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Cavalcade magazine, June 1942 issue
Cavalcade magazine, June 1942 issue

Cavalcade magazine, June 1942 issue

DateJune 1942
Object number00046772
NameMagazine
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 202 x 136 x 6 mm, 117.21 g
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionCavalcade magazine was an Australian-published news digest that was printed in Sydney by The Land Newspaper for R. G. Murray Publishing Company. This June 1942 issue relates to recent war activities in Australia, the Pacific and internationally.HistoryThe digest-sized Australian Cavalcade magazine was launched in about April 1941 by Kenneth Murray, formerly the publisher of Man Magazine. Murray's vision was to publish a noteworthy magazine in the same vain as the US Time magazine, and his first attempt resulted in a magazine called The Insider. The Insider itself became incorporated within the new Cavalcade magazine, featuring stories on the Pacific War. From 1943 until the end of 1944, Cavalcade went into a short recess suffering from the impact of the war on staffing and production costs. Cavalcade returned in late 1944 featuring stories and photographs on the war. The first Cavalcade covers from 1944 onwards were produced by artist Jack Waugh, but from 1945 the magazine changed to photo covers of Australian glamour-girls. During the Second World War, Darwin was a base for allied forces in the Pacific region and as such was a target for numerous Japanese attacks, being bombed a total of sixty-four times. The action over North West Australia was predominantly fought in the sky with bombers defending station bases and airfields. There were nine squadrons stationed around Darwin that consisted of servicemen from Australia, Britain, Holland and the United States, who provided heavy bomber aircraft under the command of Captain Olsen. SignificanceThis issue of the Cavalcade magazine is important in documenting the bombing attack of Darwin in World War II. In particular the photographs in this issue show the bombing of the Darwin Post Office in 1942.