Sylvia BirdseyePrint Page 
The memorial commemorates Sylvia Birdseye who introduced mail and bus services from Adelaide to the Eyre Peninsula.
Sylvia Birdseye started the service from Adelaide to Port Lincoln in 1924, choosing a perilous route through hills and flooded creeks so that she could service a wider range of settlers,including those of the Cowell/Cleve area. She became well-known and well-loved for her intrepid adventures, her mechanical skill and ingenuity and her disregard for personal comfort.
She spent long hours at the wheel making detours to get through and once swam the Myall Creek between Whyalla and Port Augusta with a rope to pull the bus through. She and Gladys Dighton (her sister-in-law) once changed a tyre in four minutes, while her record for a broken axle was twenty minutes. She brought not only newspapers and letters, but also urgently needed medicines, spare parts, as well as passengers to Eyre Peninsula.
Location
| Address: | Lincoln Highway, 4.4 kilometres west of Cowell , Cowell, 5602 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.677895 Long: 136.872605 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Industry |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 26-January-1902 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 09-August-1962 |
| Link: | http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonli… |
Dedication
The Birdsye Memorial Ciarn
Erected to perpetuate the outstanding services of Sylvia Jessie Katherine Birdseye
26 - 1 - 1902 to 9 - 8 - 1962
Who introduced overland mail and passenger bus services between Adelaide and Eyre Peninsula in 1928 and who drove approximately 4 million miles in 43 years.
E. P. Local Govt. Assn.
