Hilda Hope McMaugh (11 March 1885 – 30 March 1981) was an Australian nurse and pilot. She was the first Australian woman to qualify as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, receiving her certificate from the Royal Aero Club in England on 15 November 1919. After completing her nursing training at Tamworth District Hospital, McMaugh enlisted with the

Australian Army Nursing Service The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was an Australian Army Reserve unit which provided a pool of trained civilian nurses who had volunteered for military service during wartime. The AANS was formed in 1902 by amalgamating the nursing servic ...

(AANS) in 1916. The following year she was posted to Cairo with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). For her services during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she received the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal. After

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

McMaugh went to London, where she earned a driving licence from Britain's Royal Automobile Club, and then after one month's training in a

Centaur IV A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

aircraft at Northolt Aerodrome, she gained a pilot's licence. In 1920, McMaugh returned to her home town Uralla, in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. There, three years later, she established St Elmo's Private Hospital, where she ran the place as its matron for nearly 30 years. Her name is one of 850 inscribed on a memorial in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

, Armidale. A retirement home, the McMaugh Gardens Retirement Home, is named after her.

Early life

Hilda McMaugh was born Caroline Hilda Hope on 11 March 1885 at Kempsey, in

, Australia, the youngest of two daughters of George McMaugh and his wife Clementina Sarah (Daisy) née Ker. At home she was affectionately known as Cissy. After completing her nursing training at Tamworth District Hospital, McMaugh enlisted with the AANS on 26 August 1916. She served first at the Army hospital in Sydney, and the following year was posted to Cairo with the AIF. She left Australia on 21 March 1917 on the TSS ''Kanowna'' to serve at the 14th Australian General Hospital in

Abbassia Abbassia ( ar, العباسية ) is a neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt. The Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo is located in Abbassia. The medical faculty of Ain Shams University and its affiliate hospital units are located in Ab ...

. After

, she visited Jerusalem, Belgium, and France. For her services during the war she received the

and the Victory Medal.

Life in England

In 1919, McMaugh was posted to England, where she took driving lessons, and received a licence from Britain's Royal Automobile Club. She also took flying lessons in a

aircraft at the

Central Aircraft Company Central Aircraft Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1916 to its closure in 1926. History The company was formed in 1916 as a subsidiary of the woodworking firm R. Cattle Limited. In common with other joinery ...

's base at Northolt Aerodrome. On 15 November 1919, one month into flight training, McMaugh became the first Australian woman to qualify as a pilot, receiving her certificate, No. 7818, from the Royal Aero Club in England. That day, one newspaper described weather conditions as a "wild nasty day", the test took five hours, and she "didn't care a rap for the weather, and descended a winner in the midst of a shower of congratulatory cheers from her fellow-students — all men except her." On 16 November 1919, the ''Sunday Times'' reported:

Miss McMaugh, an Australian lady, after only a month's training, successfully passed her tests yesterday and received the Royal Aero Club's Pilot Certificate. She flew a Centaur 4 machine.

At the time she was reported to claim that she found flying aircraft easier than driving a car, explaining that "there are no

bobbies In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several law enforcement agencies, police or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the appli ...

and no crowds up there". Newspapers reported that she could loop-the-loop, and that during the final test she "felt like a bird". She described herself as having "mastered the levers".

Later life

McMaugh returned to Australia on 12 January 1920. Her appointment with the Australian Army Nursing Service ended on 16 March 1920. Women were not permitted to hold a pilot's licence in Australia, and McMaugh was not allowed to fly there. In 1923, back in her home town Uralla,

, she bought an old school building and in it established a private hospital, St Elmo's. That year, it was opened by General Cox, who had known McMaugh from army service. In later years she financed a pool for the hospital, built by local men who had lost income as a result of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. She may have received money from a bet on

Old Rowley Old Rowley was the name of a stallion racehorse belonging to King Charles II of England, Charles II (1660-1685) of England. The Newmarket Racecourse, Rowley Mile Racecourse at Newmarket, Suffolk, developed by the king as a national centre for hor ...

, a racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup. She retired in 1950, having run the hospital as its matron for nearly 30 years. The hospital was sold to W. L. Colen and Ted Spensley, and converted into a hotel, before later being turned into residential property.

Death and legacy

McMaugh died in Uralla on 30 March 1981. Her name is one of 850 inscribed on the Armidale Memorial Fountain, in

, Armidale. A retirement home, the McMaugh Gardens Retirement Home, is named after her.

References

External links

*{{cite web , title=Nurse becomes a pilot , url=https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/51584/ , website=British Pathé , access-date=24 April 2024 1885 births 1981 deaths 20th-century aviation Australian military nurses People from Kempsey, New South Wales Australian women aviators Women aviation pioneers Australian women nurses Women in the Australian military Australian military personnel of World War I Australian women of World War I