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Aviation Historical Society of Australia
  • Home
  • AHSA
    • AHSA Inc. Meetings
    • AHSA Inc
      • AGM 2022
    • AHSA (NSW) Inc.
    • AHSA (QLD) Inc.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
  • Publications
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    • Aviation Heritage Web Archive
    • AHSA Newsletter Archive
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    • Members Only
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Category: AHSA Meetings

Melbourne Meetings:

AHSA Inc. holds monthly meetings on the fourth Wednesday of the month, 7.30pm at the Air Force Association, 24 Camberwell Rd, Hawthorn East.

Some members meet casually for dinner from 6.00pm at the Tower Hotel.

Our monthly meetings are also webcast online via Zoom, for members who cannot attend in person.

Meeting details are sent to members each month.
Click on the heading below to view recordings of previous monthly meetings:

AHSA Logo, Southern Cross over Australia
DerekB10/12/202309/03/2024

Melbourne Meeting: 28 February 2024, Ashley Briggs OAM

The Melbourne meeting on Wednesday 28 February 2024 of the AHSA Inc. was held at the RAAF Association meeting room, Camberwell Road, East Hawthorn....
Delicious food cooking on the barbecue at the 2022 AHSA end of year gathering
DerekB10/12/202311/12/2023

AHSA Melbourne Meeting December 2023: Annual Barbeque

The end-of-year AHSA barbecue was held at Moorabbin Air Museum on Sunday 10 December from 10am to 2pm. The weather forecast was not great,...
DerekB26/07/202321/05/2024

AHSA Melbourne Meeting July 2023 (Andrew Jackling: Space Weather Forecasting)

Our guest speaker at the 26 July 2023 AHSA Meeting in Melbourne was Andrew Jackling, who presented on the topic “Eyes in the sky:...
DerekB28/06/202321/05/2024

AHSA Melbourne Meeting June 2023 (Mark Lax: Tips and Tricks For Researching Our Air Force’s Stories)

The speaker for our combined Friends of Air Force History and Heritage (FAFHH) and Aviation Historical Society of Australia (AHSA) on 28 June 2023...
DerekB24/05/202321/05/2024

AHSA Melbourne Meeting May 2023 (Andy Hansen: A Short History of Aerial Photography)

Our guest speaker at the meeting held on 24 May 2023 was Dr Andrew Hansen, who gave a fascinating presentation about the history and...
DerekB26/04/202321/05/2024

AHSA Melbourne Meeting April 2023 (Martin James: Battle of the Bismarck Sea)

Our speaker for the meeting held on 26 April 2023 was RAAF Historian Mr Martin James. This meeting was another joint presentation with the...
DerekB22/03/202321/05/2024

AHSA Melbourne Meeting March 2023 (Annie Floodin: Boeing History)

Our March 2023 Melbourne meeting featured a presentation by Annie Floodin, a historian from Boeing Historical Services who is currently visiting Australia connecting with...
DerekB22/02/202321/05/2024

AHSA Melbourne Meeting February 2023 (Jeff Maynard: The Lost Records of Sir Hubert Wilkins)

Jeff Maynard was the guest speaker for our 22 February 2023 meeting in Melbourne. Jeff has been researching the life and records of Sir...
DerekB11/12/202212/12/2022

AHSA Melbourne Meeting December 2022: Annual Barbeque

The final Melbourne meeting for the year will be a member's barbecue, to be held at the Moorabbin Air Museum on Sunday 11 December,...
DerekB23/11/202215/12/2022

AHSA Melbourne Meeting November 2022: Annual General Meeting

Our November meeting was the Annual General Meeting of the AHSA Inc, held on 23 November 2022, and was followed by a "Member's Night",...

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Welcome to the website of the Aviation Historical Society of Australia Inc.
The AHSA is dedicated to recording and promoting Australian aviation history. We find and tell the stories of how aviation (both civil and military) has contributed to the development of Australia and the experiences of Australian people.
To navigate around the site, select from the menu bar above, click on one of the updates below or choose one of the categories below.

