Sixty-six years ago Errol selected the cover photo for a magazine because it reminded him of the location depicted below. Where is the location and why was it memorable to him??
Added Friday 10 p.m. EST
— Tim
Sixty-Six Years Ago Quiz
17
Jul
Looks like Spain or Southern Italy…absolutely no clue..nor did I know he picked a magazine cover. Pic?
Though your guess is a good one, Selene, it’s in the other hemisphere, on the other side of the world. Can’t show the cover photo without giving away the answer to the quiz, but yes Errol was asked to select a photo for a magazine cover in 1954. His choice was of a beautiful blond in a bathing suit at the beautiful beach location in question.
This is really out there, but one of the photos reminds me of the Bay of Fires in Tasmania
You’re right about the similarity barb, and only about 1400 miles away, in a warmer direction north. I say “about” because distance calculations in the Bay of Fires part of the world can be a bit complicated because of the curvature of the earth that far south.
Following the directions in this video will get you very close to the place that Errol said was his reason for selecting the photo he selected. He surely saw more bathing beauties than he did spotted wobbegongs, but it’s a great place to see both.
This was likely the very stretch of beach Errol was referring to, though it could have been another stretch very nearby, only a short walk from this one.
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Here’s a cropped image of the photo Errol chose!
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OK, I know Botany Bay shown in the directions in your video is in Sydney (at least it’s the same country as Tasmania :-)). I googled Bare Island from your video and found a Bare Island Fort in the La Perouse area in Kamay Botany Bay National Park. I’ve heard of Botany Bay but have no idea what the La Perouse area is (other than it’s in Australia) or what possible connection that would have to Flynn.
You are there, barb! In the footsteps of Flynn! All you need to do now is a touch more of your special google magic!
It was published sixty-six years ago today, July 17, 1954.
The location was named after a famous French Naval explorer – Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de La Pérouse – who, as ‘The Voyage of La Perouse’ map below shows, sailed into and out of Botany Bay, after which he mysteriously disappeared. To this day it’s uncertain how or where he died.
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Here he is in 1785 with Louis XVI planning his exploration of the Southern Hemisphere for France, in the wake of Captain Cook’s exploration of the South Seas for England. (Captain Cook claimed Australia for England on August 22, 1770.)
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Belinda Lee was the bathing beauty featured on the cover. She was an up and coming British movie actress in 1954. In 1958 she was involved in an international scandal with a married Papal prince.
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It is said that Errol selected the photo because it reminded him of La Perouse beach in Sydney, Australia, where he spent days in his youth. Here’s how La Perouse Beach looked back in those days:
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Tim, I googled “errol flynn magazine la perouse” .. and found this: www.worthpoint.com….
Without your clues, of course, I’d never have found this. Where on earth did you dig this up?
That’s it, barb! Congratulations!! That was a really tough one! Who knew of Errol going to Lerouse, never mind selecting a magazine cover photo because it reminded him of his early days there? Heck, except for the French and those in the South Seas, how many ever even heard of Lerouse himself, or the area in Australia named after him? Not me.
I love Australia and have done a lot of research before I have visited there, but, nope, I’ve never heard of the La Perouse area, much less the man himself. And until your quiz, I surely hadn’t heard of Flynn’s connection to the area or his selecting a magazine cover. More great sleuthing, Tim.
Pardon my French history, barb, but I, too, had never heard of La Perouse prior to this quiz, neither the explorer nor the beach area. One of the marvelous rewards one receives researching Errol’s life is learning of all the various places he lived and visited around the globe. Few if any in the history of the world enjoyed as many adventures as Errol Flynn did, day and night, in all four hemispheres.
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