Pack your bags for a trip through 5 recently digitised mid-20th century travel serials, now on Trove. This material has been digitised thanks to a generous donation from Tony Wheeler AO. 

Explore a vivid snapshot of Australia’s tourism industry during a time when both air travel and caravanning were on the rise, and regional destinations like Noosa were still ‘lesser-known gems.’  

Themes to explore include environmental impact, infrastructure development, and the post WWII travel boom. Through vintage advertising, track the evolution of Qantas, or discover campaigns on car safety and sun protection. Read articles on women and travel, must-see international stopovers and helpful holiday pointers. 

Start exploring these titles now on Trove! 

Air Travel and Holiday

Air Travel and Holiday magazine captures the excitement of a new era of commercial air travel. Articles highlight streamlined aircraft, shrinking distances, and the promise of effortless journeys to a wider range of international destinations. Australians began to imagine holidays beyond their own borders, with features on Pacific islands, Asian stopovers, and the glamour of international travel.

Holiday and Travel

Launched in 1950, Holiday and Travel embraced the ‘progressive age of air travel and ever-shrinking distances.’ Its editor promised a ‘streamlined, air-minded magazine’ that would take readers on a ‘magic carpet of words and pictures’ to places they had always longed to see. By its second year, the magazine expanded its scope to present ‘Australia to the world,’ reflecting the growing international interest in Australian tourism. 

View Holiday and Travel on Trove: 

• Holiday and Travel (1948–1949)
• Holiday and Travel in Australia (1949–1950)
• Holiday and Travel (1951) 

Australian Holiday

Introduced by The Gotham Company in Sydney in 1949, Australian Holiday catered to a domestic audience eager to explore their own country. It appeared at a time when tourism was described as ‘the greatest undeveloped industry in Australia.’ Its pages are filled with features on destinations, leisure activities, and the evolving travel market.

The BP Magazine

Published by Burns, Philp & Co., The BP Magazine was a cultural and leisure periodical that flourished during the interwar years. Burns, Philp was a major Australian shipping company that expanded into tourism in 1914, using its trade routes across Asia and the South Pacific. The magazine played a key role in broadening Australians’ horizons—geographically and culturally—through vivid photography and articles on travel, lifestyle, and leisure.

Picturesque Travel

A precursor to BP Magazine, Picturesque Travel was presented as a corporate yearbook highlighting destinations and promoting Australia as a travel hub. It offered readers a ‘strikingly valuable advertisement of and for Australia,’ combining aspirational imagery with practical travel information. 

View 5 issues of Picturesque Travel on Trove: 

• 1911
• 1913
• 1914
• 1920
• 1925 

Travel to Trove

Whether you’re seeking inspiration for your next holiday, cruising memory lane, or you’re jet-setting through a research journey, make Trove your next destination.