Maude Bonney facts for kids
Maude Rose "Lores" Bonney (born November 20, 1897 – died February 24, 1994) was a brave Australian pilot. She was born in South Africa. Lores Bonney became famous for being the first woman to fly a plane all by herself from Australia to Britain.
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Early Life and School Days
Maude Rose Rubens was born in Pretoria, South Africa, on November 20, 1897. She was the only child of Rosa Caroline and Norbert Albert Rubens. Maude later chose the name Dolores, which she shortened to "Lores" (pronounced Lor-ee).
Her family moved to England in 1901, then to Australia in 1903. Lores went to school in Melbourne. In 1911, she went to a special school in Bad Homburg, Germany. There, she studied music and became a very good piano player. She also learned to speak French and German fluently. She returned to Australia in 1913.
In 1917, when she was 19, Lores met Harry Barrington Bonney. He made leather goods. They got married while Lores was helping the Red Cross during World War I. After they married, they moved to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Learning to Fly a Plane
In 1928, Lores met Bert Hinkler. He was a pilot from Queensland and a distant cousin of her husband. Bert had just set a record by flying solo from England to Australia. His amazing flights made Lores want to fly too.
Her first flight in Bert's plane made her sure she wanted to learn. She started taking lessons on August 6, 1930. At first, she kept it a secret from her husband while he played golf! Within a year, she earned her private pilot's licence. When she told her husband, he bought her a de Havilland Gypsy Moth plane. She named it My Little Ship.
Lores Bonney's first big record flight was in December 1931. She wanted to have Christmas Day with her husband in Brisbane. Then, she wanted to have lunch with her father in Wangaratta, Victoria, the next day. Wangaratta was 1,173 kilometers south. She left Brisbane at 4:30 a.m. and reached Wangaratta by 7:20 p.m. She made it in time for dinner with her father!
Amazing Record Flights
Lores Bonney started making many record-breaking flights. The newspapers began to notice her achievements.
| 1931 | DH 60G VH-UPV | Brisbane-Wangaratta | 1600 km |
| Longest one-day flight by a woman pilot | |||
| 1932 | DH 60G VH-UPV | Round-Australia | 12,800 km |
| First woman to fly all the way around Australia | |||
| 1933 | DH 60G VH-UPV | Brisbane-Croydon, UK | 20,000 km |
| First woman to fly from Australia to England | |||
| 1937 | Klemm L32-V VH-UVE | Brisbane-Cape Town | 16,826 km |
| First flight from Australia to South Africa | |||
Later Life and Legacy
The start of World War II stopped Lores Bonney's flying career. She had been planning to fly around the world! Her plane, the Klemm L32-V VH-UVE, was destroyed in a hangar fire in 1939. Her other plane, VH-UPV, was taken for the war effort. It was later scrapped.
During the war, Lores helped with the Women's Voluntary National Register in Queensland. She started flying again after the war. But in 1949, she stopped flying because her eyesight was getting worse. In the 1950s, she led the Queensland branch of the Australian Women Pilots' Association.
Lores Bonney passed away at her home in Miami, Queensland in 1994. She was 96 years old.
How She Was Honored
For her flight from Australia to England, King George V made Lores Bonney a Member of the Order of the British Empire. She also created the Bonney Trophy in England, which is still given every year to a great female British pilot. The Australian Women Pilots Association also has a trophy in her honor.
Lores Bonney was welcomed into the "Ninety-Nines". This is an American group of women pilots who were pioneers in aviation. Her name and her pilot wings were placed on a wall at the Flyer's Chapel in California. Her name is there with other famous pilots like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Griffith University in Queensland gave her an honorary doctorate for her contributions to flying.
Remembering Lores Bonney
In 2012, Lores Bonney was added to the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame.
Even though other women pilots of her time got more attention, Lores Bonney has been remembered in Brisbane in many ways since she died:
- The electoral district of Bonney in Queensland was named after her in 2017.
- The Lores Bonney Riverwalk opened in 2019. It's a path along the Brisbane River.
- Bonney Avenue in Clayfield, Brisbane, is named for her. This street is close to the old Eagle Farm Airport where she learned to fly.
Lores Bonney was featured in a Google Doodle on November 20, 2019. This was 122 years after her birth.
Awards
