Kingsford Smith Memorial - Gerroa, NSW
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Tuena
S 34° 46.089 E 150° 48.822
56H E 299918 N 6150490
A memorial to honour the flight by Charles Kingsford Smith on 14 January 1933 from Seven Mile Beach Gerroa to New Plymouth, New Zealand was officially opened on 10 February 1968.
Waymark Code: WMN43N
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 12/23/2014
Views: 7
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (9 February 1897 – 8 November 1935), an aviator, was born in Brisbane & died when he crashed into the sea off Burma.
In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia. He also made the first non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland, the first flights between Australia and New Zealand, and the first eastward Pacific crossing from Australia to the United States. He also made a flight from Australia to London, setting a new record of 10.5 days.
The major airport of Sydney was named Kingsford Smith International Airport in his honour.
Credit: Wikipedia (
visit link)
Jack Gordon Beale AO (17 July 1917 – 7 June 2006) was an Australian politician who championed the need for Australia to conserve and develop its water resources. He was also Australia's first environment minister. Known as the 'Water Man,' he was quoted as saying:
"Australia is the lowest, flattest, hottest and driest continent on the earth and we have to manage it accordingly."
After his politician father's death in 1942, Jack Beale ran in the by-election for his father's electorate, South Coast, winning as an independent and becoming at the age of 25 the youngest member of the NSW parliament. He served in parliament for 31 years and won 3 elections as an independent and 8 as a member of the Liberal Party. After a falling out with the NSW Premier in 1973, he resigned from parliament.
The memorial to Kingsford Smith consists of a small pillar and plaque and a flat, two-dimensional concrete rendering of Kingsford Smith's aeroplane, the Southern Cross. It is situated in a small park which has sweeping views of Seven Mile Beach.
The plaque is worded:
Kingsford Smith Memorial.
This memorial was officially opened by Hon. J.G.Beale M.L.A. Minister for Conservation on 10th Feb. 1968