Girls in Aviation Day brought together airlines, emergency services, universities and training organisations to showcase the careers beyond the cockpit.
More than 500 young women descended on Essendon Fields on Saturday 19 September for Girls in Aviation Day, meeting pilots, engineers and aviation specialists to explore the career pathways open to them across the industry.
The event brought together airlines, emergency services, universities, training organisations and industry specialists, with interactive exhibits and hands-on activities covering everything from flying and engine maintenance to air traffic management, emergency response, aerospace technology and aviation operations.
Participating organisations included Victoria Police Air Wing, Ambulance Victoria Air Wing, Microflite, Airservices Australia, Jetstar Engineering, Qantas, Textron Aviation, Honeywell Aerospace, Babcock Engineering, Monash University, RMIT University, the Australian Federation of Air Pilots and the Australian Women Pilots' Association.
Rose Donald, who earlier this year became the youngest female pilot to fly solo around Australia at age 17, said events like Girls in Aviation Day help make career possibilities feel real and achievable.
"When I was younger, aviation could feel like a world that was difficult to enter because I couldn't always see people like me represented in it," Donald said ahead of the event. "Meeting someone in the industry, asking questions and seeing an aircraft up close can turn a distant idea into a career that feels genuinely possible.
"I hope every girl who comes along leaves knowing that aviation is open to her, and that curiosity, determination and a willingness to learn can take her further than she might imagine."
Essendon Fields CEO Brendan Pihan said visible role models were central to the event's purpose.
"As the saying goes, you can't be what you can't see," he said. "Showcasing the achievements of successful young women like Rose can reveal career paths that others may have never considered, or thought possible.
"Girls in Aviation Day is about highlighting those opportunities. Aviation is an incredibly diverse industry, and there are so many careers that young people may not even realise exist."
Event host Christine Campbell said the day was designed to spark curiosity and give young women the confidence to imagine themselves in an aviation career.
"Girls in Aviation Day is designed to give young women the freedom to explore, ask questions and discover parts of aviation they may never have encountered before," she said.
"If an attendee meets someone who inspires her, discovers a career she didn't know existed or simply leaves thinking, 'I could do that,' then we have achieved something important."