KINGSFORD SMITH DIVORCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 November 1928, Page 8

KINGSFORD SMITH DIVORCE

UNUSUAL GIFT TO WIFE. 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 defended. The ground on which the petition was based was desertion and Kingsford Smith made it very clear that he did hot make any accusation of misconduct against his wife. In his evidence 'he said that he was the son of a bank manager, and he was born in Brisbane on February 8, 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 affectidns. Correspondence had passed between him and his wife, but he

could not induce her to return to him. On December 26, 1925, Kingsford Smith said, that lie wrote a letter his wife as follow’s: —“I would like to take 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 I am writing again id 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 ,1 can offer you/ at least a home, 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 ahd ha willingly fell in with the idea. Hdwever, he had not paid the money as he was afraid that might prejudice ‘ him in his divorce action; collision" might have been suspected. ' 'the Judge said that although the. decision Was ah liittisiihl one he did ndt see that there was anything improper about it,