WOMEN IN THE AIR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20991, 30 September 1931, Page 9

WOMEN IN THE AIR.

RIVALRY WITH MALE SEX. DISCUSSION IN SYDNEY. Hargrave Park, the most comprehensive country club in Australia, says a Sydney correspondent, may decide whether woman is man's equal in the air. Men fliers of a generous disposition admit that woman in the air is capable of great feats, but they do not admit that, in events such as the race for the Schneider Trophy, women could be relied upon to withstand tho strain. Women, in reply, assert that history shows that women have been equal to any emergency. They mention Grace Darling; the earliest women settlers of Australia, who fenced, dug, ploughed, and did all bush work as men did; and Miss Amy Johnson and other British women fliers, who have crossed oceans and continents, including tho wildest portions of the world

Hargrave Park is the rendezvous of the Aero Club, where much flying has been done. The fact that a women's club, the Lyceum, has an aviation circle, is sufficient indication of the earnestness of women. Other circles will be formed. The remarks of Captain Leggatt at a recent dinner of the Lyceum Club will be chiefly responsible for the increase of interest, for, whereas the president of the New South Wales Aero Club, Captain Geoffrey Hughes, spoke warily, Captain Leggatt said that there was no reason why women should not be better than men at flying.