State Library of South Australia

Vickers Vimy at Surabaya. [PRG 1701/1/3] • Photograph

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Summary

Copy of a photograph. Caption: 'Digging out the wheels at Surabaya and laying bamboo mats to assist take-off. (Picture by courtesy of Qantas)'. Two local men helping to prepare the runway for the Vickers Vimy aircraft to take-off at Surabaya, Indonesia, during the England to Australia Air Race.

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Physical description

Photograph (black and white, print), 24.7 x 34.9 cm.

Dates / Publication details

8 December 1919

Creator

Furlong, John S. B

Subject

Smith, Ross Macpherson, Sir, 1892-1922
Smith, Keith Macpherson, Sir, 1890-1955
Bennett, James Mallett, 1894-1922
Shiers, Walter Henry, 1889-1968
Vickers Limited.
England-Australia air race, 1919.
Vickers aircraft.
Vimy (Bomber).
Airplanes -- South Australia.
Air pilots -- South Australia.
Crowds -- South Australia.

Catalogue record

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Historical information

In 1919 Australian Prime Minister William Hughes offered a £10,000 prize on behalf of the Australian government for the first Australians to fliy an aircraft from England to Australia, in under 30 consecutive days. Of the six teams that entered the race, the winning crew and first to fly an aircraft from Enlgand to Australia, flew in the Vickers Vimy G-EAOU bomber, departing London on 12 November 1919, and arriving in Darwin 27 days and 20 hours later, on 10 December 1919. They flew via Lyon, Rome, Cairo, Delhi, Calcutta, Singapore, and Surabaya in Indonesia (where the aircraft became bogged and bamboo mats were placed on the airstrip), finally arriving in Darwin. The crew consisted of South Australian pilots and brothers Captain Ross MacPherson Smith and Lieutenant Keith Macpherson Smith, with mechanics Sergeants Walter Henry Shiers and James Mallett Bennett. The four men shared the prize money, Keith and Ross Smith were knighted, and Shiers and Bennett were awarded bars to their Air Force Medals and honorary commissions. After the flight, the crew flew to Sydney and eventually returned to Adelaide in 1920, making many stops along the way for spectators to welcome home the victors.

Digitisation information

Date

15/11/2016

Format

image/tiff

Resolution

5,652 x 4,073 pixels (23.0 MP)

Size

69.09 MB

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