Perhaps a bit far for our UK forumites to travel (although I am aware of 3 visitors travelling from the Netherlands) but for those Australian forumites who may not see this elsewhere:>
The Australian National Aviation Museum and the City of Albury (AlburyCity) are working together to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1934 Mac Robertson “Centenary Air Race” on the weekend of 24th – 25th of October 2009.
The Original Race took place from Mildenhall UK to Melbourne Australia in 1934, and remains a major event in the history of world aviation, ushering in the use of stressed metal airliners such as the KLM DC-2 “Uiver”, and demonstrating the speed and reliability of aircraft for international transport. In Australian aviation history the night time landing of the DC-2 at Albury, and the role of the community in its safe landing is a key element of the story.
The AlburyCity is holding a dinner, dance and play at Albury airport on Friday evening 23 October to commemorate the unscheduled landing of the KLM DC-2 “Uiver” at the adjacent Albury race course.
The Museum is holding a Lecture at the museum on Saturday evening 24th of October to celebrate the pioneers of England to Australia flights and the 75th anniversary of the race completion in Melbourne.
To link the two celebrations the museum and the AlburyCity have combined efforts to operate a number of historic aircraft in a reinactment flight from Albury to Melbourne on Saturday 24th of October.
“The Uiver Landing” – 75th Anniversary Dinner
(Commencing 6.30pm Friday 23th October at Albury Airport)
The AlburyCity and KLM-Air France are celebrating the remarkable story of the Uiver landing at Albury at the 75th Anniversary Dinner being held at Albury Airport
The KLM DC-2 “Uiver”, competing in the London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race became hopelessly losty in a fierce storm and was saved only by the car headlights which lit a makeshift landing strip on the Albury racecourse.
Tickets for the celebration dinner are $90 per person which includes a banquet dinner, a radio-play reinactment , and a surprise visit by some of aviations most colourful characters. Enjoy pre-dinner drinks and nibbles served airside as you witness a little aviation magic.
Dress in your favourite lounge suit or 1930’s costume and enjoy the unique atmosphere of an aircraft hangar.
Book now at the Albury Entertainment Centre Box Office (02) 6051 3051
or online at http://www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au
75th Anniversary “Uiver” DC-3 Commemorative Flight
(Depart Friday 23rd October, overnight in Albury and return Saturday 24th October)
The Australian National Aviation Museum and the AlburyCity are operating the historic “TAA” DC-3 VH-AES, (with the support of Qantas volunteers), Departing Tullamarine and travelling to Albury on Friday afternoon 23rd of October and departing Saturday 24th October late morning to return to Moorabbin to reinact the flight of “Uiver” and other race participants into Melbourne.
It is intended other representative race aircraft will also fly the route in the commemorative flight, and that the mass take-off from Albury on Saturday morning will be joined be other local vintage aircraft in the Albury area for the departure and flyover, and similarly local vintage aircraft based in Melbourne will join the historic flights fly-over in Melbourne and arrival at Moorabbin.
“1934 Air Race ” Commemorative Lecture
(Commencing 7pm Saturday 24th October at Australian National Aviation Museum Moorabbin Airport.)
On Saturday evening the Museum will be holding a Commemorative Lecture to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the 1934 Mac Robertson Centenary Air Race.
A Presentation will be provided by famed Adventurer Lang Kidby on the two England to Australia reinactment flights he has undertaken to commemorate the 1919 Vimy flight by the Smith Brothers, and the 1928 solo flight by Bert Hinkler in an Avian.
Following a short interval, museum historian John McCulloch will provide a presentation on the history and events of the 1934 Air Race.
The Evening will formally commence at 7pm with drinks and finger-food, with the presentations commencing at 7.30pm and concluding at 9.30 with closure at 10pm.
The Museum will be open from 6pm for early arrivals to view the museum collection.
Members and friends of the museum, and other interested people are invited to attend this evening,
(those returning from Albury may wish to pass following their overnight and flight activities)
Entry to the Lecture is at a cost of $20 per head, with payment on entry at the night, (the museum would appreciate RSVP’s by Sunday 18th of October to allow for provision of sufficient catering and seating etc)
Further details see http://www.aarg.com.au/air-race.htm
Regards
Mark Pilkington
By: Proctor VH-AHY - 27th October 2009 at 02:39
Mark
Nice coverage on ABC1 7:30 report of last weekends goings on
cheers
By: mark_pilkington - 25th October 2009 at 23:06
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some futher photos.
Details of extended opening hours for the Victorian History Week 2009 are provided here : http://www.aarg.com.au/air-race.htm
“History Week 2009”
(Commencing Sunday 25th October to 1st November at Australian National Aviation Museum Moorabbin Airport.)
