Sylvia Jessie Catherine Birdseye (née Merrill) (1902–1962) was the first woman to hold a commercial bus driving licence in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. She initiated a regular mail and passenger service between

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

in 1928. Sylvia Merrill was born near

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

on 26 January 1902. She was the daughter of Charles De Witt and Elizabeth Ann Merrill. Her father was a station-hand. She moved to

in 1921 to work in the office of family friend Alfred Birdseye, who had established South Australia's first motor transport, the Adelaide–

Mannum Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, east of Adelaide. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in the state electoral district of Hammond and the federal Division of Barker. ...

bus. She found that driving the buses was more appealing than office work after learning to drive with Alfred's daughter Gladys. Three years later she obtained a licence to drive a passenger vehicle, the first woman in South Australia to do so. On 23 October 1923, she married Alfred's son Sydney Alick Birdseye, her first dancing partner in Port Augusta. After his father sold the Mannum service in 1926, Sydney and Sylvia began a bus service between Adelaide and Port Augusta. They later extended services to

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...

Streaky Bay Streaky the Supercat is a fictional superhero cat that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #261 (February 1960) and was created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. He is Supergirl's pet cat who g ...

and Ceduna. Roads on the Eyre Peninsula were little more than horse tracks before World War II, not particularly suited to a motor bus of the time. Birdseye had a reputation for driving skill and toughness. She wore overalls, changed her own tyres, performed most of the maintenance and repairs and waded creek crossings to ensure the bus could cross safely. Sylvia continued to operate the service after her husband's death in 1954, and was preparing for a service to Port Lincoln when she suffered a stroke in 1962, and died the next day. The

Birdseye Highway Birdseye Highway is an east–west road across Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It was named for Sylvia Birdseye who drove the first bus service to the area from Adelaide for 43 years, starting in 1928, and is the first highway in South Austra ...

across the Eyre Peninsula between Cowell and Elliston is named in her honour. It was the first highway in South Australia to be named for a woman. In 1946, her bus became bogged south of

Whyalla Whyalla is a city in South Australia. It was founded as Hummock's Hill, and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, and Gawler, and along ...

, isolated by flood waters for 8 days, with 25 passengers. Rations were dropped to the stranded group from an aircraft.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdseye, Sylvia People from South Australia 1902 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Australian women public servants Bus drivers