship to commemorate her life.

The Nancy Bird Walton Sponsorship for Female Adventurers will provide funding for

Australian female adventurers. By receiving this funding, I hope to follow in Nancy footsteps and inspire women to follow their dreams.