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It is so far from the coast, and so intensely isolated, that Birdsville has become a byword for the Australian outback. It is a tiny township - really nothing more than a village - on the edge of the Simpson Desert on a road which effectively goes nowhere - apart from into the desert. Birdsville sits on the edge of the Simpson Desert and operates like some kind of mysterious magnet to people who want to go to the most isolated place on the continent. The current fascination with isolated places has meant that a regular stream of 4WD adventurers, all determined to travel the 500 km of the Birdsville track, pass through the town. This has been complemented by the Birdsville Races which attract over 8,000 people to the town for the two day race meeting. Origin of Name The first name for the town was Diamantina Crossing, a practical description of a place where travellers could cross the mighty Diamantina River. There are two possible explanations for the name: (1) it was named Birdsville because the owner of nearby Pandie Pandie Station was amazed by the diversity of birdlife attracted to the area when the river was in flood. It was not uncommon to see pelicans and seagulls in the region's salt lakes. (2) Percy Bird and George Field opened at store at the place and it became known as Birdsfield. In 1882 a consignment of goods was sent from Adelaide addressed, incorrectly, to Birdsville. The name stuck and became the accepted name for the tiny settlement. Source: www.aussietowns.com.au/town/birdsville-qld

Stafford: 8km north-west, originally called Happy Valley, the area was renamed after the English county of Staffordshire in the 1880s Source: hicksrealestate.com.au/secret-history-brisbanes-suburbs-z/

Recruiting for the WAAAF began on 15 March 1941 and on the 17th of March the first 19 airwomen reported for duty. Ten of these were teleprinter operator trainees. Throughout 1941 recruiting was quite slow. However, when Japan entered the war in December 1941 there was a greater push for the employment of women. By the end of 1941 some 1500 women were serving in the WAAAF. At its peak in October 1944 there were 18 667 officers and airwomen in the WAAAF. By the end of the war 27 000 women had served in the WAAAF making it the largest of the three women’s services. The value of the work and the skills of the WAAAF during a period when thousands of men needed to be released for operational duty overseas and in Australia, which itself was at risk, encouraged the formation of the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) in 1951. In 1977 the WRAAF was disbanded, and women were absorbed into the mainstream RAAF. It would take until June 1988 before the first female Air Force Pilots graduated and the first female fighter jet pilots didn’t graduate until December 2017. Now there are no restrictions on employment of females in the Air Force, including all pilot positions. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/women-who-answered-call