Deborah Lawrie was born to fly. And no one was going to stop her. Not even the most powerful man in the Australian aviation industry at that time, Reg Ansett.
In the late 1970s, Deborah had the qualifications and flying experience to become a commercial pilot, but Ansett Airlines refused to employ women in the cockpit. The airline’s founder, Reg Ansett, had publicly argued women were unsuitable for the role.
The landmark High Court ruling in favour of Deborah in the Wardley vs Ansett Airlines case in 1979 set a legal precedent in Australia, thrusting her into the media spotlight. As the first person to win a case under the Sex Discrimination Act, she became a household name, paving the way for all working women.
Now, 47 years later, Deborah – the longest flying commercial female pilot in the world – has written a book, Touching the Sky. It’s a cracker, providing a candid and deeply personal account of her early life as a strong-willed and fiercely competitive child, to becoming Australia’s first female commercial airline pilot in 1980 and being inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2022.
One year later, in a hugely satisfying and ironic twist, Sydney Airport named a flyover that connects the international and domestic terminals in her honour. The flyover sits over Sir Reginald Ansett Drive.
Reflecting on her extraordinary journey, Deborah, who divides her time between Peregian Springs and Sydney, says it was the right time to write her own story. “The book is a combination of my entire career, so if I’m looking back at what I’ve done, it makes more sense to do it now,” she says.
Deborah dedicated the book to her four-year-old granddaughter, Hannah, who lives with the author’s son, Tom and daughter-in-law, Sophie, in Melbourne.
“I want Hannah to know what I’ve been through. But also, she’s a very spirited little girl and she may take heart from the book if she’s struggling at some point in her life,” she says.
Perhaps Hannah gets her fierce spirit from not only Deborah but also her great-great-grandfather – Deborah’s grandfather – Eddie Ward, who Deborah describes as her own role model. In the 1960s, Eddie was a prominent Labor politician and was known to be an irrepressible fighter. Deborah says he had a huge impact on her.
“He strongly believed that education was the key to success and a park in Surry Hills, Sydney, is named after him,” she says proudly.
By the age of 10, Deborah was excelling in science and mathematics and was determined to prove to her father, a patent attorney, that nothing would get the better of her. When her father decided to pursue his dream of learning to fly, it was Deborah who helped him to study, complete checklists and make radio calls.
It wasn’t long before Deborah started learning to fly, her mum driving her to Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne for her lessons. She made her first solo flight on April 19, 1970, a month before her 17th birthday. It ignited a passion for flying that has never dimmed.
That passion sustained her during her exhausting battle to be employed as a pilot in the male-dominated aviation industry. It also carried her through the traumatic pilots’ dispute of 1989, a major industrial standoff that saw hundreds of Australian pilots resign after a pay and conditions battle brought parts of the aviation industry to a standstill. The fallout led Deborah and her family to move to Holland, where she flew for KLM Cityhopper.
It also kept her going through two turbulent marriages, the first to Peter Wardley, who she credits with helping to start her legal battle with Ansett, and the second to John Hawley, with whom she had her son, Tom, in 1991.
“With Peter, I think he felt left out. It didn’t matter how much I tried to keep him included, he had his own spin on what was happening, and we just grew apart. The second marriage was just a disaster and was the wrong choice. Women who are successful need to be with men who are comfortable in their own skin and don’t feel threatened. As soon as you feel your partner is trying to minimise or undermine what you’re doing, that’s a red flag,” she says.
Deborah’s passion for flying wasn’t the only thing that kept her going during dark times. She had some wonderful mentors, including her first flying instructor, Garth Harris and her attorney, John Dwyer, who navigated new territory in her legal battle.
She also found support from fellow female pilots in an organisation called ISA+21: The International Society of Women Airline Pilots. Established in Las Vegas in 1978, the 21 represents the number of founding members.
“In those days it was a very lonely place because in the airline industry you had no one else to talk to, to compare notes with and understand what you were going through. Any organisation which brings women together who are facing similar challenges is enormously helpful. It’s the old saying – a problem shared is a problem halved,” she says.
While Deborah’s book reveals all the ups and downs of her tough legal battle, which became a personal vendetta at times, it also provides a fascinating – and sometimes hilarious – account of life in the cockpit. In addition, it describes several frightening near-misses and safety breaches, which prompted her to train as an aviation accident investigator.
During her time with Ansett, she flew the DC-9, the Boeing 737-200 and the 727. Later, she flew the Fokker 70/100 and Airbus with KLM, and then the Airbus 320 with Jetstar and Tigerair. Just when she was considering hanging up her wings after the COVID-19 outbreak, Virgin called, saying they needed pilots to meet the demand for travel following the reopening of borders.
The catch was that she would need to learn how to fly the Boeing 737-NG, a different plane from the Boeing 737 Classic she had flown in the ’80s. In her heart, she knew she wasn’t ready to stop flying and with her third husband, Bruce’s encouragement, she completed her training and is still flying for Virgin to this day.
“There is no retirement age in Australia. You just need to pass tests and as long as you keep passing, you can keep flying.”
In between flying, Deborah plays golf with Bruce at Peregian Springs Golf Club. “I think golf is a real mind game and I play my best golf when I’ve just flown in from Sydney and I’m not uptight about anything,” she says.
She enjoys spending as much time as possible with her granddaughter and plans to write another book on airline safety.
Perhaps the most precious part of the book is the foreword, which was written by her son, Tom, also a pilot.
Says Tom, “If you have ever doubted yourself. If you feel like no one else understands what challenges you are facing, or your dreams are bigger than what is currently perceived as possible, then this book is for you. To me, Deborah will always be Mum. But to many others, she’s a pioneer and a living reminder of what’s possible when you refuse to accept no for an answer.”
Touching the Sky is available from HarperCollins Publishers.