Keith Macpherson Smith

Who was Keith Macpherson Smith?

Sir Keith Macpherson Smith KBE, was an Australian aviator, who, along with his brother, Sir Ross Macpherson Smith and two other men, became the first people to fly from England to Australia.

On 12 November 1919, the brothers, along with Sergeant Jim Bennett and Sergeant Wally Shiers, departed from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, England, in a Vickers Vimy 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 put forward by the Australian government for the feat. Keith and Ross were immediately knighted, while Shiers and Bennett were commissioned and each awarded a Bar to their Air Force Medals.

The aircraft is preserved in a museum in Adelaide, Australia.