Editing Charles Kingsford Smith

{{Short description|Australian aviator (1897–1935)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2018}}
{{British barrelled name|Kingsford Smith|Smith}}

{{Infobox aviator
|honorific_prefix  = [[Sir]]
|honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|MC|AFC}}
|image             = Charles Kingsford Smith 1932-06-20 (cropped).jpg
|caption           = Kingsford Smith in 1932
|full_name         = Charles Edward Kingsford Smith
|nickname          = Smithy
|birth_date        = {{birth date|df=yes|1897|2|9}}
|birth_place       = [[Brisbane]], [[Colony of Queensland]]
|death_date        = {{death date and age|df=yes|1935|11|8|1897|2|9}}
|death_place       = [[Andaman Sea]]
|death_cause       = Crashed in the sea off [[British rule in Burma|Burma]]
|nationality       = {{ubl|[[British subject]]<ref>[http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs187.aspx Citizenship in Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809132241/http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs187.aspx |date=9 August 2011 }} – National Archives of Australia</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://visaparaaustralia.com/immigration-to-australia/australian-nationality-law/3-migrate-to-australia/45-australian-nationality-law.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page= |title=Australian nationality law |publisher=Visaparaaustralia.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425120631/http://visaparaaustralia.com/immigration-to-australia/australian-nationality-law/3-migrate-to-australia/45-australian-nationality-law.html?tmpl=component&print=1&page= |archive-date=25 April 2012 }}</ref> | Australian}}
|known_for         = {{blist|list_style=margin-left:0;|First non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland|Trans-Pacific flight|England to Australia air race}}
|air_force         = {{ubl|[[Australian Flying Corps]]|[[Royal Flying Corps]]|[[Royal Air Force]]}}
|battles           = {{tree list}}
* World War I
**[[Gallipoli campaign]]
**[[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]{{tree list/end}}
|rank              = {{ubl|[[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]] (substantive)|[[Air commodore]] (honorary)}}
|awards            = {{ubl|[[Knight Bachelor]]|[[Military Cross]]|[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]|[[Segrave Trophy]]}}
}}

'''Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=85%|MC|AFC}} (9 February 1897{{spnd}}8 November 1935), nicknamed '''Smithy''', was an Australian aviation pioneer. He piloted the first [[transpacific flight]] and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand.

Kingsford Smith was born in [[Brisbane]]. He grew up in [[Sydney]], leaving school at the age of 16 and becoming an engineering apprentice. He joined the Australian Army in 1915 and was a motorcycle [[despatch rider]] on the [[Gallipoli campaign]]. He later transferred to the [[Royal Flying Corps]] and was awarded the [[Military Cross]] in 1917 after being shot down. After the war's end, Kingsford Smith worked as a [[Barnstorming|barnstormer]] in England and the United States before returning to Australia in 1921. He subsequently joined [[West Australian Airways]] as one of the country's first commercial pilots.

In 1928, Kingsford Smith completed the first transpacific flight, a three-leg journey from California to Brisbane via Hawaii and Fiji. He and his co-pilot [[Charles Ulm]] became celebrities, together with crew members [[James Warner (aviator)|James Warner]] and [[Harry Lyon (aviator)|Harry Lyon]]. In the same year he and Ulm completed the first non-stop flight across Australia from [[Melbourne]] to [[Perth]] and the first non-stop flight from Australia to New Zealand. They subsequently established [[Australian National Airways (1930)|Australian National Airways]], but the airline and Kingsford Smith's other business ventures failed to achieve commercial success. He continued to participate in [[air race]]s and to attempt other aviation feats.

In 1935, Kingsford Smith and his co-pilot Tommy Pethybridge disappeared over the [[Andaman Sea]] while attempting to break the Australia–England speed record. He was fêted as a national hero during the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]] and received numerous honours during his lifetime. After his death [[Sydney Airport|Sydney's primary airport]] was named in his memory and he was featured on the [[Australian twenty-dollar note]] for several decades.

== Early and personal life ==

[[File:Charles and Mary Kingsford Smith 1933 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Kingsford Smith and his second wife Mary in Wellington, New Zealand]]

Charles Edward Kingsford Smith was born on 9 February 1897 at Riverview Terrace, [[Hamilton, Queensland|Hamilton]] in [[Brisbane]], [[Colony of Queensland]], the son of William Charles Smith and his wife Catherine Mary (née Kingsford, daughter of [[Richard Ash Kingsford]], a Member of the [[Queensland Legislative Assembly]] and mayor in both [[List of mayors and lord mayors of Brisbane|Brisbane]] and [[Cairns Municipal Council|Cairns]] municipal councils). His birth was officially registered and announced in the newspapers under the surname Smith, which his family used at that time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bdm.qld.gov.au/IndexSearch/queryEntry.m?type=births|title=1897/C9077 birth of Smith, Charles Edward Kingsford|website=Queensland birth index|publisher=Queensland Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312041850/https://www.bdm.qld.gov.au/IndexSearch/queryEntry.m?type=births|archive-date=12 March 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=25 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3645451|title=Family Notices|date=13 February 1897|issue=12,196|location=Queensland, Australia|volume=LIII|page=4|via=National Library of Australia|newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]]|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024804/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3645451|url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest use of the surname Kingsford Smith appears to be by his older brother Richard Harold Kingsford Smith, who used the name at least informally from 1901, although he married in [[New South Wales]] under the surname Smith in 1903.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42944512|title=Dramatic Art and Elocution Class.|date=15 January 1901|issue=47|location=Queensland, Australia|volume=10|page=2|via=National Library of Australia|newspaper=[[Morning Post (Cairns)]]|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024804/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/42944512|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/marriages|title=3979/1903 Smith, Richard H K & Johnson, Elsie K St C|website=New South Wales Marriage Index|publisher=[[New South Wales Government]]|access-date=25 June 2017|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024812/https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/marriages;jsessionid=C6052CA0890203094EB5DFE7DF83904F?0|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1903, his parents moved to Canada where they adopted the surname Kingsford Smith. They returned to Sydney in 1907.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kingsford-smith-sir-charles-edward-6964|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Howard|first=Frederick|chapter=Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles Edward (1897–1935) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University|location=Canberra|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104061541/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kingsford-smith-sir-charles-edward-6964 |archive-date=4 November 2017| access-date=14 April 2019}}</ref>

