Early Life
Charles Edward Kingsford Smith was born on 9 February 1897 in Hamilton (a suburb of Brisbane), Queensland, Australia, and was the youngest of seven children of William Charles Smith (1852–1930), a bank manager, and Catherine Mary Kingsford (1857–1938), daughter of Richard Ash Kingsford, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. Like his siblings, Charles's birth was registered with the surname Smith. However, his parents found having such a common name as Smith too confusing and so adopted the use of "Kingsford Smith" as the family surname.
From 1903 to 1907, he and his family lived in Vancouver, Canada.
Upon returning to Australia, he attended St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney, where he was a treble chorister in the cathedral choir. He then studied electrical engineering at Sydney Technical College (now known as Sydney Technical High School).
On 2 January 1907 young Charles Kingsford Smith was rescued from certain drowning at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach by bathers who, just seven weeks later, were responsible for founding the world's first official surf life saving group at Bondi Beach on 21 February 1907, at a meeting held at the Royal Hotel Bondi Beach.
Kingsford Smith was twice married, first to Thelma Eileen Corboy (1901–1990) on 6 June 1923 at the Marble Bar Registrar's Office in Western Australia. They divorced in 1928. His second marriage was to Mary Powell (1910–1997) on 10 December 1930 at Scots' Church, Melbourne. They had one son, Charles Arthur Kingsford Smith, who was born on 22 December 1932. The family resided at Darling Point in Sydney.
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