The 'Sugarbird Lady' is honoured in Broome

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Two West Australians that probably wouldn’t be known outside Australia are Captain Horrie Miller, an aviator, and his wife, Dame Mary Durack, who wrote a number of books about the outback. Their daughter, Robin Miller (1940-1975), held a nursing qualification and a flying licence. She borrowed money for a Cessna 182 Skylane and began a career taking medical help to outback regions. When polio became such a scourge, Robin began flying to remote communities and administering the Sabin Vaccine to children as sugar lumps hence the nickname, Sugarbird Lady. She administered 37,000 doses of the oral vaccine, mostly to Aboriginal communities, and covered 43,000 air miles in the process. When she died of cancer at the age of 35, the plane she’d been using was sold, but later crashed and almost written off. The current owner heard the story behind the plane and decided to restore it. He has now flown it back to Broome for a series of ceremonies in honour of Robin. As well as taking medical services to outback areas, she also made nine overseas ferry flights to bring new planes back to Australia. Some time after her death, her son circumnavigated the world single-handed in a yacht. The photo is of a memorial to Robin at Jandakot airport, only a few miles from where we live. It is in the public domain.