Kingsford Smith first attended school in Vancouver, Canada.  From 1909 to 1911, he was enrolled at [[St Andrew's Cathedral School]], Sydney, where he was a chorister in the school's cathedral choir,<ref>{{cite book|last=Newth|first=Melville C|title=Serving a Great Cause|date=1980|place=Sydney|publisher=M C Newth|isbn=0959455000}}</ref>{{rp|39–40, 48}} and then at [[Sydney Technical High School]], before becoming an engineering apprentice with the [[CSR Limited|Colonial Sugar Refining Company]] at 16.<ref name=":0" />

Kingsford Smith married Thelma Eileen Hope Corboy in 1923.<ref name=:0 /> They divorced in 1929. He married Mary Powell in December 1930.<ref name=:0 />

Shortly after his second marriage he joined the [[New Guard]],<ref name=:0 /> a radical monarchist, anti-communist, and fascist-inspired organisation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/22/if-you-oppose-reclaim-australia-remember-fascism-wasnt-always-a-freakshow |title=If you oppose Reclaim Australia, remember fascism wasn't always a freakshow |first=Jeff |last=Sparrow |date=22 July 2015 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=8 June 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531224746/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/22/if-you-oppose-reclaim-australia-remember-fascism-wasnt-always-a-freakshow |url-status=live }}</ref>

==World War I and early flying experience==
[[File:Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Kingsford Smith and [[Charles Ulm]] in RAAF uniform]]

[[File:Charles Kingsford Smith - Fairfax (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Kingsford Smith c. 1920]]
In 1915, he enlisted for duty in the [[First Australian Imperial Force|1st AIF]] (Australian Army) and served at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]]. Initially, he performed duty as a motorcycle dispatch rider, before transferring to the [[Royal Flying Corps]], earning his pilot's wings in 1917.<ref name=":0" />

In August 1917, while serving with [[No. 23 Squadron RAF|No. 23 Squadron]], Kingsford Smith was shot down and received injuries<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10676529 |title=Lieutenant Charles Edward Kingsford-Smith |publisher=[[Australian War Memorial]] |access-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162250/https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10676529 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref> which required [[amputation]] of two toes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/19637/Kingsford_Smith_B_and_W.pdf |title=Finding 'Smithy' |page=6 |date=2003 |publisher=[[National Museum of Australia]] |access-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910202022/http://www.nma.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/19637/Kingsford_Smith_B_and_W.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live  }}</ref> He was awarded the [[Military Cross]] for his gallantry in battle.<ref name=":0" /> As his recovery was predicted to be lengthy, Kingsford Smith was permitted to take leave in Australia where he visited his parents. Returning to England, Kingsford Smith was assigned to instructor duties and promoted to [[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

On 1 April 1918, along with other members of the Royal Flying Corps, Kingsford Smith was transferred to the newly established [[Royal Air Force]]. On being demobilised in England, in early 1919, he joined Tasmanian Cyril Maddocks, to form Kingsford Smith, Maddocks Aeros Ltd, flying a joy-riding service mainly in the North of England, during the summer of 1919, initially using surplus [[DH.6]] trainers, then surplus [[B.E.2]]s.<ref>Aspin, Chris  ''Dizzy Heights The Story of Lancashire's First Flying Men'' Helmshore Local History Society 1988 pp125-9 {{ISBN|0-906881-04-8}}</ref> Later Kingsford Smith worked as a [[Barnstorming|barnstormer]] in the United States before returning to Australia in 1921.<ref name="fifty">{{cite web |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/fiftyaustralians/28.asp |title=Fifty Australians |publisher=Awm.gov.au |date=31 May 1928 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204001924/http://www.awm.gov.au/fiftyaustralians/28.asp |archive-date=4 December 2008 }}</ref>

Applying for a commercial pilot's licence on 2 June 1921, he gave his name as "Charles Edward Kingsford-Smith".<ref name="licence">{{cite web|url=http://vrroom.naa.gov.au/print_display.aspx?ObjectType=SingleRecordPrint&irecordid=800|via=National Archives of Australia| title=Application for pilot's licence – Charles Edward Kingsford-Smith|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328124509/http://vrroom.naa.gov.au/print_display.aspx?ObjectType=SingleRecordPrint&irecordid=800 |archive-date=28 March 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ''[[Cowra Free Press]]'' told how Kingsford Smith flew under the [[Lachlan River|Lachlan]] road bridge at [[Cowra, New South Wales]], with local motoring identity<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article262041996 |title=Sydney to Cowra in Four Hours |newspaper=[[Cowra Free Press]] |volume=48 |issue=3294 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=29 March 1927 |access-date=26 August 2022 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323042507/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/262041996 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ken Richards. It went on to recount how Kingsford Smith was preparing to also fly under the nearby railway bridge, but was warned by Richards of telegraph wires just in time to prevent a catastrophe. Richards, they added, was a mate of Kingsford Smith, and had flown with him several times in France. In this version of events, the feat was accomplished "just after the Armistice"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article262037737 |title=Trans-Pacific Flight |newspaper=[[Cowra Free Press]] |volume=50 |issue=3404 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 June 1928 |access-date=25 August 2022 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323042516/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/262037737 |url-status=live }}</ref> (11 November 1918), but may have been in July 1921, when Kingsford Smith was hosting "joy flights" there, in an aircraft owned by the Diggers' Cooperative Aviation Company.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15929937 |title=Aeroplane Wrecked |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=26,067 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=22 July 1921 |access-date=26 August 2022 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323042521/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15929937 |url-status=live }}</ref> Later accounts have embellished the story.<ref>{{cite web | title=Kingsford Smith flies under the Cowra traffic bridge |publisher=Cowra Tourism Corporation |date=February 2011 |url =http://www.cowratourism.com.au/Experience_Cowra/History/Kingsford_Smith_Flight/ |access-date=4 February 2011 |url-status =dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217155430/http://www.cowratourism.com.au/Experience_Cowra/History/Kingsford_Smith_Flight/ |archive-date=17 February 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Charles Kingsford-Smith at Wallal.jpg|thumb|right|Kingsford-Smith at [[Wallal]]]]
He became one of Australia's first airline pilots when he was chosen by [[Norman Brearley]] to fly for the newly formed [[West Australian Airways]],<ref name=":0" /> and piloted their [[Bristol Tourer|Bristol]] Type 28 Coupe Tourers plane (G-AUDF) that made bi-weekly mail drops to the astronomers during the 1922 Solar Eclipse expedition at [[Wallal]], Western Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23875584|title=Aviation|work=The West Australian|location=Perth, West Australia|date=29 September 1922|page=7|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=12 January 2020|archive-date=27 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027101513/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23875584|url-status=live}}</ref> 
Around this time he began to plan his record-breaking flight across the Pacific.<ref name="acepilots">{{cite web |url=http://acepilots.com/wwi/pio_ksmith.html |title=Charles Kingsford Smith biography Ace Pilots |publisher=Acepilots.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927044808/http://acepilots.com/wwi/pio_ksmith.html |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref>

