Guide to the Papers of Charles and John Ulm
MS 9923
National Library of Australia
| Date completed: | May 2007 |
| Last updated: | May 2007 |
Table of Contents
Collection Summary
Introduction
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Access
Copying and Publishing
Preferred Citation
Provenance
Related Material
Biographical Note
Series List and Descriptions
Series 1 Personal and family documents, c. 1920-1934, 1960, 1998
Series 2 World War I documents c. 1913-1919
Series 3 Percival Moodie, 1919-1934
Series 4 Australian National Airways (ANA), c. 1928-1934, 1962-1964, 1981, 1990
Series 5 Southern Cross, 1927-1929, 1936, 1980-1985
Series 6 Faith in Australia, c. 1933-1990
Series 7 Stella Australis, 1934, 1978-1987
Series 8 Commemorative and philatelic material, c. 1928-1998
Series 9 Papers of John Ulm, c. 1928-1994
Series 10 Ian Mackersey's Smithy: the life of Charles Kingsford-Smith, 1991-1999
Series 11 Newspaper cuttings, c. 1927-1996
Series 12 Miscellaneous papers, 1803, 1908, 1978-1990
Container List
Collection Summary
| Creator: | Ulm, Charles, 1897-1934 and Ulm, John, 1921- |
| Title: | Papers of Charles and John Ulm |
| Date Range: | 1803-2000 |
| Collection Number: | MS 9923 |
| Extent: | 1.71m (8 boxes + 1 folio box) |
| Repository: | National Library of Australia |
Introduction
Scope and Content
The papers comprise newspaper cuttings, stamps, commemorative envelopes, correspondence, brochures, research notes, articles, reviews, certificates, talks, handwritten notes, photocopies of government records, business papers, photographs, maps and ephemera.
The largest series in the collection is the commemorative and philatelic material, comprising stamps, commemorative envelopes, tribute albums and newspaper cuttings, articles and reviews and mostly relates to the 50th Anniversary of the First Trans-Pacific flight (1928).
Arrangement
The papers arrived in three cartons and one large box and were received in a semi-ordered state. Many of the papers were filed in manila folders and envelopes and formed logical sequences. Other papers were not in any discernable order and have been arranged by Library staff, with loose material interfiled as appropriate.
Where possible, many of the file titles have been retained. For titles that may not be obvious to researchers, Library staff have amended these to reflect the contents of the files. Many of the folders received have Ulm's initials CTP (Charles Thomas Phillippe) written on them and these too have been retained. Library staff have given names to files with no titles.
Provenance
The collection has dual provenance. It consists of papers collected by Charles Ulm, and also items collected about Ulm by his son, John, which have been kept together because of the interrelated nature of their creation. The papers were donated to the Library by John Ulm in June 2003 in conjunction with an exhibition held at the National Library of Australia to mark the 75th Anniversary of his father's 1928 Trans-Pacific flight.
Copying and Publishing
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Related Material
Also held in the Manuscript Collection is a separate grouping of Ulm papers (MS 215), which were donated to the Library in 1951. In addition, there are collections pertaining to individuals who flew with Ulm, such as the papers of Charles Kingsford Smith (MS 209), George 'Scotty' Allan (MS 4911) and P G Taylor (MS 2594). E A Crome's, 'Collection relating to Aviation in Australia, 1914-2005' (MS 1925) and the Papers of Austin Byrne (MS 3736) also contain relevant material.
In the Oral History Collection there are sound recordings made of Charles Kingsford Smith and Ulm on their trans-Pacific flight 1928 (ORAL TRC 39/2). There are also interviews with George 'Scotty' Allan, pioneer pilot with Australian National Airways, about Charles Ulm (ORAL TRC 575/7) and Nell Rogers, former secretary to Ulm and Kingsford Smith (ORAL TRC 575/6).
A biography cuttings file on Ulm is held at the Library which may be accessed via the Newspaper Reading Room.
The Library also holds a number of published works by or about Ulm including: Boulton, Bob. Aviators of the Charles Ulm and Kingsford Smith era, 1993.
Kingsford Smith, C E and Ulm, C T P. The Flight of the Southern Cross, 1929.