The Museum is proud to participate in the Royal Historical Society’s History Week celebrations and opens History Week at the museum with its Sunday celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the 1934 Centenary Air Race.
The Reinactment Flight DC-3, dressed in “Uiver” markings, will be in static display for the public from 4pm Saturday afternoon 24th of October through to 3pm Sunday afternoon 25th of October when it returns to its home base at Melbourne Airport .
Come and commemorate the 75th anniversary of the greatest air race event the world has seen, the 1934 MacRobertson “Centenary Air Race” held to celebrate the then centenary of Victoria and Melbourne through a pioneering air race from England to Australia – see displays and artifacts from the race. See the museum’s rare Douglas DC-2 presented as the famous KLM airliner “Uiver” that came second overall in the race, and first on handicap, along with the wider story of Australian Flight with rare engines and aircraft dating from 1910 through to the moden jet age.
Note: The Museum is operating special extended opening hours for History Week consisting of:
Monday – Friday 12 midday to 4pm
Saturday – Sunday – 10am to 5pm
regards
Mark Pilkington
By: mark_pilkington - 25th October 2009 at 22:59
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The 75th Anniversary Celebrations of the 1934 Air Race were held over the last weekend 23-25th of October, with the historic TAA DC-3 Hawdon / VH-AES being dressed as the KLM DC-2 “Uiver” and setting off from Melbourne on firday afternoon with a full compliment of members of the Australian National Aviation Museum and 3 special guests, the son and grandsons of the “Uiver’s Navigator, the Van Brugge’s had flown over from the Netherlands especially for the anniversary events.
The DC-3 Re-enactment flight arrived over Albury at 6pm and flew around over the town on the same day, 75 years later than that stormy night when the KLM race entrant was hopelessly lost in storms, with a Nangchung camera ship.
Two precautionary approaches with gear down were undertaken the Albury Racecourse in full view of 300 guests assembled at a large hangar at the adjacent Albury Airport awaiting the Albury City Council’s Uiver Commemorative dinner to commence.
The re-enactment flight landed and taxied up to the Hangar and a throng of local and dutch media crews and the disembarking passengers were welcomed by the Mayor of Albury and the Dutch Ambassador to Australia.
A private aircraft display then followed with a Lockheed 12, harvard and Alan Arthur’s P40.
A very enjoyable night was had with formal speeches, film clips, a taped personal message to the people of Albury from the CEO of KLM, fine food, dancing and a radio play of the Uiver landing in 1934 by the local Albury Theatre company.
The next day saw the towns people treated to a free airshow with the same aircraft and more on static and aerial display.
The opportunity was taken to inspect the new Albury Airport terminal opened on Friday, and the “Uiver” cafe with its “Illusion” mural of the Uiver landing.
The re-enactment flight departed Albury @12.30 for the return flight into Melbourne, but with a secret stopover for lunch at an aladins cave of warbirds somewhere in northern Victoria, full of new and under construction P-40’s, a P-39, Japanese Tony, Boston, Kingfisher, vampire, Mirage, Jindavik, Sea Fury, Corsair and Vengeance.
The two near completed P-40’s were both without their cowls providing an interesting contrast between the merlin powered P-40F and Allison powered P-40N. – (Unfortunately no photos available)
The re-enactment flight continued down to Melbourne with low fly overs of Flemington Racecourse, (the 1934 finishing line) and the Laverton RAAF Base the Melbourne landing ground for the race entrants.
Arriving into Moorabbin at @3.30pm the aircraft was welcomed by the Mayor of the City of Kingstone, and local state MP in a formal reception at the Royal Victorian Aero Club.
At the Australian National Aviation Museum members a guests were treated to an interesting talk on flying the race route by Australian adventurer Lang Kidgy, recalling his own recreation flights of the Smith Brothers Vimy flight of 1919, and Bert Hinklers solo flight in an Avian in 1928.
A powerpoint presentation was then provided by museum member John McCulloch on the race and its entrants.
The Museum launched its 2009 edition of Plane Chocolate, a 32 page booklet on the 1934 air race, an update of its 50th anniversary edition in 1984.
Museum guests to the lecture, and to the museum over the weekend were treated to the museum’s own DC-2 being dressed in Uiver markings, and a display of 1934 Air Race memorabilia. A special treat at the lecture was the evening display of a small DH comet model signed by the two winning pilots on the evening of their arrival into Melbourne.
On sunday the DC-3 returned to its base at Tullamarine carrying a further 18 members of the museum.
The Museum’s 1934 Air Race Exhibition remains on display for the rest of the week as part of Victoria’s History Week 2009 celebrations.
regards
Mark Pilkington
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October 4, 2009 at 11:30 am