1934: MacRobertson Air Race

Posted By on Apr 26, 2011 |

England to Australia

This air race was the idea of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and the prize of $75,000 was put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy lolly maker. 20 aircraft were entered, but due to various mishaps only 12 made it to Australia.

While the winners (Black and Scott) made it in 71 hours (less than 3 days), one team (Parer and Hensworth) took 4 months to get there. Never give up!

 

Here is some movie footage…

The winners in a DH88 Comet aircraft…
Tom Campbell Black and Charles Scott
(71 hours)

MacRoberston
The Macroberston Air Race Trophy, 1934

References

1934 Air Race (DC3 Airways)
MacRobertson Air Race (Wikipedia)
Tom Campbell Black (family site)
MacRobertson Trophy, 1934
(National Library of Aust. nla.pic-vn3722810)

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Author: Roger Codger

Roger has plenty of stories to tell about the aviators of years gone by, and the golden age of aviation when anything was possible. We love hearing him talk about the heroes of the past, some famous and others not so -- courageous pioneers who made aviation what it is today.

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