Pickering, John. The routes of the Valkyries : a brief joint biography of Air Commodore Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith, KBE, MC, AFC, and Flt Lt Charles Thomas Phillippe Ulm, 1977.
Rogers, Ellen. Faith in Australia : Charles Ulm and Australian Aviation, 1987.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Charles and John Ulm, National Library of Australia, MS 9923, [series and/or folder number]'.
Biographical Note
Charles Thomas Phillippe Ulm was born on 18 October 1898 at Middle Park, Melbourne, to Emile Gustave Ulm (a Parisian-born artist) and his wife Ada Emma, née Greenland. He was educated in Melbourne then in Sydney, where he worked as a clerk in a stockbroking office. On 16 September 1914, at the age of sixteen, Ulm enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force, under the name of 'Charles Jackson', stating he was 20 years of age. Ulm was amongst the first troops to land at Gallipoli on 25 April 1925, but not long afterwards was wounded in action. He returned to Australia and was discharged from the AIF. In January 1917 he re-enlisted under his own name and served with the 45th Infantry Battalion on the Western Front. In July 1918 he was badly wounded and evacuated to Britain, before being demobilised in March 1919.
Ulm married Isabel Amy Winter on 20 November 1919. In 1921 his first and only child, John, was born. In 1927 Charles and Isabel were divorced and Ulm re-married on 29 June 1927 to Mary Josephine Callaghan.
In 1927 Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith circumnavigated Australia in a Bristol Tourer in 10 days and five hours, more than halving the existing record. The pair then planned the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States of America to Australia. On 31 May 1928 with two American crewmen, they flew the Southern Cross from Oakland, California and reached Brisbane on 9 June after 83 hours and 19 minutes flying time. In September of that year, the pair made the first trans-Tasman flight, from Sydney to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 14 hours.
In December 1928 Ulm and Kingsford Smith formed Australian National Airways (ANA) to operate unsubsidised passenger, mail and freight services. In March 1929 the pair decided to fly to London to buy aircraft and were lost for 13 days after the Southern Cross was forced to land near the north-west coast of Australia. At the time, there were rumours that the two planned the disappearance for a publicity stunt. Whilst the pair did resume their flight to England on 25 June, Ulm continued to primarily devote himself to managing ANA. Due to the Depression, the company went into liquidation in February 1933. Ulm brought one of the remaining aeroplanes and called it Faith in Australia.
Flying the Faith in Australia, Ulm took part in a number of important expeditions. In 1933 he flew to England with Sir Gordon Taylor as part of an around the world trip. The trip was aborted and the pair returned to Australia creating a new world record of six days, 17 hours and 56 minutes. In April 1934 Ulm flew the first official mail from Australia to New Zealand, and in August he carried the first official airmail from Australia to New Guinea and back.
In September 1934 Ulm formed Great Pacific Airways Limited, in the hope of establishing an air service between Australia, Canada and the United States. He bought an Airspeed Envoy, Stella Australis, and on 3 December 1934, with a crew of two, Ulm flew from Oakland to Hawaii. Stella Australis failed to arrive. Despite an extensive sea search, no trace of the plane or the crew was ever found.
John Ulm
John Ulm was born in June 1921, the only child of Charles Ulm and his first wife, Isabel. He was only 13 years old when his father's plane, the Stella Australis, went down in the Pacific Ocean.
John's interest in aviation saw him have a long career at Qantas, including roles such as the Chief Press and Information Officer in the 1960s.
Throughout his life, John has been active in researching and commemorating his late father.
John lives in Sydney.
Series List and Descriptions
Series 1 Personal and family documents, c. 1920-1934, 1960, 1998
This series comprises personal and family documents of Ulm and his family including correspondence, photographs, photocopies of birth certificates, obituaries and family history information.
The series also contains ephemera in the form of menus from tributes given in honour of Ulm in 1928 and 1929. The 1928 also honours Kingsford Smith and both men have autographed the back of the menu.
Series 2 World War I documents c. 1913-1919
When World War I broke out in 1914, Ulm was keen to enlist. Although he was too young to enlist at the age of sixteen, he did so under the name of Charles Jackson. He saw service in the Dardanelles but was wounded in action and returned to Australia. In 1917 he re-enlisted under his own name but was badly wounded and returned home in 1919.
