THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20564, 4 June 1932, Page 16

THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE.

SEGRAVE TROPHY. ANNIHILATING DISTANCES. <KIOM OUB OWN CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, April 28. The British Manufacturers' Section of the Society of Motor , Manufacturers and Traders publish an Overseas Bulletin in which they review recent events and developments in connexion with the trade in all parts of the ! Empire. Among other things it is mentioned that excellent progress is being made in the construction of Lord Wakefield's Miss England 111. at Thornycroft's Hampton-on-Thames Boatbuilding Works, and in another few weeks this new challenger for world speed records will, it is hoped, be afloat. She will be of radically different design from her predecessor, Miss England 11., and more closely follows the lines of the famous Thornycroft C.M.B.'s—the coastal motor-boats which gave such excellent service during the war. Her Rolls-Koyee engines will be of approximately 25 per cent, more power than those installed in Miss England 11., and will be driving twin propellers. It is hoped to carry out preliminary trials in Home waters in time to get the new craft well run in before sho is due to compete on Lake Garda towards the end of May. The Bulletin is accompanied by an attractively printed booklet entitled, "The Spirit of Adventure." On the cover is a coloured reproduction of the Segrave Trophy, the first and second awards of which have been given to Australians. "Thus,, from (he outset," state the writers of the booklet, "the Imperial significance of the : Trophy has been emphasised with singular felicity. Who knows what feats of imagination, initiative, and courage on the part of citizens from all quarters of the Empire may not in future years bo inscribed upon the scroll of the Segrave Trophy, or what the cumulative effects may prove in bridging the only gap—that of distanceI—which 1 —which yet divides the units of the British Commonwealth of Nations'?

"We live in an age of the machine," it is pointed out, "alid it should not be forgotten that tho enterprise of one individual is of-no avail unless with H there exists in the skill of the designer, I in the infinite capacity £o| caro and detail of the craftsman, and in the genius and inspiration of the commercial and* financial brain, a combination of characteristics all of which contribute to the "eventual success. Thus the Segrave Trophy represents in its ideals not merely the records of Sir Henry Segrave, or the feats of KingsfordSrnith, Campbell, Cobham, Hinkler, and S other great pilots of machines on land or in the air, but also the great achievements of such producers as Sir' Herbert Austin and Sir "William Morris, the public-spirited enterprise of Lprd Wakefield, and the Imperial enthusiasm of Lord. Beaverbrook." Imagination of Empire. To quote further: "It is already as simple a matter.for London to consult Canberra, Wellington, Ottawa, Pretoria, or Dublin, as it was for our. Home Government Departments at Westminster to consult one , another' only a few decades ago. But the actual' distances always remain, and we liave, .still to. .-ejirmount the more material problem of the swifter transportation for men, mails, and merchandise. The solution of tiiis problem in relation to the British Commonwealth of Nations is one of the main objects of the Segrave Trophy. , "The Imagination of Empire, as we dared to contemplate it. but a few months ago, is now a practical reality endorsed by public opinion, which has already been reflected in' elections in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. It is confined for the moment and of necessity to economic relationships along the road of which it is hoped great progress will bo made at the coming Imperial Conference. "May the Spirit of Adventure itself —the combination of those qualities and .ideals which\inspired the life of Sir Henry Segrave and iijdueed the dedication of the Trophy to Ms memory -—animate the Governments of the Empire to a full and complete realisation that in the perplexities of the times the peace and prosperity of the world can only be secured by the influence of a single constitution embracing, under the flag of freedom, the varied units of the British Commonwealth of Nations!" ' |

The booklet is illustrated with photographs of the Prince of Wales, Segrave, Kingsford-Smith, Hinkler, Cobham, Malcolm Campbell, and Lord Wakefield.