Do Go On - 397 - Aviator Charles Kingsford Smith

Episode Date: May 31, 2023

You might have visited the airport in Sydney that's named after him, but what do you actually know about Australian aviator, Charles Kingsford Smith? This is the story of a man who fit A LOT into one lifetime. This is a comedy/history podcast, the report begins at approximately 05:29(though as always, we go off on tangents throughout the report).Support the show and get rewards like bonus episodes: patreon.com/DoGoOnPodLive show tickets: https://dogoonpod.com/live-shows/ Submit a topic idea directly to the hat: dogoonpod.com/suggest-a-topic/Check out our merch: https://do-go-on-podcast.creator-spring.com/ Check out our AACTA nominated web series: http://bit.ly/DGOWebSeries​ Twitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: [e-mail] Check out our other podcasts:Book Cheat: https://play.acast.com/s/book-cheatPrime Mates: https://play.acast.com/s/prime-mates/Listen Now: https://play.acast.com/s/listen-now/Who Knew It with Matt Stewart: https://play.acast.com/s/who-knew-it-with-matt-stewart/ Our awesome theme song by Evan Munro-Smith and logo by Peader ThomasDo Go On acknowledges the traditional owners of the land we record on, the Wurundjeri people, in the Kulin nation. We pay our respects to elders, past and present.  REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kingsford_Smithhttps://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kingsford-smith-sir-charles-edward-6964https://australian.museum/about/history/exhibitions/trailblazers/sir-charles-kingsford-smith/https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10676529 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just jumping in really quickly at the start of today's episode to tell you about some upcoming opportunities to see us live in the flesh. And you can see us live at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024. We are doing three live podcasts on Sundays at 3.30 at Basement Comedy Club, April 7, 14 and 21. You can get tickets at dogo1pod.com. Matt, you're also doing some shows around the country. That's right. I'm doing shows with Saren Jayamana, who's been on the show before. We're going to be in Perth in January, Adelaide in February, Melbourne through the festival in April, and then Brisbane after that. I'm also doing Who Knew It's in Perth and Adelaide. Details for all that stuff at mattstuartcomedy.com.

We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. Hello and welcome to another episode of Do Go On.

My name is Dev Warnke and as always I'm here with Matt Stewart and Jess Perkins. G'day, g'day. How's it going? Toodly-doo. And what? That's not how it goes. How does that go? I don't know. Is that a John Williamson? Probably.

Or John Williams? Hi Dave. Hey Dave, how good is it to be alive? Hello. The answer is so good. I wish I was never born. We know that to be the case. Jess, you make Hey, Dave. How good is it to be alive? Hello. The answer is so good. Oh, I wish I was never born. We know that to be the case. Jess, you make my heart sing.

Really? You're a wild thing. Anyway, what is... No, hang on. How does this show work? Jess, how does it work? Why do I have to do it? All right.

It works like this. So, one of the three of us chooses a topic, often with the help of the listeners that might be suggested by them, often even voted on by them like it is today. And we go away and we learn all about this topic. We take a deep dive. We smother ourselves in it. We get sick of it.

We go away from it for a bit. We come back after a little break. Maybe we watched a season of Gotham. And we come back and then we write a report almost like we're in high school doing an oral presentation we bring it in and we tell it to the other two while they politely listen and occasionally go on dog shit riffs that seem like they never end we go on tangents they get a bit tedious new listeners like i can't stand this they turn it off no but like i like with any TV show, give it three eps.

You've got to give it three eps. I think you're warm to us. You've got to give it three seasons. You've got to give it three seasons and then you're like, actually, I get it. Yeah. We've written this like it's a slow burn, much like Schitt's Creek, where people say I hated it for the first three seasons

and then that was the best thing I ever watched. Assume we're going to win all of the Emmys. Exactly. So, whatever. So, you want to get on the ground floor. We like to think of this as shit riffs. That's right. And we always get on a topic with a question you want to get on the ground floor. We like to think of this as shit riffs. That's right. And we always get on a topic with a question,

and Jess is doing the report today. What is your question? Before Mary Reby, who featured on the Australian $20 note? I feel like this might be like a trivia question that comes up. That was the lobster. So, on the other side at the moment is John Flynn. Not John Flynn. Oh, the flying doctor himself. So, we're talking before it was like the plastic money.

Yes. I'm trying to picture this because I am old enough to remember that money. Douglas Mawson? No. He was on the $100 note. Wearing the balaclava in the Antarctic. Oh, yeah. Very cool.

Am I right saying that? I was so confident. $100 or $10? I reckon I can see you next to a 1. It's a tricky one. A green one. I always love the 10 because it's that greeny blue. It's a tough question.

I wouldn't have been able to tell you who's on a car 20. Would I have heard of it? Oh, definitely. But I have another question that I could ask instead. Dame Nellie Melba. No. She's on the current 100. Is it anyone who's still on the money?

No, he's not on the money anymore. Not on the money. Oh, being cancelled off the money. Being cancelled. Really? What does he do? Sydney's International Airport is named after who? Charles Kingsford Smith. Correct! That's awesome. That's so good. This is almost, I was gonna

do this one day as a sort of sequel to the Dole Air Race. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because it's sort of linked into that, right? A little, yeah, and a similar kind of wild story and like a name that I knew because of the airport. But there's a lot of names that pop up a lot everywhere. I mean, this isn't a uniquely Australian thing.

We name stuff after people. It's pretty crazy. That's one of our things. But, you know, there's names that you know and I never really look into them. So, it was quite nice to sort of our things. But, you know, there's names that you know and I never really look into them. So it was quite nice to sort of- Interesting. And is the rule that once you get an airport after,

you're off the money? You're not allowed to have both? You can't have both. You can't have both. Yeah, it looks like favouritism. Totally. Give someone else a go. Other people have done stuff.

Is JFK on money? Yeah, maybe on a coin. Oh, there you go. But maybe not a note? You can have it all. Oh, not on a note. Maybe that's you go. But maybe not a note. You can have it all. Oh, not on a note. Maybe that's the rule. That might be the rule.

I forgot that there was the airport. I'd forgotten what we were talking about. And I was like, oh, he's on a coin? Like, what are you? Oh, okay. I see. I see. The thing we were just talking about.

The Kennedy half dollar. Half dollar. 50 cents. Come on, guys. So confusing. We took the names off them. Why are they saying them wrong? Half dollar. Half dollar. 50 cents. Come on, guys. So confusing. We took the names off them. Why are they saying them wrong? Half dollar.

Half dollar. Jeez, we really are in the future. 50 cents, 20 cents. They'll get there eventually. Also referred to as the half for short. Okay. I've never heard that. That's no good.

I've never once heard that. They don't have 20s, though, do they? They have quarters, 25ers. That's true. Which makes sense, I think. But they. That's no good. I've never once heard that. They don't have 20s, though, do they? They have quarters, 25ers. That's true. Which makes sense, I think. But they also have like one cent, which doesn't make sense. No, we got rid of them years ago. Yeah.

Because we're in the future. Was that around the same time we made plastic money? Yeah, I think it was. There used to be the one and two dollars used to be notes when I was a boy. Oh, wow. Actually, that wasn't when I was a boy. When I was a boy, it was shreppancy and snuffersleys. How many shreppensleys is one nuffersley?

What, seven shreppersley to a nuffersley? And how much would a loaf of bread cost? Oh, that would cost about five snippets worth. Okay, wow. Inflation, am I right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. This has been suggested by a couple of people, Nathan Damon from Perth and Peter Collins from Yass.

Oh, Yass. Oh, Yass. Yass King. And, yeah, it's a story I didn't really know, and it begins thusly. I'm enjoying this so far. Charles Edward Smith was born on the 9th of February, 1897. You said it, sorry, Charles Kingsford Smith.

No. What? Charles Edward Smith. What? Charles Edward Smith What? Hang on It's almost like I fucking wrote the report Son

I have I've got in Five words And you've interrupted Can I Can I take that back? No I thought it'd be funny to say like

I thought you misspoke You accidentally pronounced Kingsford as Edward No The damage is done And I'm hurt Can you You start again?

We'll edit out everything that's happened so far. You can't edit it out of my heart, though. I'm going to cut it out. Charles Edward Smith, born on the 9th of February, 1897, at Riverview Terrace in Brisbane, in Queensland, the son of William Charles Smith and his wife, Catherine Mary. His mum, Catherine, was actually the daughter of Richard Ash Kingsford, a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly

and mayor in both Brisbane and Cairns. Wow. At the same time? Surely not at the same time. They're very far apart from each other. Very far apart. So I'm guessing at different times. Wow, yeah.

For American listeners, that's Maya. Maya. Maya. And water. Maya. Maya. Maya. And water. Mr. Maya and squirrel. Hey, look at that squirrel get the water. Craig, look at the squirrel. The squirrel in the water.

Mayor Craig. Mayor Craig. Hey, Mayor Craig. Hey, do you need some water? Look at that squirrel get the water. Wash down that cilantro. That's what you sound like. We love it.

