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Archive for September, 2020

Outback in the Open Air

03 Sep

September 3, 1937

Longreach was established by the Thomson River in the late 1800s. The town got its name from the river’s ‘long reach’. The famous flying Father Flynn – “Flynn of the Inland” and face on the Australian 20 dollar note – flew the world’s first aerial ambulances through here. Then, on September 3, 1937, that other Flynn, Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn, “showed”, in the Mark Twain classic Prince and the Pauper at the (open air) Palace Theater.

This (2020) is the Centenary Year of Qantas – Australia’s most famous corporation, being celebrated at the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach. Adding another illustrious name to the mix, Qantas flew all de Havilland aircraft in its earliest days – aircraft created by aviation design pioneer, Geoffrey de Havilland, Olivia’s cousin.

Celebrate the Qantas Centenary in Longreach

Top Ten Things to Do in Longreach

— Tim

 

Sean Injured in Da Nang

01 Sep

September 2, 1968

Errol Flynn’s Son Wounded On Assignment In Vietnam

Da Nang, Vietnam (AP) -Sean Flynn, working as a cameraman for the Columbia Broadcasting System, was wounded slightly by grenade fragments Saturday during a counterattack by U.S. Special Forces on an enemy squad 85 miles south of Da Nang. Flynn, 27, son of the late actor Errol Flynn, and Associated Press photographer Dana Stone were with the Special Forces as they retook a small outpost overrun by the enemy Friday near the special forces camp of Ka Thanh. Flynn was hit in the chest but did not require hospital care, and returned to the Da Nang press center. Flynn calls Paris, France, his home. He was wounded slightly in February 1966, while covering U.S. troops in South Vietnam.

Sean under fire during the 1968 “Mini-Tet”. Photo by Tim Page.

— Tim

 

Four’s a Crowd Draws a Crowd

01 Sep

September 1, 1938 – 12:30 Matinee

“The cream and black tiles glistened and the neon sign spelled out its welcome. The new Lafayette Theater, with its modern Art Deco design, was opening! The line stretched down the block as people waited to see Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in “Fours A Crowd.”



Here’s the Original Trailer

— Tim