Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men

by P Fitzsimons

  1Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles, My Flying Life: An Authentic Biography Prepared under the Personal Supervision of and from the Diaries and Papers of the Late Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Andrew Melrose, London, 1937, p. 82.

  2Davis, Pedr, Charles Kingsford Smith: Smithy, The World’s Greatest Aviator, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1985, p. 11.

  3‘The Pacific Flight: A Cosmopolitan Achievement’, Aircraft, June 1928.

  4‘Another 5,000 for Fliers’, New York Times, 13 June 1928.

  5Wixted, Edward P., The Life and Times of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith: An Illustrated Chronology, private source, Queensland, 1996, p. 64.

  6‘Hargraves Models Inspected by Airmen’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 June 1928.

  7‘Lawrence Hargrave’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 1928.

  8‘Pacific Flyers: Americans Depart’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 1928.

  9Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 79.

  10‘50th Anniversary Southern Cross’, Wings, 15 August 1978.

  11Joy, William, The Aviators, Shakespeare Head Press, Sydney, 1971, p. 68.

  12‘Southern Cross Leaves’, Canberra Times, 11 September 1928.

  13‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  14Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 82.

  15Stannage, John, Smithy, Oxford University Press, London, 1950, p. 56.

  16Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 82.

  17ibid., p. 83.

  18ibid.

  19‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  20Stannage, op. cit., p. 58.

  21‘Tasman Flight Successfully Accomplished’, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 September 1928.

  22Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles, The Old Bus, Herald Press, Melbourne, 1932, p. 74.

  23Robert Lewis Stevenson (Requiem)

  24Kingsford Smith, The Old Bus, op. cit., p. 75.

  25‘Tasman Flight Successful Ending’, Argus, 12 September 1928.

  26ibid.

  27Ewing, Ross, and MacPherson, Ross, The History of New Zealand Aviation, Heinemann, Auckland, 1986, p. 81f.

  28Interview with Col Maybury, Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, September 2008.

  29‘Southern Cross: Crew Entertained’, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 1928.

  30Joy, op. cit., p. 70.

  31‘Only Three Gallons Left’, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October 1928.

  32Kingsford Smith, My Flying Life, op. cit., p. 90.

  33‘Kingsford Smith Married in W.A., Letters from Wife, Decree Nisi Granted’, Sun, 26 October 1928.

  34Kingsford Smith, My Flying Life, op. cit., p. 90.

  35Hitchcock v. Kingsford Smith & Ulm, Supreme Court of New South Wales, 21 March 1930.

  36‘Hitchcock vs Kingsford Smith and Ulm: Verdict for Defendants’, Aircraft, 31 March 1929.

  37‘Ulm’s Tale: Viewed with Some Suspicion’, Daily Guardian, 25 June 1929.

  38Kingsford Smith, The Old Bus, op. cit., p. 82.

  39‘Missing Aviators’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 April 1929.

  40‘With the Aerial Game: Airmen Could Not Be Recalled’, Sun, 2 April 1929.

  41‘Air Inquiry: McWilliams Evidence’, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 May 1929.

  42Stannage, op. cit., p. 64.

  43Brearley, Sir Norman, Australian Aviator, Rigby, Adelaide, 1971, p. 144.

  Chapter Thirteen: Coffee Royal

  1Stannage, John, Smithy, Oxford University Press, London, 1950, p. 60.

  2McNally, Ward, Smithy: The Kingsford-Smith Story, Robert Hale, London, 1966, p. 72.

  3Daily Guardian, 1 April 1929.

  4Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 1929.

  5Sun, 2 April 1929.

  6Daily Guardian, 2 April 1929.

  7Daily Guardian, 3 April 1929.

  8Joy, William, The Aviators, Shakespeare Head Press, Sydney, 1971, p. 79.

  9‘Ominous Silence: Where is “Veteran” Southern Cross?’, Daily Guardian, 2 April 1929.

  10ibid.

  11‘“Andy” To Rescue’, Sun, 7 April 1929.

  12Sydney Morning Herald, 5 April 1929.

  13Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles, My Flying Life: An Authentic Biography Prepared under the Personal Supervision of and from the Diaries and Papers of the Late Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Andrew Melrose, London, 1937, p. 97.