We love it. And we love it. Can't wait to be there and say it to your faces. Can I have a water? Can I have a water? It's going to be a lot of them going, what are you saying? Why are you saying it like that? Why are you saying it like that?

Yeah. This is how you talk. And then they'll be saying, we say no. Yeah. And we'll be saying, fuck you. We don't do that. No, fuck you, we don't do that. That's actually rude when people misrepresent how you talk. That's not how we talk.

We don't do that. Very good at giving it. Very good at giving it. And equally good at taking it. Equally good at taking it. No doubt about that. Absolutely. How dare you?

God, we could laugh at ourselves. Yeah, yeah. We're very laid back. We're very cool and we're all surfers. Well, just listen to us. We'll tell you. Yeah. We'll tell you.

Go on a TikTok and look at the comments under those sort of videos. Australians will tell you how laid back they are. Yeah, we're very chill. There's nothing more laid back than letting everyone know that you're laid back. It's been getting in the comment section. Yeah, death threats. In 1903, the family moved to Canada, and while Charles's birth surname had been registered as Smith,

it was around this time that the family started using Kingsford Smith as a surname. Is that- So, he took that from his wife's family? Is that right? Or, no, his mum. That's his mum. Yeah.

He married his mum. Wow. No, so his mum and dad hyphenated their surnames. Yeah. He married his mum. Wow. No, so his mum and dad hyphenated their names. Yeah, pretty much, yeah. Put them together. Is that like a Canadian thing? They're like fresh start here. Alistair Trumbull-Birchall, for instance.

Yeah. Yeah, Canadian. Canadian. Yeah, I don't know why. Maybe it sounded fancier. It definitely does sound fancier. Doesn't it? Yeah.

Kingsford Smith. Yeah. And it's not hyphenated, but it is still like a double-barreled name. He attended school in Vancouver before the family moved back to Australia in 1907, this time settling in Sydney. From 1909 to 1911, he was enrolled at St. Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney, where he sang in the school choir, and then at Sydney Technical High School before becoming an engineering apprentice with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company at 16.

CSR. CSR Sugar. This whole time. Didn't know what it was. I didn't know what that was either. Colonial Sugar Refining. When he sang in the choir, this is probably how he got his start on aeroplanes. He would have sung for that Qantas ad.

Yeah. I've been to cities that never closed down. Why have I gone the hard bit? From New York to Rome and old London town. But no matter how far or how wide I roam, I still call Australia home. God, it really gets you. Yeah.

Gosh, wiping away the tears. When you're a bit jet lagged or when you have been overseas for a while, that one and Walsing Matilda really gets you. Let me tell you. And Rip Rip Woodchip Turnitin the Paper. Those three really get you. Funnily enough, not the national anthem, though. No, God, no.

But maybe The Seekers. Or Neighbours. Oh, God. No, I've got Neighbours. And they're in Australia. Especially if it's Barry Crocker's version, the original and the best. Wow. A couple of years later, it's 1915.

The First World War is beginning. Smithy, he's freshly 18 and having spent three years in the cadets, he enlisted for duty in the 1st AIF, Australian Imperial Force, and served at Gallipoli as a sapper and a motorcycle dispatch rider in Egypt and France. Sappers are combat engineers who support frontline soldiers. But a motorcycle dispatch rider. That's cool.

That sounds cool. It does not sound cool. It does sound very cool. But sapper is one of the first words in K-San, right? Another classic too jerking Australian tune. I left my heart to the sappers. Ah. Man, K-San or sappers land.

Is that right? Doesn't matter. An early Google of something relevant. No, certainly not Googling. Just going into my mind here. Previous topic, Jimmy Barnes. Oh, yeah, yeah. Senior of.

Yeah, I didn't know what a sapper was. In March of 1917, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and earned his pilot's wings shortly thereafter. Did you figure it out? No, it's just funny to think that pilots get literal wings. Yeah. Just in case. You can fly now.

There you go. Okay. Isn't it so funny? I heard this like a million times. Never knew what the lyric actually was. I left my heart to the sappers round, K-San. I always thought I left my heart to the sappers man, K-San. Which makes no sense.

That's just really on Jimmy's diction. Is it like man, K-Sam. Which makes no sense. That's just really on Jimmy's diction. Is it like man, comma, K-Sam? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he's transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, and everything happens very quickly back in the day, particularly in war, because only a few months after transferring, he's a full-blown pilot. Wow.

We lost all the others. You can have a go now. You have a go. Having been promoted to flying officer, he was posted to the No. 23 Squadron in France in July of 1917. In his first month of flying, he shot down four German aircrafts and he himself was shot down and wounded. His injuries resulted in him having two of his toes amputated, but he was otherwise okay.

Wow. You get shot down an aeroplane, you probably take a couple of toes. Yeah. Imagine falling from the sky and you land on your toes. Yeah. Ow. Ow. Like stubbing your toe.

How bad that is. Imagine doing that with the force of a plane crashing. God, you'd be- You know how sometimes people stub their toes and they make a real song and dance about it? Yeah. And you're like, okay, I know it hurts, but let's move on with our day.

Yeah. I think if that's the case, you could be like, nah, fair. Yeah. Fair. You can really- Yeah, you can milk that one if you want. like, nah, fair. Yeah. Fair. You can really, yeah, you can milk that one if you want. Ow, this really hurts. Yeah.

Cut it out. You're three metres in a ditch made by your toe. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Oh, that hurts. You can do a bit of that, I think. And literally stubbed his toe too. He just had stubs remaining. Yep.

He was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in battle and he was promoted to lieutenant and served as an RFC flight instructor for the rest of the war. So he's only just become a pilot and he's teaching other pilots. They did it different back then. Don't do what I did. Get shot down and land on your toe. It reminds me of when I did an improv class many years ago

and the teacher is a lovely guy, I still know him, very funny guy, but he sort of sat down and he was taking us through the first lesson and he was talking about all his experience and stuff and someone was like, oh, how long have you been doing improv? He said, I started last year. Incredible stuff. He started learning a year before yeah and now he's teaching but and just talking about it like you know you'll go through the ups and

downs i've been through it all yeah i am of course one week ahead of you so i know what you're about let me be your sherpa i will guide you through the oh the troughs and and the exhilarating highs that will come for you in the next six days. So funny. That's really great. He was transferred to the newly established Royal Air Force and in early 1919 with the war over, he and his fellow servicemen were demobilised.

So he could have returned home to Australia, as so many soldiers did, but instead he joined forces with fellow Australian Cyril Maddox were demobilised. So he could have returned home to Australia, as so many soldiers did, but instead he joined forces with fellow Australian Cyril Maddox and together they formed Kingsford Smith Maddox Aeros LTD. Okay. They got their hands on a couple of surplus biplanes and offered joy rides mainly in the north of England. It's just like, I could go home or start a small business. I'm an entrepreneur.

Yes. With a catchy name like that, you know, the business is making itself. Exactly. It's just, it's recognisable. It's easy to Google. Yes. It's eye-catching. So, it's Kingsford Smith.

It's punny. Maddox. Kingsford Smith, Maddox Arrows. Okay. Yep. LTD. I can't believe you didn't just't just like have that locked and loaded. After doing that for a while, he travelled to the US and got work as a barnstormer.

And if you're not familiar with that term, it was a very popular form of entertainment, particularly in the 20s in the US, where stunt pilots would perform tricks, either solo or in groups. And it was kind of initially devised to show the general public how skilled pilots are and also how sturdy planes are. But if you, like, read anything about barnstorming, it's usually, like, terrible accidents and, you know, stunts gone wrong and stuff. But initially they're sort of like, you know,

we'll just fly the plane around, do a little loop-de-loop and people will go, wow. Yeah, this is a safety demonstration as we turn the engines off and dive 20,000 feet and then hope to pull up. Turn them back on and pull for life. It's funny barn so i was just talking about jimmy barns and and coltis before he's got a band now called the barnstormers love it with uh he's on vocals and then living ends chris chaney on guitar stray cat slim jim phantom on drums and uh kevin caveman shirley on bass as well as Jules Holland.

What a wild band, that band. Really? That's an amazing band. Yeah. Chris Chaney, though. Holy shit. I had such a crush on Chris Chaney for such a long time. He's more of a Scott guy, you know, standing on the bass.

Oh, yeah. Was that his name? Oh, you love him so much. I like one of their many drummers. Yeah, I like that first drummer with the quiff and obviously the drummer now as well. Good on them all. Good on all drummers.

Keep on drumming. So, yeah, he's running Joy Flats in the UK and he's a barnstormer in the US. And I find myself so impressed when people in the old days went and travelled and worked overseas. Like, it's so common now. And I still went and traveled and worked overseas like it's so common now and i still see it as like oh it's a fun adventure when people move overseas but because it's just so much so much more accessible it's kind of like well you can pop home whenever

but i don't know back if i hear it like back in the day i hear it australians in the us in the 20s i'm like holy freaking shit yeah because there's no like emailing or applying for a job in advance. You just got to go there and then work it out. Yeah. I mean, like, what was the visa situation back then? Could you just turn up? It's wild.

