Catherine Weir Rothwell Bloomfield (1904)

Born 31 Dec 1904 in Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

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Biography

Catherine Weir Rothwell "Katie" Bloomfield was born on 31 December 1904 at "Myrniong" private hospital, Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia, the daughter of Catherine Graham (Weir) Bloomfield and William Henry Rothwell Bloomfield.^[1][2]

She was educated at the University of Melbourne (resident at Janet Clarke Hall 1924 to 1927) and was conferred the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1927.^[3][4] In 1928, she studied economics at Radcliffe College in the United States.^[4]

By May 1929, she had learned to fly solo and passed her test for a pilot's licence at the Essendon aerodrome in Essendon, Victoria. She was one of few female aviators of the era, and the first to qualify in Victoria.^[5][6][7][8]

In 1930, Katie was working for the Shell Company of Australia Ltd.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Department of Justice (online database), Birth Index 1905, registration number 219. Note: Entry registered as "Katie Weir Rothwell Bloomfield".
2. ↑ "Births." 21 January 1905. Leader (Melbourne), p. 43. Retrieved 18 May 2018 by Clare Spring from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198165897.
3. ↑ "University commencement. Conferring of degrees." 11 April 1927. The Argus (Melbourne), p. 12. Retrieved 18 May 2018 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3848607.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "Woman air pilot." 18 May 1929. The Australasian (Melbourne), p. 14. Retrieved 25 April 2019 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/141392635.
5. ↑ "Miss K. Bloomfield: The first woman to qualify as an aeroplane pilot in Victoria." 29 May 1929. The Forbes Advocate (New South Wales), p. 8. Retrieved 25 April 2019 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/218362846.
6. ↑ "Woman air pilot." 16 May 1929. The Argus (Melbourne), p. 8. Retrieved 25 April 2019 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4006206.
7. ↑ "Cobham trophy." 9 May 1929. Table Talk (Melbourne), p. 56. Retrieved 25 April 2019 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/146451514/17414127.
8. ↑ "Miss K. Bloomfield: The first woman to qualify as an aeroplane pilot in Victoria." 1 June 1929. Kalgoorlie Miner, p. 2. Retrieved 25 April 2019 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94403215.
9. ↑ "'Lip service to aviation': appeal for practical interest." 20 June 1930. The Argus (Melbourne), p. 7. Retrieved 25 April 2019 by Clare Spring from https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4094625.