POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Photograph of the "Southern Cross" and "Faith in Australia" aircraft leaveing Mascot airport, Sydney, 1935

Photograph of the "Southern Cross" and "Faith in Australia" aircraft leaveing Mascot airport, Sydney, 1935

Object No. 85/112-34

This item is from a collection of 21 philatelic covers, 5 letters, 2 envelopes and 24 photographs relating to early Australian aviation. It is part of a much larger collection donated to the Museum by EA and VI Crome which comprises some 20,000 items of postage stamps featuring airmail and space philately plus a large number of envelopes flown and posted back to Mr Crome. Many are signed by the pilots or astronauts. Ernest Alfred Crome (1902-1987) worked his way up from office boy to manager of the Newtown & Enmore Starr Bowkett Co-operative Building Society. In the 1920s when aviation at nearby Mascot Airport was in its infancy he gave envelopes to pilots to sign and post back to him seeing them as 'miniature log books' of these early experimental flights. It was not until 1939 that he married his wife, Virtie, who continued to encourage him in his hobby. Ernie Crome went on to form one of the first 'aerophilatelic' collections and may be considered as the joint father of Australian aerophilately, Nelson Eustis (of airmail catalogue fame) being the other. Ernie sold his first collection to the National Library in Canberra in 1965 ('the Crome collection') but soon began to build another. He had made his first donation to the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences in 1949 so it was logical for him to continue and 'The EA & VI Crome collection' is made up of a large purchase in 1981 plus many other donations. The particular strength of Ernie's collection is early Australian aviation from 1910 to 1939. It contains many envelopes posted back to him from private fliers as well as the more famous. Two large selections trace the flights of CTP Ulm and PG Taylor and the Catalina 'Frigate Bird II' was donated by Taylor to the Museum in 1961 at Ernie's instigation. Ernie had been friendly with Taylor since the latter's heroic exploit when he climbed onto the wing of the 'Southern Cross' in 1935 and transferred oil from one engine to the other to save the plane. Much of the airmail carried on that flight was jettisoned but Ernie Crome managed to collect some of the few which survived! Ernie Crome also saw the space age as a logical development from aviation and he continued to collect space stamps and covers. He was also a noted collector of music, in particular the violin, and he also donated to the Museum in this field.

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Summary

Object Statement

Photograph, black and white, depicting 'Southern Cross' and 'Faith in Australia' leaving Mascot airport, paper, photographer unknown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1935

Physical Description

Landscape format black and white photograph of two aircraft, Southern Cross and Faith in Australia, in flight over Mascot Airport. Buildings can be seen in the background. The photograph has been signed. A copyright stamp is on the back of the photograph.

DIMENSIONS

Height

120 mm

Width

162 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

The photographer is unknown but they may have been working for The Sun newspaper. The photograph was taken at Mascot Airport, Sydney.

HISTORY

Notes

Charles Kingsford Smith, along with co-pilot P G Taylor and radio operator John Stannage, attempted to fly from Australia to New Zealand in the 'Southern Cross' to gain the contract for a trans-Tasman airmail service. The flight was also to celebrate the 25th Jubilee of King George V. They encountered engine trouble halfway across the Tasman Sea and were saved by Taylor climbing out of the cockpit and transferring oil from one engine to another using a thermos flask and a leather suitcase. For this action, Taylor received an Empire Gallantry Medal, later changed to a George Cross. The cargo and most of the mail bags were dumped and the plane and its crew returned to Sydney. In 1933 in the 'Faith in Australia' Australian aviator Charles Ulm set the speed record from England to Australia at 6 days, 17 hours and 56 minutes, and made several trans-Tasman flights. According to information provided by E Crome the 'two historic aeroplanes fly out of Mascot for the Richmond Air Force base, in anticipation of heavy mail for the FIRST JUBILEE AIR MAIL FLIGHT in history.'

SOURCE

Acquisition Date

24 January 1985

Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.

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