In October 1934 a great air-race was planned from London to Flemington, Melbourne. From a field of 20 planes just 12 arrived. The winner took a whisker under 3 days; the last entrant arrived in February 1935. The best known tale is of the Dutch plane, Uiver, which made an emergency landing in Albury during a wild storm; the locals used the town’s lights to flash morse code to the plane and then lit the race-track, a make-shift aerodrome, with their car-headlights. Flight was one of the last frontiers and all the tales are unashamedly romantic and full of derring-do.

Every year the RHSV hosts a fabulous second-hand history book fair where we sell history books of every imaginable genre. Victorian and Australian history dominate but you'll find biographies, war history, art history, natural history, classics, children's books, political and social history etc

Please note that this is not a Zoom event but will be held live, in the Drill Hall in our downstairs gallery which is fully accessible. All COVID19 restrictions and cautions will be observed.  The RHSV is thrilled to host an event by our friends, the Good Girl Song Project. For those of you fortunate
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Join the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and Walk in St Kilda Rd & Environs, co-presenters of this event, along with the Astronomical Society of Victoria (ASV) and others, discussing the historical role and outstanding universal value of the magnificent Melbourne Observatory and its potential for UNESCO World Heritage listing nomination.

Emeritus Professor Graeme Davison AO, Chair of the History Council of Victoria, will launch Dr Liz Rushen's book, John Marshall: Shipowner, Lloyd's reformer and emigration agent. After the launch, Dr Rushen will deliver a paper which explores the significant role John Marshall played in the white settlement of the Port Phillip District

Brigid Magner's Locating Australian Literary Memory explores the cultural meanings suffusing local literary commemorations; orientated around eleven authors – Adam Lindsay Gordon, Joseph Furphy, Henry Handel Richardson, Henry Lawson, A. B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson, Nan Chauncy, Katharine Susannah Prichard, Eleanor Dark, P. L. Travers, Kylie Tennant and David Unaipon.