Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, KBE (20 December 1890 – 19 December 1955) was an Australian

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, who, along with his brother, Sir

Ross Macpherson Smith Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, (4 December 1892 – 13 April 1922) was an Australian aviator. He and his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, were the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919. Early life Smith's father migrated ...

, Sergeant James Mallett (Jim) Bennett and Sergeant Walter (Wally) Shiers, became the first people to fly from England to Australia.

Early life

Smith's father emigrated from Scotland to Western Australia, and later became a pastoralist in South Australia. His mother was born in Western Australia, daughter of a Scottish pioneer. Both boys boarded at

Queen's School, North Adelaide Queen's College was a privately owned and run school for boys on Barton Terrace, North Adelaide. It ran continuously from 1891 to 1949, an Australian record for a proprietary boys' school. History In 1885 Thomas Field (Anglican priest, born 1829), ...

, and for two years at

Warriston School Warriston School was a private preparatory school for boys in Moffat, Scotland. From September 1963 the school catered for pupils from ages 9–18. Warriston School was ultimately owned and run by Brian Larmour and his wife. Age group was from 1 ...

, in Scotland. He flew in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a pilot between 1917 and 1919.

The Great Air Race

In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. On 12 November 1919, the brothers, along with Sergeant Jim Bennett and Sergeant Wally Shiers, departed from

Hounslow Heath Aerodrome Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main r ...

, England, in a

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" ...

aeroplane, eventually landing in Darwin, Australia on 10 December, having taken less than 28 days with an actual flying time of 135 hours. The four men shared the £10,000 prize money. Keith and Ross Smith were immediately knighted, while Shiers and Bennett were commissioned and each awarded a Bar to their

Air Force Medal The Air Force Medal (AFM) was a military decoration, awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "an act or acts of valour ...

s. The aircraft is preserved in a museum at the

Adelaide Airport Adelaide Airport , also known as Adelaide International Airport, is the principal airport of Adelaide, South Australia and the List of the busiest airports in Australia, fifth-busiest airport in Australia, servicing 8.5 million passenger ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Later life

Smith planned an around-the-world flight in 1922, but abandoned it after his brother Ross was killed during a test flight. He then lived and worked in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

as an agent for

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, vice-president of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (taken over by

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

in 1954), and as a director of Qantas Empire Airways and Tasman Empire Airways Limited (a subsidiary of

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...

which was the forerunner of

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

References

External links

Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith, pioneer aviators
State Library of South Australia website including personal papers of Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith

Encyclopaedia of Australian Science at Melbourne University

''Technology in Australia 1788-1988'', Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

''Technology in Australia 1788-1988'', Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Keith Macpherson 1890 births 1955 deaths Military personnel from South Australia Royal Flying Corps soldiers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force airmen People educated at Warriston School Australian aviators Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Adelaide