It feels like that just even with, like, old-timey shows or, you know, like period shows where Americans are going to LA and they rock up with a briefcase or a bag and they go, Hey, can I get a job? They're like, yeah, starting tomorrow, kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess it works like that. But you've come all the way from Australia, which is so far away. And you're just like crossing your fingers, going door to door.

Yeah. Got a job or a place I can live? Sure, son. It's pretty cool. Anyway, he eventually returned to Australia in 1921 and applied for a commercial pilot's license. Anyway, he eventually returned to Australia in 1921 and applied for a commercial pilot's licence. Sir Norman Brearley, who had also flown planes in the war with the RFC,

had returned to Australia and had founded Western Australian Airways, which was based in Geraldton in Western Australia. Otherwise, Western Australian Airways would be a bad name. Just a little tidbit I read about Norman Brearley. Apparently, in November of 1916, he was shot down and badly wounded with bullets perforating both lungs. Okay. He had landed in no man's land but managed to crawl back to Allied lines.

He crawled, shot in the lungs. He's got no lungs. Both lungs perforated. That is- Yeah. Isn't that incredible? Wow. Would have been quicker to walk, though, wouldn't it?

See, that's the thing. Yeah. I guess he was trying to stay under the bullets. You got to crawl before you can walk. And he was also- He didn't have lungs. No. Well, no, you didn't say he lost his lungs.

They were perforated, though. Isn't that even better? Like, you don't even have to use your nose or mouth. You're just breathing straight out your chest. You're sucking in from all sides. Yeah. Like speed holes. Yeah, actually, yeah.

Makes breathing faster, quicker, easier. More efficient. I thought that was impressive. Evolution's come forward. No, you're right. Sounds like a bit of an idiot. No, sorry, you're right. That is impressive.

That is. That is impressive. And that's the kind of badass. Yeah, it is kind of badass. There's another fun tidbit is that he was issued with Australia's first civil pilot's license. His license was numbered as license number two, but there was no license number one. His was the first. A license of that number, number one, was issued in 1930 when it was presented to Amy Johnson in honour of her record flight

from London to Australia because she was the first woman to do it. Sick. So, she got licence number one. They're like, I guess you can do it. They said, we'll save it for you if you can make it. Yeah, okay, toots. See how you go. They're like, honestly, we probably don't need the written exam at this point.

Just take the licence. You got a kitchen on your plane, do probably don't need the written exam at this point. Just take the license. You got a kitchen on your plane, do you? Good on you, love. All right. And then she did it. Sounds kind of cool. She had a kitchen on her plane. She had a kitchen.

She made everybody a sandwich. Anyway, so Norman Brearley, he has started Western Australian Airways and he's looking for pilots. This is the punctured lung guy. Punctured lung guy. He's sort of like a Dipper in the 1989 grand final who punctured his lung, played out the game. Did he crawl across the line?

Well, that's the thing. He didn't. He was running around. But he only punctured one lung. Yeah, that's true. Yes, good point. This guy's like double Dipper. Yeah.

Double Dipper. That's very good. I don't think I've ever made Matt so proud. He just looked so delighted. It was so, it's like, finally you're having a bit of stupid fun. You're always so serious. Such a stuffed shirt. Yeah.

Double dipper, just a bit of fun. That is something I've been accused of. Stiff shirt. What a stuffed shirt. You're been accused of. Stiff shirt. What a- Stuff shirt. Stuff shirt. You're a stiff shirt. Stiff shirt. Anyway, Norman Brearley, he's looking for pilots.

Our man Smithy was one of the first selected, and he piloted a plane that did a biweekly mail drop to astronomers who were on an expedition to record an eclipse that was going to happen. And this is from atlasobscura.com. The purpose of this expedition was to test Einstein's theory of general relativity, which had been published in 1915. In order to do this, to see whether Einstein's prediction that light from distant stars would bend around the sun was correct,

they needed perfect conditions to photograph the sun during totality. Anyway, the best spot to do this was in Wallow, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, a very remote, isolated area. So Kingsford Smith is flying in Western Australia, and all the while he's dreaming up something a little bigger. This is from the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Realising the great potential for air transport in Australia,

Kingsford Smith formed a partnership in 1924 with fellow pilot Keith Anderson. They raised the capital to buy two Bristol Tourers little planes by operating a trucking business from Carnarvon, and in 1927, they returned to Sydney to operate with Charles Alm, he'll come up a lot, another pilot, as Interstate Flying Services. After tendering unsuccessfully for an Adelaide to Perth mail service, the partners launched a series of important demonstration flights.

So essentially they're like they start doing like impressive flights to show people how reliable planes are to get themselves jobs. Ah, clever. So like they want to get – they want the government to choose them to be the mail carrier, which is going to set themselves jobs. Oh, clever. So that, like, they want to get, they want the government to choose them to be the mail carrier, which is going to set themselves up. So to do that, they're like, we'll just do these crazy flights to show them that we're good at flying planes. If we can do this, we can deliver a package.

We can drop off the mail. All right. All right. One of these, on the first of these flights in June 1927, Kingsford Smith and Charles Um completed a round Australia circuit in 10 days and five hours, a notable achievement with minimal navigational aids. They just zipped around Australia. I don't know exactly where they went, but they were the first to do it. And off the back of this success, Smith sought financial backing to attempt a trans-Pacific flight, something no one had done before. The New South Wales government gave him a £9,000 grant, as well as backing from Sydney

Meyer, businessman and philanthropist, most notably the founder of the department store Meyer, and the namesake of Melbourne's Sydney Meyer Music Bowl. Again, I was like, oh yeah, the Meyer guy. And I is Meyer still. Sydney Meyer. Meyer is like a, they yeah, the Meyer guy. Meyer's Myer store. Sydney Meyer. Meyer is like a – they're an important Melbourne family. Yeah. I didn't know that much about them. Yeah. I mean, I don't know any more than what you just said. Yeah.

What about the Windows people? Well, that's at Meyer's store, Dave. I know that. Jesus. Yeah. He did a lot. I think it's such a great- People start wanting to have a legacy. Having, like, a cool central music amphitheatre in the city

is not a bad one. Yeah. And I guess they've set up a trust to make sure that they haven't had to sell the rights to the name. Yeah, I don't know. I wonder if Maya would buy them. Or David Jones, just a sticker joke. As if David Jones has the money.

Cop that, Jonesy. Harris Scarf? Yeah, Harris Scarf is coming in. The big W bowl. Harvey Norman. The JB Hi-Fi bowl. Now we're talking turkey. I'd love that.

Yeah, so anyway, they've got a grant from the New South Wales government and also from Sidney Meyer and also a Californian oil magnate, G. Alan Hancock. Incredible stuff. So with all this financial backing, they're able to get a three-engined Fokker plane, which they called the Southern Cross. Because we're fucking obsessed with the Southern Cross, aren't we? We're the only ones.

It's a diamond. I don't know why people call it a cross. To me, I look at it, I see a diamond. Is that me? Is that just me? The Southern Diamond. Yeah. That's still nice.

Yeah. Hmm. Makes you think. So, they're going to attempt a pan-Pacific, trans-Pacific flight. So, he's going to need a team. I love a ragtag. Oh, this is my favourite part of an action movie. Oh, yeah.

Where they're getting a team together. Is one of them real small? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Can they do a lot of flips? A little contortionist. I loved Ocean's Eleven. Yeah, same.

I was probably about 11 years old and I was like, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. And fuck you, Andy Garcia. Yeah, what a I was probably about 11 years old and I was like, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen. And fuck you, Andy Garcia. Yeah, what a dog. Absolutely. Barty joins the team and later... What? No spoilers.

So, obviously, he takes his buddy, Charles Ulm, whose role was relief pilot, and then there were two Americans, a radio operator named Jim Warner and navigator and engineer Harry Lyon. The four men took off on the 31st of May, 1928, leaving from Oakland, California. The flight was split into three stages. The first stage was from Oakland to Wheeler Army Airfield in Oahu, in Hawaii.

This stage covered a distance of 3,870 kilometres, or 2,400 miles, and went off without a hitch, luckily, taking them 27 hours and 25 minutes. That's a long time. It's so wild that people would do what no one had done before for that long. Yeah. Just like- 27 hours. Anything goes wrong, we die.

But we'll just do it. I'll be right. Yeah. This is- So, I'm just trying to think of the timing of this, because the Dole Air Race was- This was when it was really taking off, this sort of stuff. It was the 20s as well.

Mm-hmm. And, yeah, it's funny. I already can't quite remember if this came before or just after, but it was around the exact same time, I think. And where was- Can you remind me- Dole Air Race also went from California to Hawaii. To Hawaii.

That was it, though. Yes, that's right. And this one continues on. Yes, it does. Yeah. 1927 was the Dole Air Race. Yep. And this is 28.

So, yeah, this one's just... Yeah. This is sort of them taking it the next step. So, already they're like, okay, we've got to take it even further now. Yeah. Isn't it crazy? Because they kind of called the Dole Air Race the first trans-Pacific thing, but Hawaii is really, it's only sort of halfway through it, right?