The series includes Ulm's original discharge certificates and service record book. The last two folders contain photocopies of documents, including correspondence between Ulm's family and the Department of Defence, medical records and other war service records.
Series 3 Percival Moodie, 1919-1934
Percival Moodie, a friend of Ulm, was a chemist from Bathurst, New South Wales who shared Ulm's interest in aviation. Moodie was at one time Chairman and Managing Director of the Western Aero Company Limited and a Director of Western and Southern Provincial (WASP) Airlines.
Both Moodie and Ulm appear to have flown together as early as 1919 (a photograph is included in this series) and flew from Melbourne to Bathurst in 1921 (a map tracing the flight is also filed here). This series primarily consists of business papers relating to the Western Aero Company Limited and WASP, such as memoranda, agenda of meetings, and applications for shares, prospectuses and reports.
Series 4 Australian National Airways (ANA), c. 1928-1934, 1962-1964,1981, 1990
Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith formed the Australian National Airways (ANA) in 1928. The airline was established to operate passenger, mail and freight services. The company went into liquidation in February 1933.
This series includes contracts, newspaper cuttings, correspondence, photographs, various company prospectuses brochures, a map, memoranda, as well as later articles and research relating to ANA.
Folder 1 includes a 1931 memorandum between Ulm and Kingsford Smith as well as other papers relating to the company. Folder 6 relates to Macarthur Job's research for a proposed book, 'Into Oblivion', which was to include information on the history of ANA.
This series includes material relating to Series 5, the Southern Cross.
Series 5 Southern Cross, 1927-1929, 1936, 1980-1985
In 1928 Charles Ulm accompanied Charles Kingsford Smith and two American crewmen aboard the Southern Cross to fly for the first time across the Pacific Ocean. The historic trans-Pacific flight flew from Oakland in California on 31 May 1928 and arrived in Brisbane on 9 June.
Ulm and Kingsford Smith flew the Southern Cross on a number of other historic journeys including the first trans-Tasman flight in 1928, flying from Sydney to Christchurch, New Zealand. In 1929 the pair flew to England and were lost for 13 days after the Southern Cross had to land in the north-west coast of Australia. A massive search was undertaken and the pair were found.
The series contains contracts, newspaper cuttings and articles, correspondence, photographs, a map and certificate. Folder 3 is an article written by Ralph Heintz who built the Southern Cross radio sets.
Series 4, Australian National Airways, also contains information relating to the Southern Cross.
Series 6 Faith in Australia, c. 1933-1990
After Australian National Airways went into liquidation, Ulm brought one of the remaining planes and called it Faith in Australia. Ulm flew the Faith in Australia with Sir Gordon Taylor to England in 1933, returning to Australia in record-breaking time. In 1934 he flew the first official airmail flight to New Zealand and to Papua New Guinea.
This small series includes newspaper cuttings, articles, correspondence, a photograph of the aircraft, a book of tickets for the ANZAC memorial appeal passenger flight on the Faith in Australia, and an envelope commemorating the first official airmail from Australia to Papua New Guinea. Also filed here are articles written in the 1970s and 1980s commemorating Ulm and the Faith in Australia.
VH-UXX refers to the type of aircraft.
Series 7 Stella Australis, 1934, 1978-1987
On 3 December 1934 Ulm, together with two crew, flew from Oakland in California to Hawaii aboard the Stella Australis. The plane never reached its destination and, after an extensive search, the wreckage was never found.
The series consists of one folder and contains newspaper cuttings, articles and correspondence. Some of the letters include 1987 correspondence of John Ulm regarding his research on the Stella Australis.
Series 8 Commemorative and philatelic material, c. 1928-1998
Ever since Ulm's historic flights, there have been many events and commemorative material issued to remember his expeditions and life, including commemorative envelopes, stamps, memorials and films.
This series includes invitations, souvenir brochures, correspondence, newspaper articles, research notes and press releases, but most of the material consists of stamps and commemorative envelopes. Some of the envelopes are from inaugural flights - for example, the first all-Australian Air mail Service from Australia to England (1931), and the first flight made by a member of the royal family in Australia (1934) - and have been signed by Ulm and his crew. Many of the envelopes are addressed to Ulm himself. Most of the papers in this series relate to the 50th Anniversary of Ulm and Kingsford Smith's Trans-Pacific flight.
