AIR PAGEANT AT PARAFIELD
The Parafield Air Pageant was held on Saturday the 20th of November 1948. It was estimated that about 50,000 people went to show. They caused traffic jams, and a big percentage of people gate crashed without paying. The big feature of the day was the Vampire jet fighter, the first jet-plane to be seen in South Australia, capable of speed of up to 500 mph. Other attractions included a 4-engined Lincoln Bomber. The Royal Aero Club planes performed aerobatics, providing thrills in plenty for the big crowd. A Dakata dropped supplies, and model aeroplanes took to the air. The pageant was arranged to stimulate RAAF recruiting and to aid the Air Force Association's war memorial appeal.
All in all it was a pretty memorable event. If ‘Ronald Francis’ is to be believed it was around the time of this pageant that the now infamous copy of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam was found in his car.