==1928 Trans-Pacific flight==

[[File:1978 stamp sheet 50th anniverary of the first Trans-Pacific flight in 1928.jpg|thumb|left|Stamp sheet, released in Australia in 1978 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first Trans-Pacific flight]]

[[File:StateLibQld 1 139254 Landing the aircraft, Southern Cross in Brisbane, Queensland, ca. 1928.jpg|thumb|Southern Cross 1928]]

[[Image:Southern cross.jpg|thumb|The ''Southern Cross'' at an [[Royal Australian Air Force|RAAF]] base near [[Canberra]] in 1943.]]

[[File:StateLibQld 1 101040.jpg|thumb|right|A photograph commemorating the first trans-Pacific flight.]]

[[File:Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm, on landing after the first trans-Pacific flight, Mascot, 10 June 1928.jpg|thumb|Charles Kingsford-Smith and Charles Ulm, on landing after the first trans-Pacific flight, Mascot, 10 June 1928]]
In 1928, Kingsford Smith and [[Charles Ulm]] arrived in the United States and began to search for an aircraft. Famed Australian polar explorer Sir [[Hubert Wilkins]] sold them a [[Fokker F.VII|Fokker F.VII/3m]] monoplane, which they named the ''[[Southern Cross (aircraft)|Southern Cross]]''.<ref name="730r">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s875609.htm |title=7.30 report story about Charles Ulm |publisher=ABCnet.au |date=31 May 1928 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061014/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2003/s875609.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=21 September 2009 }}</ref>

At 8:54&nbsp;a.m. on 31 May 1928,<ref name="730r" /> Kingsford Smith and his 4-man crew left [[Oakland, California]], to attempt the first trans-Pacific flight to Australia. The flight was in three stages. The first, from Oakland to [[Wheeler Army Airfield]], Hawaii,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii-aviation-pioneers/sir-charles-kingsford-smith |title=Charles Kingsford-Smith – Hawaii Aviation |publisher=Hawaii.gov |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002183911/http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii-aviation-pioneers/sir-charles-kingsford-smith |archive-date=2 October 2015 }}</ref> was {{convert|3870|km|mi}}, taking an uneventful 27 hours 25 minutes (87.54&nbsp;mph). They took off from [[Barking Sands]] on [[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|Mana]], [[Kauai]], since the runway at Wheeler was not long enough. They headed for [[Suva]], Fiji, {{convert|5077|km|mi}} away, taking 34 hours 30 minutes (91.45&nbsp;mph). This was the most demanding portion of the journey, as they flew through a massive lightning storm near the equator.<ref>{{cite journal|date=14 June 1928|title=The Great Pacific Flight|journal=[[Flight International|Flight]]|volume=20|issue=1016|page=437|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1928/1928%20-%200481.html|access-date=31 August 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102175916/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1928/1928%20-%200481.html|archive-date=2 November 2013}}</ref> The third leg was the shortest, {{convert|2709|km|mi}} in 20 hours (84.15&nbsp;mph), and crossed the Australian coastline near [[Ballina, New South Wales|Ballina]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Story of "Southern Cross" Trans-Pacific Flight, 1928 |last=Kingsford-Smith |first=Charles|author-link=Charles Kingsford Smith|author2=C. T. P. Ulm |author-link2=Charles Ulm |year=1928 |publisher=Penlington and Somerville |location=Sydney}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ballinaaeroclub.org.au/BallinaAeroClubKingsford%20Smith.htm |title=Ballina Aero Club |publisher=Ballina Aero Club |date=9 June 1928 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409003948/http://ballinaaeroclub.org.au/BallinaAeroClubKingsford%20Smith.htm |archive-date=9 April 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.farnorthcoaster.com.au/news/491/ballina-lookout-may-honour-charles-kingsford-smith/ |title=Far North Coaster |work=Far North Coaster Magazine &#124; Local articles of interest |publisher=Far North Coaster |date=23 May 2008 |access-date=17 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103014927/http://www.farnorthcoaster.com.au/news/491/ballina-lookout-may-honour-charles-kingsford-smith/ |archive-date=3 November 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref> before turning north to fly {{convert|170|km|mi}} to Brisbane, where they landed at 10.50&nbsp;a.m. on 9 June. The total flight distance was approximately {{convert|11566|km|mi}}. Kingsford Smith was met by a huge crowd of 26,000 at [[Brisbane Airport|Eagle Farm Airport]], and was welcomed as a hero.<ref>[http://www.pinterest.com/harrym9/aviators-charles-kingsford-smith/ Aviators – Charles Kingsford-Smith] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415171815/http://www.pinterest.com/harrym9/aviators-charles-kingsford-smith/ |date=15 April 2014 }} – (includes photo of the plaque commemorating the flight across the Pacific and the landing at Brisbane on 9 June 1928)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourbrisbane.com/living/suburbs/eagle_farm/history/|title=Brisbane - Eagle Farm - History of Eagle Farm - ourbrisbane.com|date=24 January 2004|access-date=20 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040124100438/http://www.ourbrisbane.com/living/suburbs/eagle_farm/history/|archive-date=24 January 2004}}</ref><ref>[http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/PhotoSearchItemDetail.asp?M=0&B=11363463 Photo of ''Southern Cross'', and welcoming crowd, at Eagle Farm on 9 June 1928 (National Archives of Australia)]{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/16/1071336964936.html?from=storyrhs |title=Magnificent Machines – Home-grown Legends (Sydney Morning Herald) |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=17 December 2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020013800/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/16/1071336964936.html?from=storyrhs |archive-date=20 October 2012 }}</ref> Australian [[aviator]] [[Charles Ulm]] was the relief pilot. The other crewmen were [[United States|Americans]] [[radio operator]] [[James Warner (aviator)|James Warner]] and [[flight officer|navigator]] and engineer [[Harry Lyon (aviator)|Harry Lyon]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Reminiscences of flights in the "Southern Cross"|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12147564|date=1958|author1=Lyon, Harry W. Captain|author2=Kingsford-Smith, Charles Sir|author3=Warner, James. (Interviewee)|author4=2GB (Radio station : Sydney, N.S.W.)|access-date=2 February 2017|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024806/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/12147564|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia has a film biography of Kingsford Smith, called ''An Airman Remembers'',<ref>[[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia: [http://aso.gov.au/titles/tv/an-airman-remembers/clip1/ 'An Airman Remembers'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205124514/http://aso.gov.au/titles/tv/an-airman-remembers/clip1/ |date=5 December 2011 }} on [http://aso.gov.au/ ''australianscreen online''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302232015/http://aso.gov.au/ |date=2 March 2011 }}</ref> and recordings of Kingsford Smith and Ulm talking about the journey.<ref>[[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia: [http://www.nfsa.gov.au/sounds-australia-supplement/our-heroes-air/ 'Our Heroes of the Air'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131153022/http://www.nfsa.gov.au/sounds-australia-supplement/our-heroes-air/ |date=31 January 2012 }}</ref>