It's not, the whole Pacific's huge. But they did, technically, the ocean they were flying across was Pacific. Yeah. So, what are you going to- What's the difference between pan-Pacific and trans-Pacific? I have no idea. I think I just misspoke before. Yeah.

I don't know. Let's find out. Pan-Pacific. Because that's like a swimming Pan Pacific and Trans Pacific? I have no idea. I think I just misspoke before. Yeah. I don't know. Let's find out. Pan Pacific. Because that's like a swimming tournament, isn't it? Oh, the Pan Amps. The Pan Packs. Oh, Pan Packs. Yeah.

Was there a Pan Amp as well? Pan Amp. I feel like that's an aeroplane thing. I think Pan Pacific's just a chain of hotels. Pan Pacific means the region including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Right. Gotcha. This is Trans Pacific. Pan Pacific means the region including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Australia. Right. Gotcha. Apparently.

This is Trans-Pacific. Pan Am would be Pan. America's probably, maybe. Who knows? Probably people, but we're idiots. So they've flown from California to Hawaii in 27 hours. From there they headed for Suva in Fiji, travelling another 5,000 kilometres or 3,000 miles.

This leg of the journey was rough and demanding. As they neared the equator, they flew through a massive lightning storm, but they made it through taking 34 hours and 30 minutes. 34 hours. How many in-flight meals are you getting in that time? That's right. I suppose like as the relief pilot, your job is snacks Because everybody else is busy You've got the engineer, you've got the radio guy

Right, that's the relief you give them Relief from hunger Snacks Hey, you want some peanuts up there? Yeah, they're also making sure all the blinds are down Yes So that they can sort of start getting used to the time zone That you're going to arrive at

Yeah, have a meal and instantly they put you into darkness. You're like, I don't want to go straight to sleep. This is confusing. Yeah, yeah. I did see a TikTok recently from a flight attendant who said the shades up for like takeoff and stuff is in case of a crash landing and you can see where you are and stuff. And I was like, oh.

Right. But then you could open them. But no, okay. Yeah, I don't fully get it. In my head, it was just them trying to, you know, like in the army, make sure you, you know, like that. But basically making sure that you just follow instructions from the start. You know your position.

Yeah. Put them up. I'm the boss. Shine your shoes. That's what it feels like. Drop and give me 20. Yeah. Just in case. Yeah. Because you're. I'm the boss. Shine your shoes. That's what it feels like. Drop and give me 20. Yeah. Just in case.

Yeah. Because you're up in, it's bloody, you're basically in international, not waters, but air. I was thinking that they wanted it up just so you can make, you know, use of the fantastic views. You don't want to miss out because you're coming to land. Yeah. And they're like, I don't care if you don't want to see it you'll look you'll look

and you'll like it look at that city i don't care how many times you've seen it that's a beautiful i don't care that you live here you won't just look you'll like you'll like it and i can tell yeah so you better fucking like it fucking like it mate so the second leg they've made it 34 hours crazy the third and final leg of the journey was the shortest. It was a mere 2,700 kilometres or about 1,600 miles. And they did that in 20 hours. Oh, a piece of cake. It's so long. They landed in Brisbane at 10.50am on the 9th of June, 10 days after they'd left California. A crowd of over 25,000 people welcomed them at Brisbane airport and the men were celebrated for their massive achievement. They were the first to fly across the Pacific. But do you think he's done? Absolutely not.

We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge Indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from Indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. In August, the same year, just a couple of months after being the first to fly across the Pacific, he decided to have a crack at being the first to fly across Australia. They hadn't done that yet.

It feels like that would be the thing you do first. You'd think so. There's another thing coming up that, again, you'd think they'd do first. Yeah, because it's like not as far and also there's places to crash land if you need to, so probably a good trial run. Yeah. Although crashing in a lot of the centre of Australia, you may as well crash in the ocean.

Yeah. Just delaying the inevitable. Yeah, that's true. So they took off from Point Cook just outside Melbourne and it was Kingsford Smith and Charles Um. And they successfully landed in Perth and ticked another first off the list. It's just like it's one dot point. It's one sentence in most resources.

It's just like, yeah, then they flew from Melbourne to Perth. Anyway, first to do it. Which is still a longish flight. Yeah. It's like five hours or something like that. Yeah. And that's on a modern jet. Yeah, that's right.

And so the two men then decided to start their own airline, Australian National Airways, and once again decided to do something that had never been done before in the hopes of landing a contract with the government for their airline to be a mail carrier. So now if you've already crossed the Pacific, what's next? Ooh, Antarctica. Cross the other way. Oh, shit. Re-cross it.

Nah, just the Tasman. Oh, the Tasman. They'd flown from California to Australia before they'd even popped next door to New Zealand. Amazing. Did they forget they were there? Come on. They're right there. They're right there.

One of the most beautiful countries in the world. They talk so similarly to us. Yeah, they say we say across the ditch, they say across the Dutch. And it's fun. It's fun. There's better. Oh, my God, there's so much better. I don't think there's anything they do that's not better than what we do.

God, I love that place. I love that place. I love that place. I love that people. You know the whole population of New Zealand is smaller than the population of Melbourne? What? Isn't that crazy? That makes sense.

That's what I was looking up instead of writing this report. The bigger things get, the worse they get for the most part. A hundred percent. So that's why they're able to maintain their greatness. I love it. And that's why the Vatican is the greatest country. You won't hear any arguments from us. We're real Vatican files, aren't we, Matty?

Yeah, we're vatos. We're big vatos over here. We're vatheads. We love them. You're pro-vat? We're big pro-vat. We're tin cans. Vatican.

Yeah. That's fun. That's fun. Lighten up. That's fun. That's fun, Dave. Grow up. I agree. Grow up and lighten up. I'm That's fun. That's fun. Lighten up. That's fun. That's fun, Dave. Grow up. I agree.

Grow up and lighten up. I'm a popophile. I'm a big fan. So, they're like, well, we're going to fly from Australia to New Zealand. However, only a few months earlier, in January of 1928, two New Zealanders had attempted this very flight. Lieutenant John Moncrief and Captain George Hood had planned their attempt for a long time, and the two took off from Richmond outside of Sydney on the 10th of January. The flight was expected to take about 14 hours, but just over 12 hours into the flight,

signals from their plane, the Aotearoa, ceased abruptly. From his great aviation website I found, wikipedia.org. Oh, W for wings. That's right. From Wiki, it says, With the cessation of radio signals, hopefulness gave way to anxiety, although the relatively poor reliability of airborne radio at the time did not necessarily mean that loss of signal

equaled the loss of the aircraft. Searchlights were used to illuminate the clouds that were building up and rockets were still being sent up at 1.04 a.m. on the 11th of January. That sounds risky. I don't really know what they mean by rockets. I'm not sure what the plane is. Fire rockets into the sky. Get the bazooka.

We'll find it one way or another. So the crowd is just sort of standing around waiting. Also, lighting up clouds. Like, you mean the cloud that's right there? Unless they're right there, they're not going to see it. I know. It doesn't- I'm not-

I don't know what they mean by rockets. I'm sure it's something else, but okay. Could be that. People are just waiting around. Moncrief, Hood, and the Aotearoa were never seen again. Oh, dear. So, they didn't make it. And that's only in January.

These guys are trying it in, like, August, September. So, it's only a few months later they're going to have a go. But you can sort of understand why they'd have some confidence based on what they've done in recent times. But, yeah, that's- All it takes is one little thing to go wrong, isn't it? That's right. One little rocket.

That's right. One little rocket launched directly at your plane. They're like, we never saw him, in we don't know what happened to him there was this weird thing where after we shot one of the rockets there was a sort of flaming wreck that fell into the ocean yeah but anyway i don't know what that was no sign of the plane we saw a wreckage yeah we pulled that in yeah but um yeah it didn't have any wings so i guess it's not a plane there's no way it could have flown it was on fire and when they left sydney they didn't have any wings so i guess it's not a plane there's no way it could have flown it was on fire and when they left sydney they weren't on fire yeah so we're sure everybody in sydney says they were not on fire so i don't know so the two men just attempted this

seven months earlier and lost their lives trying and smith and olm plan to depart also from richmond and they took off on sunday septemberth, 1928. They were accompanied by fellow Australian navigator Harold Arthur Litchfield and radio operator Thomas H. McWilliams, who is a New Zealander. Unlike Moncrief and Hood, who had left early in the morning to try to make the most of the daylight, Kingsford Smith left Richmond in the evening, planning to fly overnight to a daylight landing after a flight of about 14 hours. It was a 2,600 kilometre or 1,600 mile planned route and it was just over half the distance between Hawaii and Fiji, which they'd just done earlier that year.

Like two months ago, they've just done. So, they're thinking it's a piece of piss. Absolutely. And that was the short, no, the last leg was the shortest leg. This is quite a long one. But, yeah, they're like, whatever, it's half. We can do it. So, are you saying there's two flights going?

