Get to know the real Peggy Kelman

Here are some fast facts about this inspirational aviation pioneer:

• She began flying training in 1931 at the Aero Club of NSW and gained her A licence (now called Private Pilot Licence) in 1932, followed by a commercial licence in 1935 - only the seventh woman in Australia to do so.
• Peggy was a friend and flying companion of Nancy-Bird Walton. 
• In 1935, Nancy and Peggy decided to try to earn a living in aviation by going on two 'barnstorming' tours around New South Wales. This involved flying to country towns to provide public joy flights at ten shillings a go.
• The tours were hugely popular with large crowds attending. On one day in Wagga Wagga alone they provided 101 joy flights.
• Peggy only ever claimed to have achieved one flying record, being the first and only pilot to fly from England to Australia while pregnant.
• Peggy and her husband Colin settled in Julia Creek, Queensland raising five children and purchasing several aircraft along the way to pursue their ongoing passion for flying.
• In 1951, Peggy joined the Australian Women's Pilot Association (AWPA) and in 1964, served as the AWPA's state president, and then federal president from 1974 to 1976.
• Peggy also joined the International Women Pilots' Association, the 'Ninety Nines', and became its Australian representative. In this capacity, she travelled all over Australia and the South Pacific representing the interests of women in aviation.
• In 1978, Peggy was inducted into the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for service to aviation in Queensland, particularly in the promotion of women in aviation.

Follow TBM Peggy on her journey to carving out part of the 23-kilometre Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line Journey of Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport tunnel boring machines