An untitled pamphlet published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission for its coverage of the MacRobertson International Air Race from England to Australia in 1934, part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations

[MacRobertson International Air Race]

Published by ABC, [Sydney, 1934

About this Item

[Sydney, ABC, 1934]. Octavo, [ii] (front wrapper), 21, [1] (outside rear wrapper) pages with a pictorial front cover and a full-page illustration on the inside front cover plus 4 pages of plates. Saddle-stapled pictorial wrappers with 'ABC' printed inside a tiny map of Australia in the top left-hand corner; staples a little rusty; minimal signs of age and use; an excellent copy. Trove, listing only the NLA and Monash University Library copies, describes the item thus: 'A pamphlet issued by the ABC for its radio listeners throughout its national radio network in Australia. It includes the conditions and regulations, route, prizes, handicap formula, safety measures, entries with biographies, pilots and their planes with port[rait]s of MacRobertson and some of the pilots including Amy Mollison (Johnson)'. Presumably pretty scarce in its day, it is not hard to see how this pamphlet has become very rare - not least, the untitled (and unremarkable) pictorial cover and absence of a title page give every indication that it is incomplete. 'Initially, there were 64 entrants from 13 countries, but when the race started on 20 October 1934, the field had been reduced to 20 planes from seven countries. Only 11 finished the gruelling 18,000 kilometre trip' (SLNSW website). A previous reader has highlighted in blue pencil (on page 21) a typesetter's mistake, by which the competitor listed only under the surname PENNY is referred to as 'Outstandingly the finest woman pilot in the British empire'. This descriptor is clearly intended for the previous entry on Mrs Mollison (née Amy Johnson), not Mr H.W.G. Penny, 'a trainee of the NSW Aero Club'.

Seller Inventory # 129989

Bibliographic Details

• Title: An untitled pamphlet published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission for its coverage of the MacRobertson International Air Race from England to Australia in 1934, part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations
• Publisher: ABC, [Sydney
• Publication Date: 1934
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Australia
  • Aviation
  • British Isles