BATTLE OF BRITAIN ‘LACE’
RAAFA WA has announced the recipient of its inaugural Sugarbird Lady Award, dedicated to celebrating the remarkable legacy of Robin Miller, a pioneering nurse and aviator known affectionately as the ‘Sugarbird Lady’.
Broome nursing student Ellen Bermingham was presented the prestigious award at the University of Notre Dame’s Broome campus in a special ceremony, with the aim to support the graduate in her placement with the Royal Flying Doctor Service WA.
Bermingham received a $1,000 cash prize donated by RAAFA alongside a framed certificate and a book authored by Robin Miller, commemorating the famous aviator’s extraordinary contributions to delivering and administering over 37,000 doses of the polio vaccine to remote communities across the Pilbara and Kimberley regions in her Cessna 182 and Mooney VH-RM aircraft.
As part of the award celebrations, Robin Miller’s original Mooney VH-RM aircraft, now owned by aviation enthusiast Florin ‘Fred’ Clej, made a commemorative landing at Broome Airport where it was reunited with the very tarmac that Robin once flew from.
A true nation-wide celebration, Clej took off in his Mooney VH-RM aircraft from Corindi Beach in New South Wales, before making a pit stop in Derby and landing in Broome at midday on August 14.
Aaron Crowther, Chief Customer and Community Officer at RAAFA said the establishment of the Sugarbird Lady Award forms part of RAAFA’s continuous efforts to revive the legacy of Western Australian aviators and continue to educate the next generation on their profound impacts.
“Robin Miller was an inspirational figure in Western Australian aviation history and it’s a privilege to honour her legacy. The establishment of RAAFA’s Sugarbird Lady Award aims to encourage and support the next generation of nursing professionals committed to serving remote and regional communities,” said Crowther.
Building on this commitment, RAAFA continues to honour Robin Miller’s legacy through ongoing initiatives at its Aviation Heritage Museum in Bull Creek, Perth, where the restoration of a Beechcraft Baron, another aircraft significant to Miller’s history, is currently underway.