A stamp sheet and stamps, featuring the Australian aviators Kingsford Smith and Ulm, were released by Australia Post in 1978, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the flight.<ref>{{Citation|title=[Australia Post covers]|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/27056372|date=1978|author1=Australia Post. Stamps and Philatelic Branch|publisher=Australia Post, Stamps and Philatelic Branch|access-date=2 February 2017|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024806/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/27056372|url-status=live}}</ref>

A young New Zealander named [[Jean Batten]] attended a dinner in Australia featuring Kingsford Smith after the trans-Pacific flight and told him "I'm going to learn to fly." She later convinced him to take her for a flight in the ''Southern Cross'' and went on to become a record-setting aviator, following his example instead of his advice ("Don't attempt to break men's records – and don't fly at night", he told her in 1928 and remembered wryly later).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/batten.html|title=NZEDGE Legends – Jean Batten, Pilot – Endurance|website=www.nzedge.com|access-date=20 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924011158/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/batten.html|archive-date=24 September 2009}}</ref>

==1928 Trans-Tasman flight==
After making the first non-stop flight across Australia from [[Point Cook]] near [[Melbourne]] to [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] in Western Australia in August 1928, Kingsford Smith and Ulm registered themselves as Australian National Airways (see below). They then decided to attempt the [[Tasman Sea]] crossing to New Zealand not only because it had not yet been done, but also in the hope the Australian Government would grant [[Australian National Airways]] a subsidised contract to carry scheduled mail regularly.<ref name="Davis">[[Pedr Davis|Davis, P.]], 1977, Charles Kingsford Smith: Smithy, the World's Greatest Aviator, Summit Books, {{ISBN|0-7271-0144-7}}</ref> The Tasman had remained unflown after the failure of the first attempt in January 1928, when New Zealanders [[Moncrieff and Hood|John Moncrieff and George Hood]] had [[List of aerial disappearances|vanished without a trace]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8915725/Lost-in-the-long-white-cloud |title=Lost in the long white cloud |first=Charles |last=Anderson |date=14 July 2013 |work=[[Stuff.co.nz]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143432/http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8915725/Lost-in-the-long-white-cloud |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

Kingsford Smith's flight was planned for take off from [[Richmond, New South Wales|Richmond]], near Sydney, on Sunday 2 September 1928, with a scheduled landing around 9:00&nbsp;a.m. on 3 September at [[Wigram Aerodrome]], near [[Christchurch]], the principal city in the [[South Island]] of New Zealand. This plan drew a storm of protest from New Zealand churchmen about the "sanctity of the [[Christian Sabbath|Sabbath]] being set at naught."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3954186 |title=Tasman Sea Flight. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=25,604 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=3 September 1928 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024807/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3954186 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:StateLibQld 2 145503 People lined up along a Brisbane street to see Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, 1928.jpg|thumb|People lined up along a Brisbane street to see Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, 1928]]

The mayor of Christchurch supported the churchmen and cabled a protest to Kingsford Smith. As it happened, unfavourable weather developed over the Tasman and the flight was deferred, so it is not known whether or how Kingsford Smith would have heeded the cable.<ref name="Davis" />

Accompanied by Ulm, navigator [[Harold Arthur Litchfield]], and radio operator [[Thomas H. McWilliams]], a New Zealander made available by the New Zealand Government, Kingsford Smith left Richmond in the evening of 10 September, planning to fly overnight to a daylight landing after a flight of about 14 hours. The {{convert|2600|km}} planned route was only just over half the distance between Hawaii and Fiji. After a stormy flight, at times through [[Atmospheric icing|icing]] conditions, the ''Southern Cross'' made landfall in much improved weather near [[Cook Strait]], the passage between New Zealand's two main islands. At an estimated {{convert|241|km}} out from New Zealand, the crew dropped a wreath in memory of the two New Zealanders who had disappeared during their attempt to cross the Tasman Sea earlier that year.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/timeline/11/9 |title=Today in History &#124; NZHistory, New Zealand history online |publisher=Nzhistory.net.nz |date=11 September 1928 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126084044/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/timeline/11/9 |archive-date=26 January 2016 }}</ref>

There was a tremendous welcome in Christchurch, where the ''Southern Cross'' landed at 0922 after a flight of 14 hours and 25 minutes. About 30,000 people made their way to Wigram, including many students from state schools, who were given the day off, and public servants, who were granted leave until 11&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="timeline"/> The event was also broadcast live on radio.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/highlighted-items/the-first-flight-across-the-tasman |title=The first flight across the Tasman – National Library of New Zealand |publisher=Natlib.govt.nz |date=11 September 1928 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106001316/http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/highlighted-items/the-first-flight-across-the-tasman |archive-date=6 November 2012 }}</ref>

While the [[Royal New Zealand Air Force|New Zealand Air Force]] overhauled the ''Southern Cross'' free of charge, Kingsford Smith and Ulm were taken on a triumphant tour of New Zealand, flying in [[Bristol F.2 Fighter|Bristol Fighters]].<ref name="Davis"/>

The return to Sydney was made from [[Blenheim, New Zealand|Blenheim]], a small city at the north of the [[South Island]]. Hampered by fog, severe weather and a minor navigational error, the flight to Richmond took over 23 hours; on touchdown the aircraft had enough fuel for only another 10 minutes flying.<ref name="Davis"/>

[[File:Charles Kingford Smith (right) at Invercargill, New Zealand (c.1930).jpg|thumb|Charles Kingsford Smith (right) with Southland aerodrome founder [[John Howard Marcus Smith]] (left) at Invercargill, New Zealand (1933)]]