Kingston Smith was going later than the other? No, no, no. I'm saying the ones who had tried earlier in the year, they'd left really early in the morning to try and, like, get as much daylight as possible. Whereas he was more about- He's like, let's go at night. I want to make it easy for the crowd to be there.

Yeah. Also, like, if you're landing at night, that's probably why they're sending up the rockets. He's worried they'll do that again. Yeah, right. If you're landing during the day, it'd be harder for them to put the rockets up. They can't shoot you. No, but they can see you in the day.

They can, yes. So, they can aim the rockets better. Yes, but they won't light up the cloud with one torch. That's right. So, you know, you've got to take what you can get. After a stormy flight, at times through icy conditions the southern cross made landfall in much improved weather near the cook strait the passage between new zealand's two islands to the two main islands um at an estimated 240ks out of new zealand the crew dropped a wreath in memory of the two new

zealanders who had disappeared during their attempt earlier that year. That's nice, I guess. Dropped a little wreath. They landed at Wigram Aerodrome near Christchurch at 9.22am after a flight time of 14 hours and 25 minutes. I looked it up. That flight takes three hours now. Yeah. Obviously, it's like almost 100 years later.

But it's just like 14 hours and 25 minutes. Were the Kiwis confused when they arrived? They're like, why is your plane called Southern Cross? What does that mean? What's that mean? We've never heard of that. Never heard of it. That must be an Australian thing.

It must be an Australian thing. Oh, you've got one on your flag. Oh, that's cool. That's interesting, I guess. We can't see it. No. And we have no interest in it. No, no.

Thanks so much. We can only see four stars. Yes. So we've put them on our flag. We've got four red stars. It looks similar, but ours is different. It's a southern diamond. About 30,000 people gathered to welcome them upon their arrival.

Apparently, state schools were given the day off so students could go. Love that. And apparently, most, if not all, public servants were also given the morning off. They didn't have to start work till 11 that day so they could go. This is why you go to a public school, why you work in the public service. The private sector, they're all about the money. Yeah. They're not about you giving your days off to look at a plane.

Kingston Smith and Ulm were taken on a triumphant tour of New Zealand while their plane was overhauled by the New Zealand Air Force. I mean, I hope the other two guys that were with them were also taken on a triumphant tour of New Zealand while their plane was overhauled by the New Zealand Air Force. I mean, I hope the other two guys that were with them were also taken on this tour, but it's mostly, it's all about Kingsford Smith. And remember, they also had to do that flight again to get back home. Oh, yeah. Which they did. So, the Air Force takes their plane, you know, fixes it up for them, refuels it, gives it

a little polish, and they're like, off you go again. So they fly back home and the flight home was much more difficult. They were hampered by fog and severe weather and a minor navigational error. And the flight back to Richmond took over 23 hours. Oh, that seems like more than a minor navigational error. They went to Cairns first and had to fly back down the coast. It was beautiful.

Because it took them 14 hours one way, 23 coming back. Apparently, upon touchdown, the aircraft only had enough fuel left for 10 more minutes of flying. Really just made it. Man, your heart would be pumping, wouldn't it? Oh, my God. So stressful. But they made it.

Remember how I mentioned they started their own airline? Well, they did that only a few months later. Australian National Airways was officially founded on the 3rd of January 1929. The company operated a regular passenger and airmail service between Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. And then in January of 1931, that extended to Launceston and Hobart in Tassie. And from Wikipedia again, unable to obtain a formal mail subsidy, the deepening of the Great Depression saw revenues fall,

a situation that worsened after the crash of VHUMF, Southern Cloud is the name of the plane, in the Australian Alps between Sydney and Melbourne on the 21st of March, 1931. One of their planes crashed, which is never good for business. ANA ceased scheduled services at the end of June, 1931, one of their planes crashed, which is never good for business. ANA ceased scheduled services at the end of June 1931, although it continued to operate joy flights mostly around New South Wales and offered pilot training services with a fleet of small aircrafts.

Late in 1931, ANA attempted to open an Australia to England airmail service with a special Christmas airmail flight that was interrupted by the crash, another crash, of VHUNA Southern Sun in Malaya. After lengthy efforts to interest the Australian government in subsidising a regular Australia to UK airmail service failed, they went into voluntary liquidation in April of 1933 and its remaining assets were sold off. So that kind of, that dream and that business only lasted a couple of years. They did that by shooting a rocket at the business.

Liquidated. So, that's the only way they knew how back then. Yeah, it's a liquid rocket. It's a bit gross. So, a bit of a short-lived dream there, but Charles Kingsford Smith is really packing a lot into a life, you know. How old is he at this point? That was in 1933.

So, he's like late 20s, early 30s maybe. Yeah, I think you said 1897 he was born. Yeah, that's right. So, mid-30s. Mid-30s, yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. By that time, I'd done an equal amount.

Probably. Set a few records. Yeah. I've sort of cruised in a few hundred years since, but. I think that's fine. I think you earned it. Yeah. You know, a lot of people do it the other way around where they kind of cruised in a few hundred years since, but. I think that's fine. I think you earned it. Yeah. You know, a lot of people do it the other way around,

where they kind of cruise early in their life and then they sort of wait for retirement to really do any achievements. By that time, you're tired and you're old. You know, I think you did it the right way. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were a real child prodigy. Yes.

Back in the middle ages. Middle ages. Yeah. Your 40s. The middle ages were my middle ages. Yeah, that's right. And it's just sort of been, you kind of plateau at some point, don't you? Yeah.

At what sort of age do you feel like you've plateaued? So, like, what age do you still feel like you are? I still feel like I'm, you know, no older than, what, 450. Yeah, right. Okay. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, still feeling fresh. You aren't dreaming if you think you look 450.

Well, no, I don't look 450, but I feel 450. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Okay. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, still feeling fresh. You aren't dreaming if you think you look 450. Well, no, I don't look 450, but I feel 450. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. In my mind. But honestly, a bit of sunscreen wouldn't kill you. It'd probably help, actually. It might be too late. Don't worry about it. In June, we're going back a little bit.

In June of 1930, he achieved an east to west crossing of the Atlantic from Ireland to Newfoundland in 31 and a half hours, again, flying the Southern Cross, that little plane that could. Wow. It's a tough little plane. Yeah. 31 and a half hours. I can't believe it. It's crazy to me that this is a one sentence tidbit on Wikipedia.

Here it is. In 1930, he competed in an England to Australia air race and flying solo won the event taking 13 days. That's it. I can't find any information on that. That feels like that could have been the report in itself. Yeah. A 13-day solo trip.

Incredible. Flew from England to Australia. He won. And that was non-stop. Crazy. Where did he piss? He had to, birds had to fly fuel to him. How did he sleep?

It was very complicated. Yeah, I couldn't find much about it. I'm sure there is stuff, but, you know, like sometimes you're riding on a bit of time pressure. You mean you didn't visit the National Archive? I didn't. You didn't go to the State Library? But a lot of the resources I was using were from, like,

the War Memorial, like the War Museum and stuff, and they didn't really talk about this very much. They were like, this is between wars. No one gives a shit. He flew. Did he have any guns? Most Google searches came up with the results about McRobinson's air race, which was held in 1934, which I'll talk about in a sec,

but it's not this particular one. So, all I know is he flew solo from England to Australia and took 13 days and he won a race. That's so awesome. By the way, Dave, he's our age at this point, 1930. I've won a few races. Have you? Yeah.

What races have you won, Dave? Race to the bottom. Come on, mate. We've been to the bottom for a long time. You met us there. Also in 1930, Kingsford Smith was the inaugural recipient of the Sir Grave Trophy, awarded for outstanding skill, courage and initiative on land, water or in the air.

Okay. So that rules out in gas form. Or underground, I guess. Or on the moon. Moles are going, yeah, never get our award. Fucking typical. Yeah. That is, yeah, never get our award. Yeah, be fucking typical. Yeah.

That is so funny. It's really good. That's very vague. In the air, on the ground, or in the water. Whatever, just take it. But not on the astral plane. In April of 1931, he flew the Southern Cross on an emergency mission to pick up mail for Australia from a damaged Imperial Airways plane that was in Timor. In September, he also made a flight to England in a new Avro avian biplane, which was called Southern Cross Minor, intending to gain publicity with an immediate return flight.

But his health was showing the strains of an arduous career and the return trip was abandoned on medical advice. In November, however, when one of his company planes under contract to fly Christmas mail to England was damaged, he took off in another plane to collect the stranded mail, flew it to England in time for Christmas delivery and returned with mail for Australia. And he's kind of doing all of this to sort of be like,

give me the fucking, I'll be the official male guy. How have they not done that? He just wants to be a postie. He wants to be a postie. He's doing all of this and they're like. And in the process, he basically became Santa then. I will deliver it by Christmas. Don't worry.

In one night, I'll do all of England. That is amazing. And to think like any one of these flights, you know, there's a high chance of fatality. Yeah, he's doing them all. And, like, that probability goes up, you know. Yeah. Like an infinite amount when you add all the flights together.

