This telegram was sent from the Royal Netherlands Airways, Sydney, to the manager of ABC Radio Station 2CO, Corowa, New South Wales. This telegram relates to the 1934 London to Melbourne Air Race. The telegram records the Royal Netherlands Airways' thanks to ABC Radio 2CO radio staff for their efforts in broadcasting an emergency message to the residents of Albury after the Dutch airliner ‘Uiver’ became lost at night in bad weather. As requested local radio listeners drove their cars to the Albury racecourse and illuminated an emergency landing ground using their vehicle headlights. This allowed the lost airliner to land safely.This item relates to the London to Melbourne Air Race of 1934, a significant event that shaped Australia's history as it proved travelling to and from Australia could be done within a reasonable time by air, thereby making the country less isolated. Up to that time Australia was three weeks away from Europe by steam ship. The Air Race was dreamt up by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Harold Smith, to commemorate the centenary of Victoria's statehood and was sponsored by the Melbourne chocolate manufacturer Sir MacPherson Robertson. The Royal Netherlands Airways entered a Douglas DC2 plane 'Uiver' - the largest aircraft in the race, and the only one to carry passengers as well as crew, to show that a commercial passenger service to Australia was possible. But in the last leg of the race, the Uiver lost its way in an electrical storm over the Riverina town of Albury. Several communication methods were used to land the plane safely, including the signalling of the word "Albury" in Morse code using the town's street lights. Local ABC Radio station 2CO also made a call for locals to light up a makeshift landing strip for the plane at the town's racecourse. The plane landed safely and the next morning with the help of the townspeople who pulled it out of the mud, took off and finished the race in second place. The story of the Uiver points to the importance of communication in its various forms: two-way and broadcast radio, Morse, and light signals. The survival of the Uiver is a reflection of the ingenuity of Australian communications and the solutions that can be found through the sharing of ideas of information. The landing of the Uiver was an important moment in Albury's social history, as residents participated in the rescue of the plane and its passengers, helping the Uiver to continue on its journey and finish second in the Race. When the Uiver crashed in the Syrian Desert in December 1934, Albury residents contributed to a memorial which honoured those who were killed. Beige paper telegram printed with black ink and overwritten with typewriter. Telegram split into sections designating details of the telegram, details of the recipient and a space for the transmitted message. A small section of paper is missing from bottom left corner."Extend to you my warmest appreciation for your most valuable / assistance rendered to Netherlands machine by continuously keeping your / wireless organisation available during a period of extremely difficult / air navigation stop I assure you that in Holland and in Java your action / is most deeply appreciated Bakker chief representative in Australia for / Royal Netherlands airways. / 6 18pm"telegrams, telegraphic messages, communications, radio, uiver, royal netherlands airways, albury, london to melbourne air race, morse code

Jessie Seymour was a resident of the Kiewa Valley.Jessie Seymour compiled this history for the Kiewa Valley Historical Society.Dark blue plastic with clear front cover and faint writing on the first page showing. 5 clear plastic sleeves / pages. Includes the description of the Air Race.jessie seymour; air race

This was the first press photograph transmitted by radio from England to Australia. On 16 October 1934, South Australian aviator, C J Melrose, was pictured beside his plane at the Mildenhall aerodrome, England, preparing for the start of the Centenary Air Race. Within hours of capture, the image was transmitted from London to Melbourne and then sent via picturegram to Sydney’s press, the greatest distance a photograph had been transmitted over radio. Wirephotos, as they are commonly called, are produced through electrical pulses which travel along telephone or telegraph wires, or radio waves. Like the transmission of Morse dots and dashes, the technology communicates the light and dark portions of an image, to be recorded on a negative or photographic paper at the receiver’s end. Previously, photographs of an event appeared several days after the fact; wirephoto technology enabled visual communication with relative speed. Our consumption and expectation of the immediacy of news and communication continued to grow, an expectation that forms the basis of time-based social media activities such as Snapchat or Facebook and Instagram stories.london to melbourne air race, wirephoto, picturegram, uiver, james melrose