==Australian National Airways==

{{Main|Australian National Airways (1930)}}

In partnership with Ulm, Kingsford Smith established [[Australian National Airways (1930)|Australian National Airways]] in 1929.  The passenger, mail and freight service commenced operations flying between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, in January 1930, with five aircraft but closed after crashes in March and November the next year.<ref>{{cite book | title = Australian Dictionary of Biography | chapter = Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles Edward (1897–1935) | publisher = National Centre of Biography, Australian National University | chapter-url = http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090602b.htm | access-date = 13 September 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080730191623/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090602b.htm| archive-date= 30 July 2008| url-status= live}}</ref>

==Later flights, the MacRobertson Air Race, the 1934 Pacific Flight==
[[File:Smithy’s Altair 1934 SLNSW FL1407548.jpg|thumb|Smithy's Lockheed Altair, Sydney, 17 July 1934]]

After collecting his 'old bus', ''Southern Cross'', from the [[Fokker]] aircraft company in the Netherlands where it had been overhauled, in June 1930 he achieved an east–west crossing of the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland in {{frac|31|1|2}} hours, having taken off from [[Portmarnock]] Beach (The Velvet Strand), just north of Dublin. New York gave him a tumultuous welcome. The ''Southern Cross'' continued on to Oakland, California, completing a circumnavigation of the world, begun in 1928.<ref>{{cite book |title=Shooting Suns and Things: Transatlantic Fliers at Portmarnock |first=Desmond |last=Gallagher |publisher=Kingford Press |year=1986 |isbn=0951156519}}</ref> In 1930, he competed in an England to Australia [[air race]], and, flying solo, won the event taking 13 days. He arrived in Sydney on 22 October 1930.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16724592 |title=Summary. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=28,955 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=23 October 1930 |access-date=9 June 2018 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024807/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16724592 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1931, he purchased an [[Avro Avian]] he named the ''[[Southern Cross Minor]]'', to attempt an Australia-to-England flight. He later sold the aircraft to Captain [[Bill Lancaster (Aviator)|W.N. "Bill" Lancaster]] who vanished on 11 April 1933 over the [[Sahara Desert]]; Lancaster's remains were not found until 1962. The wreck of the ''Southern Cross Minor'' is now in the [[Queensland Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/miller.html |title=The Pioneers – Chubbie Miller |publisher=Ctie.monash.edu.au |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608160844/http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/miller.html |archive-date=8 June 2011 }}</ref> In the early 1930s, Smith began developing the [[Southern Cross (automobile)|Southern Cross]] automobile as a side project.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16975493 |title=Australian-made Car |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 June 1933 |access-date=8 June 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024807/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16975493 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55531644 |title=At the Wheel Notes for Motorists |newspaper=[[Morning Bulletin]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=29 March 1934 |access-date=8 June 2020 |page=5 |via=Trove |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024807/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/55531644 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Charles Kingsford Smith.jpg|thumb|Kingsford Smith in 1933]]

In 1933, [[Seven Mile Beach, New South Wales]], was used by Kingsford Smith as the runway for the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/aviation/display/21237-sir-charles-kingsford-smith |title=Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith |website=monumentaustralia.org.au |access-date=8 June 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608143809/http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/aviation/display/21237-sir-charles-kingsford-smith |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1934, he purchased a [[Lockheed Altair]], the ''[[Lady Southern Cross]]'', with the intention of competing in the [[MacRobertson Air Race]].<ref name="A Great Pilot Passes">{{cite journal|date=21 November 1935|title=A Great Pilot Passes|journal=[[Flight International|Flight]]|page=525|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1935/1935%20-2-%200579.jpg|access-date=30 August 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422231923/http://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1935/1935%20-2-%200579.jpg|archive-date=22 April 2014}}</ref>

==Disappearance and death==

Kingsford Smith and co-pilot John Thompson 'Tommy' Pethybridge were flying the ''Lady Southern Cross'' overnight from Allahabad (modern [[Prayagraj]]), India, to [[Singapore]], as part of their attempt to break the England-Australia speed record held by [[C. W. A. Scott]] and [[Tom Campbell Black]], when they [[List of missing aircraft|disappeared]] over the [[Andaman Sea]] in the early hours of 8 November 1935. Aviator [[Jimmy Melrose]] claimed to have seen the ''Lady Southern Cross'' fighting a storm {{convert|150|mi}} from shore and {{convert|200|ft}} over the sea with fire coming from its exhaust.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kingsford-Smith missing in storm|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19351108&id=aeYsAAAAIBAJ&pg=3420,742613|work=The Bend Bulletin|issue=132|date=8 November 1935|access-date=22 September 2018|archive-date=17 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024806/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19351108&id=aeYsAAAAIBAJ&pg=3420%2C742613|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite a search for 74 hours over the [[Bay of Bengal]] by one person, British pilot Eric Stanley Greenwood, [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire|OBE]], their bodies were never recovered.<ref name="A Great Pilot Passes"/>

Eighteen months later, Burmese fishermen found an undercarriage leg and wheel, with its tyre still inflated, which had been washed ashore at [[Kokunye Kyun|Aye Island]] in the [[Gulf of Martaban]], {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=on}} off the southeast coastline of Burma, some {{convert|137|km|0|abbr=on}} south of [[Mottama]] (formerly known as Martaban). [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] confirmed the undercarriage leg to be from the ''Lady Southern Cross''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/altair/altair4.htm |title=VH-USB "Lady Southern Cross" (Part 4) |publisher=Adastron.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231131056/http://www.adastron.com/lockheed/altair/altair4.htm |archive-date=31 December 2015 }}</ref> Botanists who examined the weeds clinging to the undercarriage leg estimated that the aircraft lies not far from the island at a depth of approximately {{convert|15|fathom|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,771071,00.html By Aye] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917122403/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,771071,00.html |date=17 September 2012 }} ''TIME'' 6 June 1938</ref> The undercarriage leg is now on public display at the [[Powerhouse Museum]] in Sydney, Australia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=141688 |title=Aircraft undercarriage from the 'Lady Southern Cross', 1928 – 1938 |publisher=Powerhousemuseum.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105065256/http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=141688 |archive-date=5 January 2016 }}</ref>