On this day in Australian aviation history:

1934 The MacRobertson International Air Races, celebrating the centenary of the State of Victoria, from Mildenhall airfield (near London) to Melbourne, commenced just after dawn on 20 October 1934 (London time). The race was divided into two divisions – speed and handicap – with no limits to aircraft size, power or crew. The sponsor, Australian confectionary mogul, Sir Macpherson Robertson, provided a prize pool of £15, 000. 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. Mildenhall was a newly-constructed RAF airfield, but it had not been fully completed and was thus not in use by the RAF at the time. King George V and Queen Mary visited the airfield the day before the race to wish the contestents well. It was estimated that there were up to 60,000 people around the Mildenhall boundaries before dawn on a rather cool and damp Saturday morning to see the start of the race. Of these, about 15,000 actually poured onto the aerodrome and runways and caused chaos for the authorities and competitors alike who were moving out to their starting positions. Only 11 aircraft finished the gruelling 18,000 kilometre trip. The competitor's start times were as follows (s = Speed section; h = handicap section): 6:31 - Mr J.A. Mollison and Mrs. A. Mollison (nee Johnson), Britain (D.H. Comet), s. and h. 6:31 - Colonel Roscoe Turner and Mr. Clyde Pangborn, USA (Boeing 247), s. and h. 6:33 - Flight-Lieut. D.L. Asjes and Mr. G.J. Geysendorfer, Holland (Pander S.4) s. 6:35 - Mr. C.W.A. Scott and Captain T. Cambpell Black, Britain (D.H. Comet), s. and h. 6:35 - Miss Jacqueline Cochran and Mr. Wesley Smith, U.S.A. (Granville Monoplane), h. 6:36 - Mr. K.D. Parmentier and Mr. J.J. Moll, Holland (Douglas D.C. 2), s. and h 6:37 - Flight-Lieut. O. Cathcart-Jones and Mr. Ken Waller, Britain (D.H. Comet), s.and h. 6:37 - Mr. John H. Wright and Mr. John Pplando, U.S.A. (Lambert Monocoupe), h. 6:39 - Flight-Officer H. D. Gilman and Mr. J. K. C. Baines, Britain (Fairey Fox), s. 6:40 - Mr. James Woods and Flying-Officer D. C. Bennett, Australia (Lockhead.Vega), s. and h. 6:40 - Squadron-Leader J. D. Hewitt and Flying-Officer C. E .Kay, and Mr. Stewart, New. Zealand -D.H. Rapide Dradgon), s. and h. 6:41 - Lieutenant Michael Kansen and Mr. Jensen, Denmark (Desoutter Mark II.), h. 6:41 - Mr. Ray Parer and Mr: G.E. Hemsworth, Australia (Fairey Fox), s. and h. 6:42 - Mr. H. L. Brook, with. Miss E. Lay as passenger, Britain (Miles Falcon), h. 6:43 - Squadron-Leader M.C. McGregor and Mr. H. C. . Walker, New Zealand (Miles Hawk), h. 6:44 - Flight-Lieut G. Shaw, Britain. (British Klemm Eagle), h. 6:45 - Squadron-Leader D. E. Stodart and Sergeant-Pilot K. G. Stodart, Britain (Airspeed Courier), h. 6:45 - Mr. C. J. Melrose, Australia (D.H. Puss Moth), h. 6:47 - Captain T. Neville Stack, Mr. S. L. Turner, and Mr. J. H. G. McArthur, Britain (Airspeed ' Viceroy), s. and h. 6:47 - Flying-Officer C. G. Davies and Lieut-Commander Hill, Britain (Fairey SP.), s. and h. Sources: Aviation Heritage Vol 24 Nos 1 & 2, 1984; State Library of NSW; The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate (NSW), Sat 27 Oct 1934, Page 5, ORDER OF START.
1934 While competing in the Handicap section of the MacRobertson International Air Races from London to Melbourne, Miss Jacqueline Cochran and Mr. Wesley Smith, representing the U.S.A. were forced to withdraw when their Granville Brothers R6H Monoplane "QED" NR14307 developed mechanical problems at Bucharest, Romania on 20 October 1934. Source: Aviation Heritage Vol 24 Nos 1 & 2, 1984

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