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Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 139, 14 June 1932, Page 7

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"SMITHY'S" HONOUR. KNIGHT WITHOUT A JOB. IUCBATIVE OFFERS ABROAD, PROSPECT OF appointment. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, June 10. The knighthood conferred oq "Smithy," as ho will continue to be known to all Australians, is certainly tho most popular of the honours dis: tributed on the King's Birthday on this* side of the world. The great flyer himr self received the news with characterr istic modesty, and expressed some embarrassment at the prospect of being addressed in future as "Sir Charles." An interview with the aviator's wife which appeared in the "Daily Telegraph'' throws an interesting light on the inr timacies of "Smithy's" domestic existr once. His young wife made a charming "subject" for the interviewer. "I'm terribly glad for Charles' sake," she said on being told the good news by the reporter; and she "went on to admit that the new title seemed a little oppressive to her. "I've often thought that I wasn't the right kind of wife for such an important man," she said, "and it's worried me; but at least I've made him w;ear decent clothes." Sho sot off ■at once for Canberra —where "Smithy" was then "barn-storming," as lie terms it— "bccausc," she confided to the "if I don't watch him; he'll go to tha Governor-General's dinner on Saturday with golf socks on." Greatest Airman of All. It is on record that Sir Charles Kings.ford Smith appeared at the Governor* General's dinner, no doubt in correct clothes, and ho was duly complimented and praised by the distinguished host and the guests. But he, in turn, has confided to the inevitable interviewer that, while the honour is acceptable, h? would very much like to get something more substantial in the form of a job.. Over here it is regarded as nothing less than a national scandal that this man, who is by the common consent of ths world's experts the greatest aviator o 1 the age, has been entirely neglected' is his own country so far as occupation Of employment is concerned. He is, as hi* wife has said, "really an awfully good Australian," and he admits that he has had very lucrative offers to go abroad, "I could have been a comparatively rich man after my Atlantic flight," he>told one reporter,' "if I had consented to become a naturalised American and remain in the United States." But hs preferred his own country—and thouglj he has always been ready for employ, ment here no opportunity has come hi* way.

At the time 'when he received nevrs of his knighthood, the "greatest flyer on earth" was at the Federal Capital arranging to give lessons on aviation and taking up local residents for joyrides at 10/ per head! This seems a positive disgrace to Australia, and it is good news to learn that there is now some chance for "Smithy" to secure the post of Controller of Civil Aviation for the Commonwealth. The present Controller, Colonel Brinsmead, was seriously injured in an aeroplane crash last Decern, ber, and it does not seem likely that he can take up such arduous duties again. "Smithy" is, as one newspaper says, "the logical successor," and he certainly deserves the position. Meantime he talki of flying across to New Zealand about September in the Southern Cross, to make a living out of passenger flights there, but everyone hopes that this will not be necessary.

Influence on Aviation.

It is difficult to exaggerate the influence that "Smithy's" achievements have had upon the growth of aviation here. The other day it was announced that a lecturer on aeronautics at the Ultimo Technical College, Mr. L. J. Jones, had designed and constructed a monoplane with a Sydney-niado engine, and that with Mr. Mitchell, a member of the Mosman Aero Club, he means to attempt the Tasman flight. The machine was "tried out" the other day, and though the aviator was forced to alight through some mishap, both the monoplane and the engine have received high praise from competent judges, and it is evidently quite capable of carrying out its builder's intentions. Another illustration of the importance that aviation has already assumed in the life of the community was given this week by Dr. Poate, a well-known Macquarie Street specialist, who flew from Mascot 250 miles to a remote country town, performed an operation there to relieve concussion of the brain, and was back in the city within ten hours. No wonder that the aeroplane is becoming, in the eyes of all up-to-date people, quite indispensable to modern progress.