In 2009, filmmaker and explorer Damien Lay stated he was certain he had found the ''[[Lady Southern Cross]]''.<ref name="Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's final resting place found, says Lay">{{cite web |last=Justin |first=By |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25218600-421,00.html |title=Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's final resting place found |publisher=News.com.au |date=21 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323040728/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C27574%2C25218600-421%2C00.html |archive-date=23 March 2009 }}</ref> The location of the claimed find was widely misreported as "in the Bay of Bengal". However, the 2009 search was in fact at the same location where the landing gear had been found in 1937, at Aye Island in the [[Andaman Sea]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/kingsford-smith-not-likely-says-dick-smith-20090321-94yj.html |title=Kingsford Smith? Not likely, says Dick Smith |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=22 March 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105065255/http://www.smh.com.au/national/kingsford-smith-not-likely-says-dick-smith-20090321-94yj.html |archive-date=5 January 2016 }}</ref>

Kingsford Smith was survived by his wife, Mary, Lady Kingsford Smith, and their three-year-old son Charles Jnr. Kingsford Smith's autobiography, ''My Flying Life'', was published posthumously in 1937 and became a best-seller.<ref>Frederick Howard. ''Australian Dictionary of Biography – Online Edition. Previously published in Australian Dictionary of Biography. Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983.''</ref>

Following The Joint Australian Myanmar Lady Southern Cross Search Expedition II (LSCSEII) in 2009, Lay conducted a total of ten further expeditions to Myanmar to recover wreckage from the site. In 2011, Lay claimed to have found the wreckage, but that claim has been widely disputed, and no evidence confirming the claim has been forthcoming. The location of the site, approximately 1.8 miles off the coast of Myanmar, has never been publicly released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/kingsford-smith-not-likely-says-dick-smith-20090321-94yj.html|title=Kingsford Smith? Not likely, says Dick Smith|first=Joel|last=Gibson|date=21 March 2009|website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=20 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320064846/https://www.smh.com.au/national/kingsford-smith-not-likely-says-dick-smith-20090321-94yj.html|archive-date=20 March 2018}}</ref>

Lay has worked closely with both the Kingsford Smith and Pethybridge families since 2005. The privately funded project was supported by the government and people of Myanmar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mediasearch.com.au/film/wrap/charleskingsfordsmith_film|title=Filmmaker Damien Lay goes in search of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith|last=Pascuzzi|first=Carmine|date=2009|website=Mediasearch|access-date=2 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202235159/http://www.mediasearch.com.au/film/wrap/charleskingsfordsmith_film|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref><!-- Need cite for government support --> In December 2017 Lay was still searching for parts of the ''Lady Southern Cross''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/spirit-of-adventure-runs-through-generations-of-charles-kingsford-smith-s-family-20171215-p4yxri.html |title=Spirit of adventure runs through generations of Charles Kingsford Smith's family |first=Tony |last=Moore |date=15 December 2017 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162046/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/spirit-of-adventure-runs-through-generations-of-charles-kingsford-smith-s-family-20171215-p4yxri.html |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

==Honours and legacy==

[[File:Australian $20 - original series - obverse.jpg|thumb|300px|Kingsford Smith on the 20 [[Australian dollar]] banknote (1966–1994)]]

In 1930, Kingsford Smith was the inaugural recipient of the [[Segrave Trophy]], awarded for "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water [or] in the Air".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/motoring/trophies/the-segrave-trophy/past-winners/ |title=Past Winners |publisher=[[Royal Automobile Club]] |access-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162150/https://www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/motoring/trophies/the-segrave-trophy/past-winners/ |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

Kingsford Smith was knighted in the [[1932 Birthday Honours|1932 King's Birthday Honours List]] as a [[Knight Bachelor]].<ref>{{cite journal|date=10 June 1932|title=1932 Birthday Honours|journal=[[Flight International|Flight]]|volume=24|issue=1224|page=515|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1932/1932%20-%200555.html|access-date=31 August 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426233342/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1932/1932%20-%200555.html|archive-date=26 April 2014}}</ref> He received the accolade on 3 June 1932 from [[Excellency|His Excellency]] [[Sir Isaac Isaacs]], the [[Governor-General of Australia]], for services to aviation and later was appointed honorary [[Air Commodore]] of the [[Royal Australian Air Force]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28032850 |title=Honours. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=29,458 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 June 1932 |access-date=9 June 2018 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024807/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28032850 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1986, Kingsford Smith was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]] at the [[San Diego Air & Space Museum]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>

[[Image:Sydney Airport (2004) By Air.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sydney Airport|Kingsford Smith International Airport]]'']]

[[Image:Scoutside2.jpg|thumb|right|The Kingsford Smith Memorial, housing the ''[[Southern Cross (aircraft)|Southern Cross]]'', at Brisbane's International Airport]]

The major airport of Sydney, located in the suburb of [[Mascot, New South Wales|Mascot]], was named [[Sydney Airport|Kingsford Smith International Airport]] in his honour.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25208162 |title=Kingsford-Smith |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |volume=CXLV |issue=20,528 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=14 August 1936 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024808/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/25208162 |url-status=live }}</ref> The federal electorate surrounding the airport is named the [[Division of Kingsford Smith]], and includes the suburb of [[Kingsford, New South Wales|Kingsford]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/nsw/kingsford-smith.htm |title=Profile of the electoral division of Kingsford Smith (NSW) |date=10 February 2017 |publisher=[[Australian Electoral Commission]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140728/https://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/nsw/kingsford-smith.htm |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

His most famous aircraft, the ''[[Southern Cross (aircraft)|Southern Cross]]'', is now preserved and displayed in a purpose-built memorial to Kingsford Smith near the International Terminal at [[Brisbane Airport]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bne.com.au/passenger/shop-dine-explore/explore/kingsford-smith-memorial |title=Kingsford Smith Memorial |publisher=[[Brisbane Airport]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143216/https://bne.com.au/passenger/shop-dine-explore/explore/kingsford-smith-memorial |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Kingsford Smith sold the plane to the Australian Government in 1935 for £3000 so it could be put on permanent display for the public.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17197963 |title=Southern Cross. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=30,434 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=19 July 1935 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024808/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17197963 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17236343 |title=Southern Cross. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |issue=30,570 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 December 1935 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024808/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17236343 |url-status=live }}</ref> The plane was carefully stored for many years before the current memorial was built.

