KINGSFORD SMITH

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19463, 9 November 1928, Page 8

KINGSFORD SMITH

DIVORCE GRANTED. UNUSUAL GIFT TO WIFE. (noic ora owjt correspondent.) SYDNEY, November 1. Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith, "hero of the Pacific and Tasman flights, gained very little additional notoriety as the result of his successful petition for a divorce from his wife,' Thelma Eileen Kingsford Smith, formerly a Miss Corboy. The suit was not (Jofcndcd. The ground on which the petition was based was desertion and Kingsford Kuiith made it very clear that he did not make any accusation of misconduct against his wife. In his evidence ho said that he was the son of a bank manager and ho was born in Brisbane on February Bth, 1897. His permanent home was in New South Wales, and there was no issue of the marriage. Petitioner said that while in Western Australia he complained of his wife's coolness, and she then admitted that she was in love with another man. She told him that she did not care for him, and that anything he could do would not regain her affections. Correspondence had passed between him and his wife but he could not Induce her to return to him. On December 26th, 1925, Kingsford Smith said that he wrote a letter to his wife as follows: —"I would like to tako this opportunity of wishing you and your mother the compliments of the season, and I hope that all your Christmases will be happy ones. Now lam writing again to ask you to Come back to me, but if you are determined not to do so, you might at least write and tell me that. One does not like one's letters to be ignored. If you are willing to return X can offer you at least a liome, although you did not seem over-anxious to share one with me prior to your leaving me when I was in the West."

An unusual feature ( of the. case was that Kingsford Smith said _he was desirous of making a gift of £250 to his wife. Such a gift had been suggested by his wife's mother and- he willingly fell in with the idea. However, he had. not paid the money as he was afraid that that might prejudice him in his divorce action; collusion might have been suspected. The Judge said that although the decision was an unusual one he did not see that there was anything improper about it. Kingsford Smith and Ulm, who will probably be accompanied by the remaining members of the crew on the Tasman flight, expect to leave Sydney for the United States on December Bth. They are likely to ship the Southern Cross and fly from Honolulu to San Francisco. They say that it would be a ereat triumph to arrive at San Francisco by air, seeing that they set out from there in June last prepared to win or lose all.