The 1971 Centennial Air Race

I bet few Chronicles readers, even those who were around at the time, remember this Centennial event of 55 years ago.

I also bet some Chronicles readers are scratching their heads—we had a centennial in 1971? Wasn’t it in 1958?

Of course, we had a centennial celebration in 1958; that’s when British Columbia celebrated its 100th year as a province. In 1971, we marked our joining Canadian Confederation.  

How better to promote BC internationally than an air race with a $50,000 first prize, someone suggested, and, soon, the entries were coming in from as far as Germany. Competition was fierce and in one instance, as the Oregonian photo indicates, was hotly contested in mid-air. 

The story of the 1971 Centennial Air Race in this week’s BC Chronicles.

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PHOTO: Two Royal Canadian Police watch as Roger Hannagan is put in a car at the Victoria Airport after completing the 1971 air race. —The Oregonian