[[Kingsford Smith Drive, Brisbane|Kingsford Smith Drive]] in Brisbane passes through the suburb of his birth, [[Hamilton, Queensland|Hamilton]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51097361 |title=Hamilton Road |newspaper=[[The Courier-mail]] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=3 July 1953 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=22 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222044612/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51097361 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another Kingsford Smith Drive, which is located in the [[Canberra]] district of [[Belconnen]], intersects with Southern Cross Drive.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131689417 |title=Roadwork tenders called |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |volume=44 |issue=12,557 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=28 February 1970 |access-date=9 June 2018 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024808/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131689417 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Opened in 2009, Kingsford Smith School in the Canberra suburb of [[Holt, Australian Capital Territory|Holt]] was named after the famous aviator,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kss.act.edu.au/our_school/school_houses |title=Kingsford Smith School – School Houses |date=January 2003 |publisher=ACT Education Directorate |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143923/http://www.kss.act.edu.au/our_school/school_houses |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref> as was [[Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith Elementary School]] in [[Vancouver|Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vsb.bc.ca/schools/sir-charles-kingsford-smith |title=Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith Elementary School |publisher=[[Vancouver School Board]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143907/http://www.vsb.bc.ca/schools/sir-charles-kingsford-smith |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

He was pictured on the Australian $20 paper note (in circulation from 1966 until 1994, when the $20 [[polymer banknote|polymer note]] was introduced to replace it), to honour his contribution to aviation and his accomplishments during his life.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://banknotes.rba.gov.au/australias-banknotes/other-banknotes/ |title=Other Banknotes Paper Series |publisher=[[Reserve Bank of Australia]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603183202/http://banknotes.rba.gov.au/australias-banknotes/other-banknotes/ |archive-date=3 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref> He was also depicted on the [[Australian one-dollar coin]] of 1997, the centenary of his birth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ramint.gov.au/one-dollar |title=One Dollar |date=8 January 2016 |publisher=[[Royal Australian Mint]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144800/https://www.ramint.gov.au/one-dollar |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

[[Albert Park (Suva)|Albert Park]] in [[Suva]], where he landed on the trans-Pacific flight, now contains the Kingsford Smith Pavilion.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.fbc.com.fj/sports/10439/scc-to-renovate-albert-park |title=SCC to renovate Albert Park |first=Indra |last=Singh |date=21 May 2013 |work=[[Fiji Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140853/http://www.fbc.com.fj/sports/10439/scc-to-renovate-albert-park |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://fiji.embassy.gov.au/suva/MR2003smith.html |title=30 May 2003 – 75th Anniversary of Smithy's Landing at Albert Park |publisher=Australian High Commission Fiji |date=30 May 2003 |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141133/http://fiji.embassy.gov.au/suva/MR2003smith.html |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

A memorial stands at [[Seven Mile Beach (New South Wales)|Seven Mile Beach]] in New South Wales commemorating the first commercial flight to New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/kiama-area/gerroa/attractions/sir-charles-kingsford-smith-memorial-and-lookout |title=Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Memorial and Lookout |publisher=New South Wales Government Destination NSW |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002151321/http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/kiama-area/gerroa/attractions/sir-charles-kingsford-smith-memorial-and-lookout |archive-date=2 October 2017 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

[[Qantas]] named its sixth [[Airbus A380]] (VH-OQF) after Kingsford Smith.<ref name="aam">[http://australianaviation.com.au/2010/01/qantas%E2%80%99s-sixth-a380-arrives Qantas's sixth A380 arrives] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315082402/http://australianaviation.com.au/2010/01/qantas%e2%80%99s-sixth-a380-arrives/ |date=15 March 2011 }} — ''[[Australian Aviation]]''</ref>

[[KLM]] named one of its [[Boeing 747]]s (PH-BUM) after Kingsford Smith.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/132924|title=PH-BUM – Boeing 747-206B(M)(SUD) – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines – MDVS – JetPhotos|website=JetPhotos|access-date=15 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320170244/https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/132924|archive-date=20 March 2018}}</ref>

A trans-Encke [[Moons of Saturn#Ring moonlets|propeller moonlet]], an inferred minor body, of [[Saturn]] is named after him.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tiscareno|first=Matthew S.|display-authors=et al|date=8 July 2010|title=Physical Characteristics and Non-Keplerian Orbital Motion of "Propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings|journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal Letters]]|volume=718|issue=2|pages=95|doi=10.1088/2041-8205/718/2/L92|arxiv=1007.1008|bibcode=2010ApJ...718L..92T|s2cid=119236636}}</ref>