  14Cogger, Percy, Wings and the Man—the Private Papers of Charles Ulm, Aviator, unpublished manuscript, Mitchell Library, Sydney.

  15‘Fruitless Flight. Plane Returns to Base’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 1929.

  16‘Port George Mission News Narrows Radius of Search’, Sun, 8 April 1929.

  17‘The Paramount Aspect’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 April 1929.

  18‘Risks in Aviation and Journalism’, Sun, 3 April 1929.

  19Sheil, Beau, Caesar of the Skies: The Life Story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Cassell, London, 1937, p. 101.

  20Rogers, Ellen, Faith In Australia: Charles Ulm And Australian Aviation, Book Production Services, Sydney, 1987, p. 46f.

  21Davis, Pedr, Kookaburra: The Most Compelling Story in Australia’s Aviation History, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1980, p. 98.

  22Curran, Stan, ‘The Kookaburra is Lost’, The Whisperer, newsletter of the Beaufighter and Boston Association of Queensland, September 2001, p. 4.

  23Joy, op. cit., p. 82.

  24‘Gallantry of Keith Anderson’, Daily Guardian, 28 June 1929.

  25‘Day of Joy: Kingsford Smith’s Story’, Sun, 20 April 1929.

  26‘Dramatic Flight Story’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1929.

  27Stannage, John, High Adventure, MacDonald, Christchurch, 1944, p. 16.

  28ibid., p. 14.

  29‘Canberra’s Success’, Sun, 12 April 1929.

  30ibid.

  31‘Memorable Search Ends’, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 1929.

  32‘Canberra’s Success’, Sun, 12 April 1929.

  33‘Relatives Hear the News’, Canberra Times, 13 April 1929.

  34Evening News, 12 April 1929.

  35‘Memorable Search Ends’, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 1929.

  36Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 109.

  37‘Dramatic Flight Story’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1929.

  38‘Ulm’s Tale: They Lived on Snails and Grass Only 25 Miles From Mission!’, Daily Guardian, 16 April 1929.

  39Rogers, op. cit., p. 51.

  40‘Death by Starvation Four Days Away’, Sun, 16 April 1929.

  41‘Lt Anderson Still in the Silence’, Daily Guardian, 16 April 1929.

  42Mackersey, Ian, Smithy: The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Little, Brown, London, 1999, p. 217.

  43‘Two Writs Against “Guardian”’, Sun, 16 April 1929.

  44Fysh, Sir Hudson, Qantas Rising: The Autobiography of the Flying Fysh, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1966, p. 244.

  45Gunn, John, The Defeat of Distance: Qantas 1919–1939, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland, 1988, p. 110.

  46Fysh, op. cit., p. 163.

  47‘How Pilot Brain Discovered Kookaburra in Desert’, Daily Guardian, 26 April 1929.

  48Cadigan, Neil, A Man Among Mavericks: Lester Brain, Australia’s Greatest Aviator, ABC Books, Sydney, 2008, p. 62.

  49‘Infamous Attack by “Sun” on Anderson’, Daily Guardian, 25 April 1929.

  50‘Grim Ending to Search for Keith Anderson’, Daily Guardian, 22 April 1929.

  51‘Off Again’, Sun, 28 April 1929.

  52Daily Guardian, 25 April 1929.

  53‘Infamous Attack by “Sun” on Anderson’, Daily Guardian, 25 April 1929.

  54ibid.

  55‘1000 Miles Air Dash: Kookaburra Pictures’, Daily Guardian, 26 April 1929.

  56Fysh, op. cit., p. 229.

  57‘The Sacrifice’, Smith’s Weekly, 27 April 1929.

  58ibid.

  59Davis, Pedr, Charles Kingsford Smith: Smithy, The World’s Greatest Aviator, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1985, p. 73.

  60Mackers
ey, op. cit., p. 225.

  61‘Reputations in the Mud’, Plain Talk, 27 April 1929.

  62‘“Southern Cross” Rumours’, Aircraft, 30 June 1928.

  63Sheil, op. cit., p. 105.

  64McNally, Ward, The Man on the Twenty Dollar Note: Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, A & A Reed, Sydney, 1976, p. 94.

  65Davis, Kookaburra, op. cit., p. 76.