Right. And he's never hitting any real trouble. Feels like he's spending more time in the air than on land. What's he running from? That's the real question. He was knighted in 1932. He received that accolade on the 3rd of June from His Excellency Sir Isaac Isaacs, the Governor General of Australia, for services to aviation

and later was appointed Honorary Air Commodore of the Royal Australian Air Force. Wow. So he's definitely, like, highly respected. He's getting all these things. He just wants to be a postie. I just want to send the mail. I don't want to be an Air Commodore. I just love mail.

I want to be a postie. This is back to the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Inevitably, he was attracted by the announcement that a London to Melbourne air race sponsored by Sir Macpherson Robertson. Macpherson is your first name? With a prize of £10,000 would be a feature of Victoria's centenary celebrations. With financial help from friends and sponsors,

he bought a fast two-seater Lockheed Altair, which he named Lady Southern Cross. Is it getting confusing now? So which one do you want? Which one is it? And he invited Sir P.G. Taylor to accompany him in the race. The plan had to be dropped when modifications to the aircraft could not be completed in time.

That was the Macpherson Air Race that happened in 1934 that I was talking about before because I was Googling this 1930 race and nothing was coming up, but they did it in 1934, a wild time. So they were planning on, of course, he's going to be like, yeah, I'll do that, I'll fly that. Yeah. But they couldn't get the NOS in the plane in time. I mean the NOS.

The NOS delivery was late and they just threw everything off. So Kingsford Smith and Taylor then flew Lady Southern Cross from Brisbane to San Francisco in October of 1934 in order to sell it and reimburse sponsors. Because they'd had all these people, like, sponsor them and give them money for this and then they didn't do

the race and now they're like, fuck, now we've got to pay everybody back so they can sell the plane. But, just doing that, just flying to San Francisco to try could sell the plane. Sell the plane. But just doing that, just flying to San Francisco to try and sell the plane, that west to east trans-Pacific flight was another first in aviation history. And they're just doing it to sell the plane and they're just setting more records.

It's ridiculous. Basically accidentally setting records just by breathing. Yeah, he's like, I've just got to take it to San Francisco. I don't know. They're like, nobody's ever done it. He's like, haven't they? All right, well, I guess I'll do it. They left the Lady Southern Cross in the US,

hoping to find an American buyer and return to Australia to the long-awaited authorization for a trans-Tasman airmail service. They can finally deliver some mail. So they began the inaugural flight 15th of May, 1935. Before dawn and some 500 miles or 800 k's out over the Tasman, a damaged propeller blade had put one of the three motors out of action and a second motor threatened to seize as it was rapidly burning oil. So, they're in trouble.

Taylor bravely climbed out of the cockpit. And jumped off. He did the right thing. Good luck in there. He managed to collect enough oil from the sump of the dead motor to replenish the other. That is wild. Yeah.

Mid-air. Yeah. Just over the Tasman. Just grab a bit of oil here, put it in this one. Ridiculous. Shit. By jettisoning cargo and finally most of the mail bags. This is why they never trusted him with it.

No, he's not the male. He's jettisoning the mail. That's the last thing you do. That's the postie oath. Exactly. People first, mail last. Yeah, people first. As in people overboard first.

Mail last. Yeah, the mail will fly the plane. People come first. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come As in people overboard first. Yes. Mail last. Yeah, the mail will fly the plane. People come first. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come last. Overboard first. Exactly. I don't see how people get so confused by this, the postie oath.

I don't think he was the only one who struggled to get a job in the post office. I'm pretty sure Valentino Rossi only ever rode Grand Prix bikes to get a little postie bike round. But he had to, for a long time, was on the top of the world. He's like, come on. He's like, oh, yeah, look, I'm winning Grand Prixs every freaking week. I can deliver your mail. I can deliver mail. Do it fast.

And like, we're not sure. Yeah. It must be so frustrating. You seem like a people first kind of guy. The mail first. Come on, Valentino. You seem like a people first kind of guy. The male first. Come on, Valentino. So, yeah, they've had to ditch. Mick Doohan, of course, though, he very successfully transitioned

from Grand Prix to the post-G round. The great Mick. Well, I know. I get it. So, there's no need to explain. So, they're getting rid of cargo and mail, and eventually they manage to nurse the Southern Cross back to Sydney. Oh, yeah, I think they were back in their classic, the Southern Cross.

They ditched most of the mail on their inaugural mail delivery flight. So, that's not great, is it? By this time, he's 38 years old and has dedicated his entire life and career to demonstrating the potential of aviation. He arranged for the still unsold Lady Southern Cross to be shipped to England, and from there, he and co-pilot John Thompson Pethybridge decided to attempt to break the record for an England to Australia flight. They were actually the first to ship a plane on that route. And they got a medal for it.

and they got a medal for it the record was then held by english aviators cwa scott and tom campbell black who had won the mcrobertson air race the year before i've heard of country women's association scott um they did it in a time of 71 hours. And that was the race that Kingsford Smith wanted to partake in. But again, the NOS didn't get delivered. So they're like, we're going to break that record. You know, we might not be the first to do it, whatever. To them, it'd be a doddle. Yeah. Easy peasy.

71 hours. Okay. Yeah. So Kingsford Smith and JT Pethybridge. He's got to be an Englishman, right? That name is superb. I think I did look him up. I think, oh, I don't remember, actually.

I think he might have been English. I reckon he would have sounded a little something like this. Yes, we're going to fly the plane. And that, sorry, that was English. That's all it was meant to be. Yes, we're going to fly the plane. Oh, Pethybridge. I love the English. That's what it was meant to be. Yes, we're going to fly the plane. Oh, I love the English. Beautiful people.

Another spot on accent. How do you do? Oh, sorry, I didn't realise I was speaking to English royalty. I lost control of that so quick. Instantly. I don't think you ever had control. Go to fly the plane. Oh, no. Yoo-hoo. instantly i don't think you ever had control what's in a full english breakfast again are you getting this, a little bit of bacon. Bacon!

Some baked beans and possibly some eggies. How would you like your eggs? All for easy. I'm truly not sure. It cannot be offensive if we have no idea who it is. That's truly global accent.

It started a bit Italian. Dave took it real Swedish. All of it easy. That was fun. Pethy Bridge. Pethy Bridge. Pethy Bridge. That's what he would have sounded like.

Bringing character to life sometimes. So, they've taken off on November 6th, 1935. They're flying the Lady Southern Cross. They're flying overnight from Allahabad in India to Singapore when they disappeared over the Andaman Sea in the early hours of the 8th of November, 1935. Aviator Jimmy Melrose claimed to have seen the Lady Southern Cross fighting a storm 150 miles or 240 k's from the shore over the sea with fire coming from its exhaust.

Oh, dear. Despite a search for 74 hours over the Bay of Bengal by British pilot Eric Stanley Greenwood, the plane and the pilots were never discovered. No. Whoa. I thought they couldn't be killed, these guys. I didn't know how his story ended.

I'm sorry to say it's a mystery episode. Oh, shit. So he lived till he's 38. Oh, my God. Just a boy. Isn't that wild? And there's not like heaps and heaps of details about that sort of flight. It seems like they took off on the 6th.

They kind of disappeared on the 8th. So it had only been a couple of days into their journey. Wow. So that was really their cursed leg. Yeah. That was the second time they attempted it and they never got far into it. Yeah. Oh, man.

No, yeah, for some reason I would not have been surprised if he lived till old age. Yeah, totally. He was still alive somehow. Yeah, it feels like I guess the luck just ran out. Yeah. But, I mean, yeah. He pushed it so many times, so close.

But the probability, like, it just eventually is going to catch up with you back then, especially. You'll have some sort of mechanical problem in the middle of nowhere. And you'll hit the wrong weather or whatever it is. And I mean, you know, the people that the two Kiwis who had attempted the Australia to New Zealand flight seven months before him didn't make it. Yeah. Like it was common at these times. Yeah. These planes weren't as safe as they are now, so.

Yeah, like the dull air race. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was multiple, you know, didn't make it. It doesn't take much. No. One guy didn't even make it off the runway. That's right. Twice.

18 months after their disappearance, Burmese fishermen found an undercarriage leg and wheel with its tyre still inflated, which had washed ashore in the Gulf of Martaban, 3km off the southeast coastline of Burma. Botanists who examined the weeds clinging to the undercarriage leg estimated that the aircraft itself lies not far from the island at a depth of approximately 15 fathoms. Whoa. I've never heard of that unit of measurement. That sounds deep. It's about 90 feet deep or 27 metres. Unfathomable.

Crazy. The undercarriage leg is now on public display at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. There you go. Ah. So they found a leg of it. And they estimate where it is, but they haven't been able to track it down, the rest.

Yeah. I imagine divers are looking for it probably all the time. Probably. There was a documentary in 2009 that reckoned it was in a completely different area, but that's been pretty heavily criticized and people are like, no, that's not right, including Dick Smith. Dick Smith says it's not right, so I followed. I didn't know Dick Smith is an aviator.

Yeah, he flies helicopters too, doesn't he? Didn't know that. Dick does a bit of everything. Don't worry about that. What do you want? Dick will do it. That's a bit of everything. Don't worry about that. What do you want? Dick'll do it. That's one of his catchphrases. Don't worry, Dick'll do it.

