Well, I think I am lucky enough to have the whole lot..! Yes it was a good publication. I remember when learning to fly back in 19xx each edition was eagerly awaited by almost every pilot and if I recall you had to have a PPL to go on the mailing list.
Looking back at No1 dated July 1953, that edition was divided into four sections:
I.......Aviation news and views
II......Overseas accidents
III.....Australian Accidents
IV......Incident Reports
Editions #2 and 3 were similar format, but #4 (April 1955) was just one accident, which I guess was most significant at the time. It was the Vickers Viscount 720, VH-TVA at Mangalore Vic on 31 October 1954 which crashed on a training flight whilst conducting a 3 engine takeoff on runway 22.
If one then jumps to the last edition (#150) dated 1991. The first page has comment from Ron Cooper, the then GM Safety regulation and Standards Division of the CAA who were then responsible for the digest.
He says:
The results of the survey we conducted to identify readers' wishes in relation to the continuation of the Digest, indicated inadequate support to warrant its continuation. However the CAA believes there is a need for the promulgation of information from time to time, and intends to provide that information in an enhanced version of the CAA News. I am sure that this publication, together with the BASI Journal, will provide an appropriate source of safety information for the aviation industry.
Signed Ron Cooper
The editor of that edition was Roger Marchant.
The BASI Journal continued for a short time, I have 12 editions ending in June 1992. This was then followed by the Asia Pacific Air Safety journal, edition #1 dated Sept 1992. It faded away sometime later and my collection is a bit incomplete from there on.
Yes, the old "digest" or "crash comic" as we used to call it was a good read and we have certainly not seen anything so good ever since.
All of these great publications died due to cost and in fact some of the later ones carried advertisments.