Mementoes of Charles Kingsford Smith's Southern Cross

Mementoes of Charles Kingsford Smith's Southern Cross. Mounted on board, original rack & part of the original fabric bearing the letter S, a photo of the Southern Cross with a description typed as follow: These mementoes of Smithy's Southern Cross were presented to the Air Force officer's club by William G MacDiarmid, who late in 1930, as general manager of Morley motor Bodies Ltd. Of Rosebery, directed the conversion of the Southern Cross for passenger flying. On the left is part of the original fabric bearing a letter in the name of the Southern Cross. The rack above was used by Navigator Lyon for his manuals & note-books during the Pacific Ocean flight. The Southern Cross was originally passenger & freight flying in Alaska & was used in 1926 by Hubert Wilkins in pioneer exploration flights over north polar regions. It was acquired by Kingsford-Smith and Ulm for the first Pacific Ocean flight from Oakland, California to Brisbane, Queensland. May 31st to June 9th, 1928, the crew being: Charles Kingsford Smith, pilot Charles Ulm, co-pilot Henry Lyon, navigator James Warner, radio operator. Among the other historical flights by Kingsford-Smith & Ulm in the Southern Cross were: record flight, Australia-England, June 25-July 8, 1929. Ist East-West Atlantic crossing, Ireland-New York, June 23-24, 1930.