You wouldn't get that if you're not Australian. Dick'll do it. Dick'll do it. A little Dick'll do it. A little Dick'll do it. A little Dick'll do it. I have taken that from a SpongeBob SquarePants game. He says, a little dab will do it.

Yeah, yeah. That's based on Dick Smith. The life of Dick Smith. Yeah. So, at the time of his disappearance and presumed death, Charles Kingsford Smith was 38 years old, and I think we can agree he had achieved a lot in a short lifetime. Amazing.

I have a few, like, tidbits. Oh, yeah. You know, we used to do fun facts at the end of the episode. I wouldn't say these are all necessarily fun, but they're tidbits. Well, you always decide if they're fun or not. I'll decide if they're fun. We also decided they're tidbits. I feel like you could probably expand your portfolio.

No, I can't take more on, Dave. I'm already spinning too many plates. Do you think we'll do another Sydney Live show? We'll do one eventually. Yeah. We've got to remember to go to the powerhouse, see this wheel. Yeah, how cool. We've got to remember to go to the airport. Oh, it's. How cool. We've got to remember to go to the airport.

Oh, it's at the airport. Well, no, it's just named after him. Oh, yeah. It's probably the only one way that we'll get in. Dave, you can drive. No, that's the only way to get in to Sydney is via the air. Oh, you think we're going to drive? Well, I'm just saying it's not the only way to get in.

Yeah, Dave. Don't be a fucking idiot. Yeah, the only way to get in and make it make sense. Okay. Right. For our very busy schedules. We're very busy. We don't have time to spend a fucking idiot. Yeah, the only way to get in and make it make sense. Okay. Right. For our very busy schedules. We're very busy. We don't have time to spend a day driving.

No. I'm up for a drive. We do do fun playlists in the car. Yeah, surely. If I make a real fun playlist, Dave. Okay. If I get some snacks. Fun 10-hour playlist.

Yeah. Easy. Well, mate, I'll drive. We'll get there a bit quicker. Jess will park. Yeah. Easy. Well, mate, I'll drive. We'll get there a bit quicker. Jess will park. Yeah. Dave, you can do snacks. You can do snacks.

I'm good at those. Here are my tidbits. Kingston Smith was survived by his wife, Mary, Lady Kingston Smith, and their three-year-old son, Charles Jr., and his autobiography, My Flying Life, was published posthumously in 1937 and became a bestseller. Ah. So he'd written a book book too, which is, you know. Did it while he was flying.

Yeah. What else are you going to do? Yeah. In 1986, Kingsford Smith was inducted into the International Air and Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. As we've discussed many times, the major airport of Sydney was named Kingsford Smith International Airport in his honour. His most famous aircraft, the the southern cross is now preserved and displayed in a purpose built memorial to kingsford smith near the international terminal at brisbane airport

he sold the plane to the australian government in 1935 for 3 000 pound so it could be put on permanent display for the public so it's on display at brisbane cool it's kind of cool time of recording i'll be there in a couple of days. Brisbane Airport, I'll have to try and remember to get a photo. You might have to buy an international ticket. Oh, it's International Airport. Yeah. I think that's why I've never seen it because I've never flown internationally

from Brisbane because I live in Melbourne. Yeah, right. And they're different airports, are they? Or just different sections. Obviously, it doesn't matter. Different sections. I'll get a taxi over. Yeah, great.

He was pictured on the Australian $20 paper. No, Jess, I'll fly via Auckland. Thank you, if you wouldn't mind, so you can see it. Yeah. Thank you. Would you do that? Yes. To get a photo for the pod?

Save me getting a taxi. Yeah. You could probably Google it, but it's all right. No, we'll just, you go. You go check it out. He was on the Australian $20 paper note, which was in circulation from 1966 until 1994, which is when the plastic notes came in.

And obviously, he was on the note to honour his contributions to aviation and his accomplishments during his life. He was also depicted on the Australian $1 coin in 1997, the centenary of his birth. That's nice. I wonder why it was taken off the note. Because, yeah, it's always interesting the choices that are made. The queen was still on the five.

I reckon maybe it would have made more sense to have him on it. She's on every freaking coin. Why does she need to be on the five? You know what I mean? Oh, that's a good point. I hadn't thought about that. Should we write a letter? Maybe we should put him on every coin.

If she wants the note, she can have the note. Let ask charles gets the coins make a choice okay which charles king charles uh oh yeah i will do that when i'm confusing no i don't think i will anyway it doesn't matter i talked a fair bit about charles ulm as well and it's interesting and quite sad to note that he suffered a similar fate to his friend char Charles Kingsford Smith. He disappeared in December 1934, the year before Kingsford Smith, together with co-pilot George Littlejohn and navigator Leon Skilling on a test flight from Oakland, California to Hawaii in their plane, Stellar Astralis. It's believed an unexpected tailwind and bad weather caused them

to fly past the Hawaiian islands in the dark. Oh, bugger. Yeah. They got there too quick. And you keep going and you're like, oh, there's nowhere the dark. Oh, bugger. Yeah. They got there too quick. And you keep going and you're like, oh, there's nowhere to land. Yeah, exactly. It's going to be coming up soon. Oh, that's grim.

So just really sad that those two that had flown so much together and were good friends had, you know, disappeared and we presume died in very similar ways. Yeah. Jeez, that must have been common for that business. You got a lot of mates who are flies, you'd just be hearing about back then. Just like, oh. Every second day.

Wow. And there's another little anecdote that I read on Wikipedia that I quite liked. A young New Zealander named Jean Batten attended a dinner in Australia featuring Kingsford Smith after the Trans-Pacific flight and told him, I'm going to learn to fly. She later convinced him to take her for a flight in the Southern Cross and went on to become a record-setting aviator herself, most notably for making the first solo flight from England to New Zealand.

Whoa. So he kind of inspired others as well, although apparently there's a quote there that he says, like, she followed his example and not his advice, and his advice was don't try to beat men's records and don't fly at night. It was like the 20s, guys. You know, it was a different time.

Don't try and beat men's records. Don't try and beat men's records. Okay. Leave that to the boys. But she just set her own record. Yeah, she did it herself. She's like, okay, how about a new record then that's probably more impressive pretty cool i mentioned a couple of um a couple of female aviators in there as well which again is sort of like so cool for that time in in the world

where i don't know women couldn't do anything you did a report about amelia erhart years ago didn't you think so and i think that must have been around a similar time. I think she also mysteriously. Yes. Yep. Her life ended mysteriously. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

But, yeah, it just sounds like you're basically making that choice. Yeah. It's a huge risk, especially then. Yeah. Yeah, pretty amazing. But if they didn't do that, we wouldn't have. Male. We wouldn't have a lot of things. Yeah, pretty amazing. But if they didn't do that, we wouldn't have- Mail. We wouldn't have a lot of things.

Yeah. Including probably a lot of carbon emissions, but still. But, yeah, I like, you know, actually learning the story of people whose names are on stuff and the name you know and you're like, oh, yeah, but I wouldn't have a clue. I probably would have guessed something to do with planes, but also I probably wouldn't have guessed that because it's never usual. You know, it's always quite random.

Yeah, I was waiting for the point where he grew up and founded an airport. Yeah. He never did. He never did. Yeah. But I'm sure he would have had he lived a little longer. He would have found a post office. He was obsessed with mail, that guy.

Yeah, he loved it. He just wanted to be a little longer. He would have found a post office. He would have sex with a male, that guy. Yeah, he loved it. He just wanted to be a postie. But there you go. That's the story of Charles Kingsford Smith. Oh, thank you for enlightening us. But, yeah, it's a name I know so well. I knew he was a pilot and I was in the back of my head I was going to do it as an extension of the Dole era.

So I'm so glad you got around to telling us about that. But there's a lot of, like, early aviation stories that are all really interesting too, so. Yeah, I just, I'm like, isn't it amazing? It kept coming up in my research on the Dole Air Race, and I'm like, this Australian guy did all these world firsts and I don't really know about them. It's funny because we're, you know, generally we can be very proud of things.

Yeah. So it's funny when you sort of, I imagine a generation back or something would know everything about it. Yeah, probably. But for some reason, I don't know why it wasn't, I don't remember being taught about it at school, which is funny. Well, that brings us to everyone's favourite section of the show, actually. Thanks so much for bringing us there, Jess, with that fantastic report.

A pleasure. About CKS. Did anyone call them that? No, they do. Yeah. So, in this part of the episode, which I think a lot of people call their favourite section of the show, we thank some of our fantastic supporters. Take a little bit of time to thank them

because they've taken the time to support us via patreon.com.au. There's a bunch of different levels. You can get different things like bonus episodes and all sorts of things. You can vote on topics like they voted on Jess's topic today. And it was super tight, wasn't it? It was neck and neck for a really long time. This ended up pulling away by one vote. One vote.

