Air Races, Aircraft, Centenaryl Air Race, London to Melbourne, 1934, Sir MacPherson Robertson
Summary
In 1934, Melbourne celebrated the centenary of the town’s establishment, and of European settlement in the Port Phillip District. A centrepiece of the celebrations was an air race from London to Melbourne, with one division for speed and another for handicap. While the race was the brainchild of Melbourne’s lord mayor, Harold Smith, Australian confectionery giant and philanthropist Macpherson Robertson sponsored the 18,240-kilometre race, which had a prizemoney pool of £15,000. Some 20 aircraft departed London on 20 October in a race that crossed 19 countries, and during which competitors were compelled to make five compulsory ports of call, in Baghdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville. Britons C.W.A. Scott and T. Campbell Black won the speed division, and the Dutch KLM team of K.D. Parmentier, J.J. Moll, B. Prins and C. van Brugge won the handicap division. Eight teams failed to complete, and one plane crashed in Italy.
This fold-out souvenir map, published by the Centenary Celebrations Council, plots the route from London to Melbourne, with the red circles marking the compulsory stops. The map’s border area comprises advertising as well as photographs of some of the contestants; the back also features advertising. It is mounted and housed in a narrow metal frame.