Australian aviation enthusiast Austin Byrne was part of the large crowd at Sydney's Mascot Aerodrome in June 1928 to welcome the ''Southern Cross'' and its crew following their successful trans-Pacific flight. Witnessing this event inspired Byrne to make a scale model of the ''Southern Cross'' to give to Kingsford Smith. After the aviator's disappearance, Byrne continued to expand and enhance his tribute with paintings, photographs, documents, and artworks he created, designed or commissioned. Between 1930 and his death in 1993, Byrne devoted his life to creating and touring his ''Southern Cross'' Memorial.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/southern-cross-memorial|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828041858/http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/austin_byrne_southern_cross_memorial_collection|url-status=dead|title=National Museum of Australia – Southern Cross memorial|first=Acton Peninsula|last=corporateName=National Museum of Australia; address=Lawson Crescent|archive-date=28 August 2013|website=www.nma.gov.au}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* Kingsford Smith made a cameo appearance as himself in the feature film ''[[Splendid Fellows]]'' (1934)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243088115 |title=Stage, Screen and Song |newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)|The Herald]] |location=Victoria, Australia |date=19 November 1934 |access-date=8 June 2020 |page=15 |via=Trove |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323042516/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/243088115 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* A documentary was made about his life: ''[[The Old Bus]]'' (1934)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17156729 |title=New Films |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=13 April 1935 |access-date=8 June 2020 |page=17 |via=Trove |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024911/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17156729 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The 1946 Australian film ''[[Smithy (1946 film)|Smithy]]'' was based on his life, with [[Ron Randell]] as Kingsford Smith and John Tate as Ulm<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17983601 |title="Smithy" Premiere Has Ali Trimmings |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=27 June 1946 |access-date=9 June 2020 |page=3 |via=Trove |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024911/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17983601 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*His life was dramatised in the 1966 radio play ''[[Boy on an Old Bus]]'' by Richard Lane.
* The 1985 Australian television mini-series ''[[A Thousand Skies]]'', has [[John Walton (actor)|John Walton]] as Kingsford Smith and [[Andrew Clarke (actor)|Andrew Clarke]] as Ulm<ref>{{cite web |url=https://librarycatalogue.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Record/435861/Description |title=A thousand skies the story of Charles Kingsford Smith |website=Hobsobs Bay Libraries |access-date=9 June 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608154804/https://librarycatalogue.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Record/435861/Description |url-status=live }}</ref>
* New Zealand author and documentarian [[Ian Mackersey]]'s 1998 biography ''Smithy: The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith'' (hardback {{ISBN|0 316 64308 4}}, paperback {{ISBN|0 7515 2656 8}}
* [[Bill Bryson]] details Kingsford Smith's life in his book ''[[Down Under (book)|Down Under]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UIHPCwAAQBAJ |title=Down Under:Travels in a Sunburned Country |first=Bill |last=Bryson |author-link=Bill Bryson |publisher=Doubleday |date=2000 |isbn=0-552-99703-X |access-date=23 September 2019 |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717024910/https://books.google.com/books?id=UIHPCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{secondary source needed|date=June 2020}}
* Australian author [[Peter FitzSimons]]'s book ''Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men'' explores Smithy's life and aviation history (published by ''Harper Collins'', Australia. 2009; ({{ISBN|978 0 7322 8819 8}})
* The songs "Kingsford Smith, Aussie is Proud of You" and "Smithy" (1928) by Len Maurice<ref name="autogenerated1">[[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia: Songs about Kingsford Smith featured in [http://www.nfsa.gov.au/sounds-australia-supplement/our-heroes-air/ 'Our Heroes of the Air'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131153022/http://www.nfsa.gov.au/sounds-australia-supplement/our-heroes-air/ |date=31 January 2012 }}</ref>
* The songs "Smithy" and "Heroes of the Air" (1928) by Fred Moore<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
* The songs "Smithy The King of the Air" and "The Southern Cross Monologue" by Clement Williams<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
* Kingsford Smith is depicted on the cover art of the [[Icehouse (band)|Icehouse]] album [[Code Blue (album)|''Code Blue'']] which includes their song "Charlie's Sky"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://icehouse-ivadavies.com/codebluealbum.html |title=Code Blue Album |publisher=Icehouse |access-date=8 June 2020 |archive-date=25 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525181547/http://www.icehouse-ivadavies.com/codebluealbum.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2020}}
* The song "Charles Kingsford Smith" by [[Don McGlashan]] is on his [[Lucky Stars (album)|''Lucky Star'']] album<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11436728 |title=Album review: Don McGlashan, Lucky Stars |date=23 April 2015 |newspaper=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=8 June 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608153302/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11436728 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Kingsford's disappearance was the topic of episode 22, series 1, of the TV series ''Vanishings!'' on [[Story Television]] titled "Disappearance of Charles Kingsford Smith" first aired 25 October 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vanishings! – Disappearance of Charles Kingsford Smith |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7980640/ |website=imdb.com |publisher=IMDb.com, Inc., an Amazon Company |access-date=8 January 2023 |archive-date=8 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108091801/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7980640/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vanishings! The Disappearance of Charles Kingsford Smith |url=https://storytelevision.com/schedule/?date=2023-01-07 |website=storytelevision.com |publisher=Noah TV Limited / [[Story Television]] |access-date=8 January 2023 |archive-date=8 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108091802/https://storytelevision.com/schedule/?date=2023-01-07 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*In a comic book story produced in Australia, [[The Phantom]] finds the wreckage of the ''Lady Southern Cross'' in Burma. ("The Search for Byron", ''The Phantom'' #1131, published in 1996)

==See also==

*[[History of Aviation]]
*[[List of firsts in aviation]]
*[[List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea]]

==Notes==

An aircraft similar to the ''[[Southern Cross (aircraft)|Southern Cross]]'', the ''[[Bird of Paradise (aircraft)|Bird of Paradise]]'', had made the first flight over (though not across) the Pacific, from [[California]] to [[Hawaii]] for the [[United States Army Air Corps]], in 1927.<ref name="bop">{{cite web| last =Murphy| first =William B.| year =1977| url =http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii-aviation-pioneers/lt-lester-maitland/Bird%20of%20Paradise.pdf| title =Bird of Paradise| publisher =15th Air Base Wing Office of Information, USAF| access-date =2 August 2011| url-status =live| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110824225733/http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii-aviation-pioneers/lt-lester-maitland/Bird%20of%20Paradise.pdf| archive-date =24 August 2011| df =dmy-all}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==

* Grant, James Ritchie. "Anti-Clockwise: Australia the Wrong Way". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 82, July–August 1999, pp.&nbsp;60–63. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}
* {{Australian Dictionary of Biography
  |last= Howard
  |first= Frederick
  |year= 1983
  |id= A090602b.htm
  |title= Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles Edward (1897–1935)
  |access-date=9 March 2009
|ref= none
}}
* {{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Charles Edward Kingsford|Last=Smith|shortlink=0-dict-biogSa-Sp.html#smith1|access-date=16 October 2008}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Charles Kingsford Smith}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100210200214/http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/k-smith.html  The Pioneers – Charles Kingsford Smith]
* [http://acepilots.com/wwi/pio_ksmith.html Charles Kingsford Smith biography Ace Pilots]
* [http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-heroes/k-smith-mc.htm Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Australian Heroes]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050626021935/http://www.airborne.org/flying/smithy.htm Charles Kingsford Smith about the Tasman flight]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050625143132/http://www.airborne.org/flying/smithy2.htm Charles Kingsford Smith (includes photos of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his aeroplane, the ''Southern Cross'')]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050718155122/http://www.screensound.gov.au/screensound/screenso.nsf/allDocs/RWP6B6F10B0FC63D1F1CA256CE70078D7F7?OpenDocument Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Sound Recordings and Newsreels]
*[http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/austin_byrne_southern_cross_memorial_collection/mary_ulms_album Photographs from an album kept by Charles Ulm's wife, Mary, including many of Charles Kingsford Smith: National Museum of Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004145023/http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/austin_byrne_southern_cross_memorial_collection/mary_ulms_album |date=4 October 2018 }}
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an14514137 Austin Byrne and the Kingsford Smith Southern Cross Memorial]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120131153022/http://nfsa.gov.au/sounds-australia-supplement/our-heroes-air/ "Our Heroes of the Air" (audio recordings of Kingsford Smith and Ulm] on the [[National Film and Sound Archive]] of Australia's website)
* {{Cite web |date=2021-11-07 |title=Knight of the Sky – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith - Stories from the Archives |url=https://blogs.archives.qld.gov.au/2021/11/08/knight-of-the-sky-sir-charles-kingsford-smith/ |access-date= |website=Blogs |publisher=[[Queensland State Archives]]}}

{{Authority control}}

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