'Early Birds' by Horrie Miller is loaded with choice accounts of pioneering civil aviation in Australia. His MS was polished and edited by his wife, Mary Durack, no mean author in her own right.
'The Wandering Years' by Arthur Affleck is likewise chocker with tales of the
great days between the wars. Arthur was the first pilot to fly for John Flynn's flying doctor service, starting at Cloncurry in 1928. He was a man with a delightful, whimsical sense of humour.
An early flying doctor, not connected with aforementioned service, was
Clyde Fenton. His book, 'Flying Doctor', is a stand out for it's colourful descriptions of saving lives with a DH60 Moth out of Katherine in the '30s.
A funny man, and a great prankster. How he dodged the red tape in Hong Kong, when he flew the Moth to Swatow in China for his sister's wedding, was an act of purest comic genius.
'Scotty Allan, Australia's Flying Scotsmen' co-authored by Elizabeth Shearman, is not quite so recommendable, although the photos are excellent. The late George Roberts, (see 'Qantas, By George!') , once bagged the book, suggesting that the 'F' in Flying should be deleted. For a' that, and a' that, there's no denying the man did contribute hugely to the advancement of aviation in Australia. There is a film clip in the national archive of him training pilots on the Qantas Empire flying boat. There's no sound track, but his large hand and arm movements on final, as he instructs his charge how to judge the approach, are classic.
And his portrait by William Dobell is a cracker. It'd enhance any rogue's gallery.