  66ibid., p. 77.

  67ibid., p. 80.

  68ibid., p. 78.

  Chapter Fourteen: Trials and Tribulations

  1Stannage, John, Smithy, Oxford University Press, London, 1950, p. 101.

  2‘Dramatic Flight Story. Kingsford Smith’s Evidence.’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1929.

  3‘Indignant Denials’, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 May 1929.

  4Davis, Pedr, Charles Kingsford Smith: Smithy, The World’s Greatest Aviator, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1985, p. 23.

  5‘Gallantry of Keith Anderson’, Daily Guardian, 28 June 1929.

  6Davis, Pedr, Kookaburra: The Most Compelling Story in Australia’s Aviation History, Lansdowne Press, Sydney, 1980, p. 88.

  7‘Gallantry of Keith Anderson’, Daily Guardian, 28 June 1929.

  8ibid.

  9ibid.

  10‘Ulm’s Tale: Viewed with Some Suspicion’, Daily Guardian, 25 June 1929.

  11ibid.

  12McNally, Ward, The Man on the Twenty Dollar Note: Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, A & A Reed, Sydney, 1976, p. 97.

  13ibid., p. 100.

  14Stannage, op. cit., p. 74.

  15‘Anderson’s Body Here Today’, Daily Guardian, 29 June 1929.

  16‘Public Tributes Keith Anderson: Body Lying in State’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 July 1929.

  17Davis, Kookaburra, op. cit., p. 109.

  18‘Last Tribute to Keith Anderson’, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 July 1929.

  19‘Southern Cross at London’, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 July 1929.

  20Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles, My Flying Life: An Authentic Biography Prepared under the Personal Supervision of and from the Diaries and Papers of the Late Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Andrew Melrose, London, 1937, p. 130f.

  21ibid., p. 131.

  22ibid., p. 132f.

  23ibid., p. 133.

  24Mackersey, Ian, Smithy: The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Little, Brown, London, 1999, p. 242.

  25ibid.

  26ibid., p. 244.

  27ibid.

  28ibid., p. 244f.

  29Sheil, Beau, Caesar of the Skies: The Life Story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Cassell, London, 1937, p. 131.

  30Fysh, Sir Hudson, Qantas Rising: The Autobiography of the Flying Fysh, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1966, p. 232.

  31Davis, Pedr, Charles Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 95.

  32‘New Air Service: Forced Landing Made’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 January 1930.

  33Ellison, Norman, Flying Matilda: Early Days in Australian Aviation, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1957, p. 244.

  34‘Kingsford-Smith’s Fiancée in Australia Elated; Miss Powell Says He Has Won Last Air Laurel’, New York Times, 26 June 1930.

  35Morton, Fred, ‘Smithy’: Sir Charles Kingsford Smith—The World’s Greatest Aviator, New Image Publications, Melbourne, 1984, p. 10.

  36Fysh, op. cit., p. 237.

  37‘Inaugurating the East–West Service’, Aircraft, 31 July 1929.

  38Rogers, Ellen, Faith In Australia: Charles Ulm And Australian Aviation, Book Production Services, Sydney, 1987, p. 56f.

  39Fysh, op. cit., p. 233.

  40Taylor, Sir Gordon, The Sky Beyond, Cassell, Melbourne, 1963, p. 29.

  41Taylor, Sir Gordon, ‘Kingsford Smith as I Remember Him’, Sir Hudson Fysh Papers, Mitchell Library, ML MSS 2413, Box 10, K21829, ca. 1817-1974.

  Chapter Fifteen: New Frontiers

  1‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  2Bernt Balchen, D.F.C., 1899–1973, was a grand Norwegian–American polar aviator who flew Richard E. Byrd on his pioneering Antarctic expedition over the South Pole in 1929. Balchen flew Byrd across the Atlantic from the USA to France in 1927. Anthony Fokker employed Balchen as a test pilot in 1926 where his admiration for the man’s abilities were fostered. George Wilkins also employed Balchen’s skills as a polar-region pilot.

  3Fokker, Anthony, Flying Dutchman, George Routledge & Sons, London, 1932, p. 272.

  4‘Kingsford Smith in His Own Story Takes Up Newfoundland Riddle’, New York Times, 28 June 1930.

