Summary

Official printed fold-out souvenir map of the route of the 1934 London to Melbourne Air Race. Includes lists of entrants in the speed and handicap sections of the race, not all of whom actually competed in the race. Also lists members of the Centenary Celebrations Council and the Air Race Sub-Committee. It was published by the Centenary Celebrations Council in association with 'Happy Educators' Pty Ltd of Chancery House, Melbourne.

The Melbourne Centenary Air Race, also known as the MacRobertson International Air Race, was held in October 1934, to commemorate the Centenary of the establishment of Melbourne and the first European settlement of Victoria. The race, from London to Melbourne, was sponsored by businessman and philanthropist Sir MacPherson Robertson, who had founded the largest confectionary business in the Commonwealth, MacRobertson Confectionary Manufacturers Ltd. The race route covered 18,240 km (11,330 miles) from England to Australia. All competitors were required to land at Baghdad, Allabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville. Prizes for the race included £10,000 and a gold cup for the overall winner. English team C.W.A. Scott and T. Campbell Black were the eventual winners, flying through pylons at Flemington Racecourse in front of 40,000 spectators and landing at Laverton. Eight planes failed to finish the race. Gilman and Baines were tragically killed when their Fairy Fox crashed near Foggia, Italy.

Physical Description

Coloured route map of the 1934 London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race. The map is folded in eight smaller sections with a central lengthwise fold. It is glued to a blue folding cardboard cover titled 'The Centenary Air Race Chart' The map border contains advertising and cameo photographs of some of the contestants including Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (who later withdrew from the event) Amy Johnson and one of the winners, C.W.A. Scott. The reverse of the map has advertising and lists of names printed on each of the folding sections.

Significance

The race, from London to Melbourne, was sponsored by businessman and philanthropist Sir MacPherson Robertson, who had founded the largest confectionary business in the Commonwealth, MacRobertson Confectionary Manufacturers Ltd. The race route covered 18,240 km (11,330 miles) from England to Australia and had speed and handicap sections. All competitors were required to land at Baghdad, Allabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville. Prizes for the race included 10,000 pounds and a gold cup for the overall winner. English team C.W.A. Scott and T. Campbell Black in a DH88 Comet were the eventual winners, flying through pylons at Flemington Racecourse in front of 40,000 spectators and landing at Laverton. Eight planes failed to finish the race. Gilman and Baines were tragically killed when their Fairy Fox crashed near Foggia, Italy. The race was of great technological significance as the first long-distance air race and illustrated the potential of the new all-metal monoplane airliners which finished second and third behind the purpose-built Comet

The Centenary Air Race was one of the centrepiece events of the 1934 Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race attracted great local and international attention and enthusiasm. It generated many souvenir items such as this map and is still the best known event of the celebrations.

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