POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

'The Sir Ross Smith Aeroplane Race Game' board game

Object No. A8184

The 1919 air race from England to Australia won by Australians, Ross and Keith Smith, is illustrated in this children's board game of the time. The Smith brothers flew in a twin-engine Vickers Vimy heavy bomber, repaired enroute with chewing gum and pieces of fruit crates. The aircraft had the registration G-EAOU, which Smith's crew jokingly referred to as 'God 'Elp All Of Us'. The race was meant to demonstrate the feasibility of long-distance air travel, and prize money of £10,000 was offered by the Commonwealth Government of Australia for the first aircraft to arrive in 30 days consecutive days or less. Six planes competed, with 16 contestants, four died in crashes, two were arrested as spies in Yugoslavia and two others, after a forced landing in Mesopotamia (now Iraq), had to fend off local tribesmen with hand grenades. The trip took just under 28 days and the Vickers Vimy arrived at Darwin on 10 Dec 1919, with the only crew to reach Australia. Margaret Simpson, 2 October 2007 Simpson, Margaret "On the Move: a history of transport in Australia", Powerhouse Publishing, Sydney, 2004