Folder 3 Picture of Ulm and Kingsford Smith by William Dargie comemorating the unveiling of the painting at the Art Gallery of NSW by Prime Minister R G Menzies, 1958
Folder 4 Tribute album for memorial commemorating the first flight over the Pacific Ocean by Kingsford Smith and his companions (unveiled by R W Askin, Premier of NSW, erected by Bexley RSL), 1969
Folder 5 Letter to John Ulm from Reg Grundy Productions on proposed series on Kingsford Smith and Ulm, 1977
Folder 6 John Ulm correspondence with Michael Terry and Australia Post regarding research and articles commemorating Ulm, 1975-1977
Series 9 Papers of John Ulm, c. 1928-1994
This series consists of other papers maintained by John Ulm pertaining to his father It includes cards, invitations, articles, notes on talks, research papers, correspondence, and a photograph.
Folders 4-5 include correspondence and other papers on the Charles Ulm Collection of Aviation Records located at the Mitchell Library in Sydney. These papers were arranged, listed and donated by John Ulm and Ellen Rogers, former private secretary to Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm. Folder 6 consists of papers of Ellen Rogers and includes correspondence between herself and the Mitchell Library.
Folder 7 includes an early photograph of Ulm.
Folder 1 'John Ulm's Memories of Charles Thomas Phillippe Ulm (CTP): includes autographed cards from the crew of the Southern Cross, an invitation to his father, typed notes by John Ulm on the Southern Cross and personal notes on his father, 1928-1929, 1994
Series 10 Ian Mackersey's Smithy: the life of Charles Kingsford-Smith, 1991-1999
This series contains correspondence, newspaper cuttings, reviews and research notes kept by John Ulm in response to Ian Mackersey's research for a biography of Kingsford Smith. The papers are a comprehensive source for research on Kingsford Smith and Ulm.
John Ulm responded to Mackersey's research requests by telephone, letters and by notes written on the original letters.
Mackersey's biography, Smithy: the life of Charles Kingsford Smith, was published by Little, Brown and Co, London, in 1998
Series 11 Newspaper cuttings, c. 1927-1996
This series contains newspaper cuttings and articles relating to Ulm. The cuttings cover Ulm's flight with Kingsford Smith on the first Trans-Pacific flight, Ulm's disappearance, anniversaries of flights, biographical information, obituaries, tributes, memorials and articles on people who worked or knew Ulm. While there are original cuttings and articles, there are also photocopies of cuttings, particularly from earlier publications.
Any unfiled newspaper cuttings were placed in preservation folders by Library staff.
Series 12 Miscellaneous papers, 1803, 1908, 1978-1990
This series includes issues of early newspapers, photocopies of photographs, articles, souvenir booklets and other ephemera.
Folder 2 Souvenir program of the Australian Flying Corps Association Memorial Air Meeting and Aviation Display, 1930; 'The first aeroplane voyage from England to Australia' booklet, by Sir Ross Smith; Atlantic Union Oil Company advertisement, 1958; Flyer for ABC radio's 'A social history of Australian aviation', 1990
Container List
| Series | Folder/Item | Box |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | Folio Box |
| 1 | 3-4 | 1 |
| 2 | 1-3 | 1 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 | Map Drawer |
| 4 | 1-3 | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | Folio Box |
| 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 5 | 1-3 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | Folio Box |
| 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 5 | 6 | Map Draw |
| 5 | 7 | Folio Box |
| 5 | 8-9 | 3 |
| 6 | 1-2 | 3 |
| 7 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | 1-3 | 3 |
| 8 | 4 | Folio Box |
| 8 | 5-13 | 4 |
| 8 | 14-16 | 5 |
| 9 | 1-4 | 5 |
| 9 | 5-10 | 6 |
| 10 | 1-3 | 6 |
| 10 | 4-8 | 7 |
| 11 | 1-3 | 7 |
| 11 | 4 | Folio Box |
| 12 | 1 | 7 |
| 12 | 2-4 | 8 |