| At the dawn of powered flight, many of those | | | | final leg of their route. In the early hours of |
| watching developments were convinced that the first | | | | November 7th, the records show they were over |
| success would come from Australia, where an | | | | Rangoon in Burma, now known as Myanmar. |
| inventor named Lawrence Hargrave had made | | | | Silence from the Lady Southern Cross triggered an |
| exciting discoveries about the advantages of the | | | | all-out search by the Royal Air Force, deployed by |
| curved wing and the vertical tailplane in 1892. | | | | the British colonial government still in control of Burma |
| Fate reserved the golden ring for the Wright | | | | at the time. No trace was found of the aircraft or its |
| brothers at Kitty Hawk in 1903 and Hargraves is | | | | adventurous pilots. Their fate remained a mystery |
| largely forgotten. But The Great Southern Land | | | | until 1937, when some fishermen saw wreckage of |
| produced another aviation pioneer who, in 1930, | | | | the plane's undercarriage on the beach of an island |
| completed the first round-the-world flight. He also set | | | | south-east of Rangoon. A search of the island and its |
| a new record for solo flight from England to Australia | | | | surrounding waters by an Australian expedition in |
| in 1933 and at that time was recognised as the | | | | 1983 did not turn up any evidence. Theories abound, |
| premier celebrity of international aviation, with more | | | | but no one can say for certain what caused the |
| flying records to his name than any other flyer of his | | | | tragic end to a truly brilliant career. |
| time. Many called Charles Kingsford Smith 'The | | | | In 1930, Smithy had married Mary Powell. Their son |
| World's Greatest Pilot.' | | | | was named Charles. In 1932, Smithy was knighted for |
| To an admiring public all over the world, Charles was | | | | his services to aviation. Three years later, the Sir |
| famous under the nickname 'Smithy.' With Tommy | | | | Charles Kingsford Smith Southern Cross medal was |
| Pethybridge as co-pilot, he took off from England in | | | | struck in commemoration of the flyer and his famous |
| November 1935, bound for Australia. They were | | | | aircraft. His image is on the Australian twenty-dollar |
| flying a new aircraft, named Lady Southern Cross in | | | | banknote. Sydney's international airport bears his |
| honour of the plane in which Smithy had broken so | | | | name and among other memorials is the one in |
| many records. The new plane was a Lockheed Altair. | | | | Brisbane that houses his plane the Southern Cross. |
| India was the first stop of the journey, where they | | | | Nothing can ever eclipse his star in the history of |
| refuelled at the city of Allahabad. From there, they | | | | aviation and in the hearts of all Australians who value |
| planned to make Singapore the last stop before the | | | | daring and determination. |