  5Mackersey, Ian, Smithy: The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Little, Brown, London, 1999, p. 250.

  6Purvis, Harry and Priest, Joan, Outback Airman, Rigby, Adelaide, 1979, p. 17.

  7‘Flying Across the Atlantic’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 1930.

  8‘Fly for U.S. from Ireland’, Chicago Daily Tribune, 24 June 1930.

  9‘Weather Bars Hop’, New York Times, 8 June 1930.

  10Stannage, John, Smithy, Oxford University Press, London, 1950, p. 79.

  11‘Kingsford-Smith has Letter From Cosgrove for Hoover’, New York Times, 25 June 1930.

  12Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles, My Flying Life: An Authentic Biography Prepared under the Personal Supervision of and from the Diaries and Papers of the Late Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, Andrew Melrose, London, 1937, p. 142.

  13‘Flying Across the Atlantic’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 June 1930.

  14ibid.

  15Stannage, John, High Adventure, MacDonald, Christchurch, 1944, p. 47.

  16‘Safe Crossing of Atlantic’, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June 1930.

  17Mackersey, op. cit., p. 254.

  18Stannage, Smithy, op. cit., p. 81.

  19ibid.

  20Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 146.

  21Stannage, High Adventure, op. cit., p. 53.

  22‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  23‘The Real Smithy: Stannage’s Tribute’, Sun, 9 December 1935.

  24‘My Co-Pilot was Called Death’, Liberty Magazine, 28 December 1935.

  25Stannage, High Adventure, op. cit., p. 50.

  26‘Safe Crossing of Atlantic’, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 June 1930.

  27Purvis and Priest, op. cit., p. 6f.

  28Stannage, High Adventure, op. cit., p. 55.

  29‘Flyers at New York’, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 1930.

  30‘Southern Cross Reception at New York’, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 June 1930.

  31‘High Praise in the United States’, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 1930.

  32Sprigg, C. St John, Great Flights, Thomas Nelson & Sons, London, 1936, p. 147.

  33‘Fighting Mob Greets Atlantic Victors on New York Arrival’, The Washington Post, 27 June 1930.

  34‘Southern Cross Reception at New York’, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 June 1930.

  35‘Kingsford-Smith’s Fiancée in Australia Elated: Miss Powell Says He Has Won Last Air Laurel’, New York Times, 26 June 1930.

  36‘Dramatic Story: Perils of the Atlantic Flight’, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 1930.

  37‘Fliers Feat Rallies Seriously Ill Father’, New York Times, 28 June 1930.

  38‘Airmen Decline Triumphal Broadway Parade’, New York Times, 27 June 1930.

  39‘Phones Australia to Greet Fiancée’, New York Times, 28 June 1930.

  40‘Nation Hears Flyer Talk to Australia’, New York Times, 29 June 1930.

  41McNally, Ward, The Man on the Twenty Dollar Note: Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, A & A Reed, Sydney, 1976, p. 105.

  42ibid.

  43‘Kingsford Smith Off Today for the Coast’, New York Times, 2 July 1930.

  44ibid.

  45‘Southern Cross Hops to Chicago’, New York Times, 2 July 1930.

  46Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 157.

  47ibid., p. 159.

  48Mackersey, op. cit., p. 258.

  49Stannage, High Adventure, op. cit., p. 89.

  50Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 159.

  51Wixted, Edward P., T
he Life and Times of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith: An Illustrated Chronology, private source, Queensland, 1996, p. 77.

  52Stannage, High Adventure, op. cit., p. 90.

  53Wixted, op. cit., p. 95.

  54McNally, op. cit., p. 106.

  55Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 165.

  56Sheil, Beau, Caesar of the Skies: The Life Story of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Cassell, London, 1937, p. 122.

  57‘The Air Race: Smith at Rangoon’, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 October 1930.

  58Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 173.

  59ibid., p. 176.

  60Stannage, Smithy, op. cit., p. 90.

  61‘Kingsford Smith Relates Incidents of Flight’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 1930.

  62Kingsford Smith, op. cit., p. 183.

  63‘Kingsford Smith Relates Incidents of Flight’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 1930.

  64‘World Fliers Reach Darwin: Smith Breaks the Record’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 1930.