"On 5 July 1936, locals in Melton South saw a plane emerge from behind clouds above the railway station, in heavy wind and rain. Engine roaring, the plane went into a spin and disintegrated into pieces in mid-air, before crashing to the ground near Arnold’s Creek. The pilot, young Australian aviator Jimmy Melrose, and a passenger, Alexander Campbell, were killed.Jimmy Melrose was a popular figure in international aviation, having been the youngest and only solo pilot to finish the London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race in 1934. His death, at the age of just twenty-two, caused an outpouring of sorrow. He was honoured with a state funeral two days later at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, which was attended by thousands of people. Locals Maisie Arthur, Ted Wickham and Bill Cahill gave eyewitness accounts of the accident to the authorities, and an inquest found that it was the result of structural failure and poor weather. A cairn erected by locals near the scene was reconstructed by the Melton and District Historical Society in Brookfield, opposite the Melrose Memorial Reserve, on the 40th anniversary of the crash in 1976".Regional Gazette article of a cairn erected by locals near the scene of the plane accident which involved Jimmy Melrose, and passenger, Alexander Campbelllocal significant events, landscapes of significance

This medallion was produced to commemorate the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia's annual air show which was held at Wodonga. It took place at Joe Drage's Air World Museum in Wodonga, Victoria. The event included a fly-in by members of the Antique Aeroplane Association which attracted vintage planes from all parts of Australia. This medallion and 2 other linked medallions were owned by Mr. Clive Cossor. He spent a lot of time at Drage's Historical Aircraft Museum and also helped transport gliders. He was also at the Albury racecourse as a teenager to assist in moving the Uiver when it was forced to land in a storm during the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race from London to Melbourne in October 1934.This medallion is significant as it records an important event recognising aviation in Australia.A medallion produced to commemorate the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia's annual air show held at Wodonga. Around edge of the front of medallion "ANTIQUE AEROPLANE ASSOCIATION AUSTRALIA WODONGA 1982" with the De Haviland logo in the centre, On the reverse side "SPONSORS/RADIO/2AY/ALBURY-WODONGA" 8aviation history, antique aeroplane association of australia, joe drage airworld, airshow wodonga

This medallion was produced to commemorate the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia's fourth annual air show which was held at Wodonga on June 14 and 15, 1980. It took place at Joe Drage's Air World Museum in Wodonga, Victoria. The event included a fly-in by members of the Antique Aeroplane Association which attracted 105 vintage planes from all parts of Australia. The show incorporated the Amy Johnson memorial rally to recognise the 50th anniversary of Amy Johnson's flight from England to Australia in 1930. Radio 2AY, the sponsor of the annual air show began broadcasting in 1930. This medallion and 2 other linked medallions were owned by Mr. Clive Cossor. He spent a lot of time at Drage's Historical Aircraft Museum and also helped transport gliders. He was also at the Albury racecourse as a teenager to assist in moving the Uiver when it was forced to land in a storm during the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race from London to Melbourne in October 1934.This medallion is significant as it records an important event recognising aviation in Australia and recognises Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.A medallion produced to commemorate the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia's fourth annual air show held at Wodonga on June 14 and 15, 1980 On the front around the medallion: "ON THE AIR FOR 50 YEARS/ANTIQUE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION 1980" . In the centre "SPONSORS/ 3AY/ALBURY-WODONGA/50th/ANNIVERSARY AMY JOHNSON/FLIGHT TO AUSTRALIA/41/WODONGA 1980" On reverse: a depiction of Amy Johnson with wings inscribed "JOHNNIE 1930"aviation history, antique aeroplane association of australia, joe drage airworld, airshow wodonga, amy johnson

This medallion was produced to commemorate the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia's annual air show which was held at Wodonga in 1981. It took place at Joe Drage's Air World Museum in Wodonga, Victoria. It recognised the 50th anniversary of the manufacture of the first De Haviland 82 Tiger Moth in 1931. This medallion and 2 other linked medallions were owned by Mr. Clive Cossor. He spent a lot of time at Drage's Historical Aircraft Museum and also helped transport gliders. He was also at the Albury racecourse as a teenager to assist in moving the Uiver when it was forced to land in a storm during the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race from London to Melbourne in October 1934.This medallion is significant as it records an important event recognising aviation in Australia and recognises the development of the Tiger Moth aircraft.A medallion produced to commemorate the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia's annual air show held at Wodonga in 1981On the front around the medallion surrounding an image of a Tiger Moth aircraft: "The Golden Anniversary of the DH. 82 "Tiger Moth" 1931-1981" Numbered 71 On reverse around the edge: "Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia/ WODONGA 1981". In the centre: "SPONSORS/2AY/ALBURY-WODONGA"aviation history, antique aeroplane association of australia, joe drage airworld, airshow wodonga, dh tiger moth