And that was at the last possible second. It's been crazy. I'm thinking about just doing the other topic that, like, was neck and neck for my next one because they have voted on it and a lot of people wanted it. I'll see. It's pretty wild. Yeah, great.

Oh, that sounds awesome. And, yeah, one of the things we like to do in this section is uh the fact quote a question section and that's for people who signed up on the cindy scheinberg level this bit actually has a jingle go something like this fact quote or question he always remembers the ding oh she always remembers the sing and in this section people give us a fact quote or question they also get to give themselves a title i don't read it out until i read it out and that's really just me giving myself an excuse for mispronouncing words the first one this week comes from nick fidion which is such a great name

uh oh my god it made me just think of this anyway but nick's giving himself the title of mayor of whiskers on his chin again again again again again nick fit again he's got whiskers on his chin again, again, again, again, again. Nick Finnegan. He's got whiskers on his chin again. And he's offered a quote writing, calmer, calmer, calmer, calmer chameleon. You come and go. You come and go. Oh. Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dreams.

Red, gold, and green. Red, gold, and green. And that was from Culture Club. Just really makes you think, huh? gold, and green. Red, gold, and green. And that was from Culture Club. Just really makes you think, huh? God, it does. Sure does, Nick. They're about to tour Australia. Really?

I think they're playing. They might be playing Rod Laver or something. That's cool. Yeah. Good to know as somebody who lives near-ish Rod Laver and like on a tram line of Rod Laver to just sort of avoid it. Avoid it that night. It'll be hectic.

Fuck, it's all- I'm surprised. I didn't know that was that big because didn't Boy George go solo pretty quick? That's the only song of theirs I think I would know. Me too. Anyway, thank you so much for that, Nick. The next one comes from Lauren Joyner,

aka Keith, the mayor of Gary, Indiana. Sorry, Keith, the mayor of Gary, Indiana. Sorry, Keith, the mayor of Gary, Indiana. I didn't know what you were talking about. Yep. And Lauren is asking a question, writing, what is your favourite topic you've covered on the show? I'm partial to the Death and Burial, the Fire Festival and the Woodstock 99 episodes.

It's difficult to narrow down. Is that one of each of us? Even though I clearly did. It is. And they're all slightly grim ones, aren't they? Two sort of disaster festivals and then the death and burial. That one's probably the least grim of the three. Favourite topic you've covered, I guess, personally.

Do you have one? I don't remember them. That's the problem, Aaron. So every single report is my favourite for that day. Yes. Isn't that true? I'm so fascinated for that period of time. And I'll be like, wow, I'm going to watch the movie about this one.

I'm going to read a book about it. I absolutely don't. I never do. I mean, it is like asking for my favourite child. Okay, mate. And we've all got about, what, 120 children now? Absolutely. I am up to my bloody eyeballs in children.

We do not know what's causing it. They're everywhere. Yeah, no, it's a tough one. First that comes to mind is maybe The Stranger of North Pond. I remember just, like, being gripped by that story as I was reading it. Yeah, that was a great one. I don't think I have, like, favourites of mine. There's definitely episodes that I've really enjoyed of yours, Dave.

No, Matt. No, I'm kidding. Both of you. But, like, when you're doing the report, you're not really like, I'm nailing this. I'm thinking more in the researching it probably rather than the telling of it. Yeah, yeah. There's also ones like the, I love talking about bands that I love,

you know, Tism and Pantera and Frenzel. Yeah, it's so tricky, isn't it? Dave, seriously, you're just not going to – you can't even name one of your children. There's always ones that I'm like, that really stuck with me. I wonder if it sticks with anyone else. And that is – one I think about a lot is the Oddfather, that mafia guy that pretended to be – I don't know.

I think about that guy. That was – That's such a wild, yeah. I don't know. I think about that guy. That was. That's such a wild thing, but I didn't think. Wild one. Do you remember that guy? Nick Giganti or something? He pretended to be what? He pretended to be basically insane and senile.

Oh. So, he could keep running the mob and would wander around in a dressing gown talking to himself. Yes. And then at night order hits and stuff. That's pretty amazing. Yeah. Yeah.

Obviously, I loved the Qantas bomb heist recently because it's given me my catchphrase of, I wish I was never born. Yeah, no, we've had some good ones. Oh, I enjoyed researching the curse of the billy goat. Oh, yeah. Yeah, me too. I'm just sort of going through.

The Chippendales one was fun too. And Cowboy Bob, actually, that was a fun one to put together and also because I knew that it had a big reveal. Yeah. And I was excited to see your reactions to that. Love a big reveal. Little twist. A great question, though.

It's, yeah. The Shags I loved. I've been, you know, I just love the band, love the vibe. That was fun. Anyway, yeah, lots, I guess. We have not helped you there, Lauren. Not really. Sorry, Lauren.

If you were looking for help. We don't listen to the podcast if that makes you feel any better. You used to, though, didn't you? Nah. I reckon you did back in the day just to try. I reckon I did for a while. I did try and keep it in my mind. To try and remember what we were talking about.

Yeah, not for pleasure. That was pain. But now I find sometimes I can listen to old ones because I've forgotten the story. I definitely like to listen to the episodes I'm not on. Yeah, oh, yeah. I never listen to my own. When Michael Heng did the one about the World Cup, that was-

Oh, yeah. You're not on at all. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay. I like it if I'm not reporting. Yeah. But I do find it funny because sometimes I- Like on on long car trips we might listen to an old one or something but i often find i think the same thing as jess on the recording says i think that too all the time i'd say this and then i say yeah wow really i really know myself wow uh i haven't changed in five years.

There's only been like once or twice where I've taken myself by surprise. You're like, ooh, that's a good one. That was pretty good, actually. Thank you for that question, Lauren. The next one comes from Michael Derisi, aka Fantasy Football Junior Vice President in my league. Whoa. And Michael's offering us a suggestion writing, by the time this comes out,

American football season will be just around the corner. Actually, at the time of recording, they're about to announce the schedule, I think any minute now. And that means it's draft season for fantasy football. Maybe you've wanted to have a go at playing and see if it's fun. I've done the last couple of seasons. It is. It really, I wasn't expecting it to, but I was on my app way too much.

Yeah, wow. Looking at, you know, other options and whatever. Sucked me right in. But you just, maybe you want to have a go, but you don't know where to start. Well, then I have a great resource for you. It's a podcast called The Fantasy Football. It's hosted by three obvious friends who like to go on funny riffs and tangents

and who don't take themselves too seriously. Sounds familiar, right? So he's written there in brackets. So if you've ever wanted to play, then give them a listen and sign up for a league today. This is an ad for fantasy football. Yeah. P.S. The day this gets read out,

I'll post in the Facebook group some common platforms you can play on, most of free. Thank you so much for that, Michael. Spreading the good word of fantasy football. Fantasy football. Preach. And, yeah, I think he's talking about the Patreon Facebook group there, the nicest corner of the internet.

A beautiful place. Appreciate that work there, Michael. And finally this week, Lizzie Harris. Okay, wifezie Harris. Okay. Wife of Elliot. And Lizzie's got a brag writing, my brag is that we have been invited to Nick's wedding. We would love to come, Nick.

It'll be good to see you again. RSVP via Patreon shout out was not one of the options listed on the invite. So I'll also email you. Lizzie. Yeah. not one of the options listed on the invite so i'll also email you lizzie if uh yeah what an unconventional i i wonder if he listens or you're just like just in the off chance yeah someone he knows will be listening they'll be able to pass it on good for nick oh but she's emailing anyway thank you so much for that lizzie and congratulations nick thanks lizzie michael lauren and nick Could that Nick Fidian be the one? The next thing we like to do is thank a few other of our great supporters. Jess, do you want me to come up with a bit of a game?

Can we name their plane? Name the plane. Name their plane. Awesome. So is that a yes, Dave, or do you want to play it? One million percent. Great. If I can kick us off, I'd love to thank from Colompton in Devon

where they do scones right. Cream first, then jam. I'd love to thank Rebecca Lee. What about the, just call the plane the cream first. The cream first. Ask questions later. That's in brackets. Yes, I think that's fantastic.

Rebecca Lee, the lady cream first. That's when they get a second smaller plane. Cheers, Rebecca, for your support. It means a lot, you bloody legend. I'd also love to thank from Seattle in Washington in the United States, Mason Waller. Neon Cloud. Oh, my God. The Neon Cloud. Oh, my God.

The Neon Cloud. Tell me, are you on horsenamegenerator.com over there? I certainly am. It works for planes too. Neon Cloud. That really makes sense. Neon Cloud. Yeah, it does make sense.

Horse Name Generator. It's really- It should just be Name Generator. I reckon these names would be great for a boy or girl. And finally, for me, I'd love to thank from Thornbury, Victoria, in Australia, here in Melbourne, Millie. What about the Big McDougal? The Big McDougal.

Big McDougal. Big Mac. Okay. Yeah, Big Mac for sure. Love that. Yeah, the Big Mac. Millie and the Big Mac. That's good.

Millie and the Big McDougal for formal settings. I wonder if that's the Millie that we met after your show one time, Dave, at the Comedy Festival and she was practising her wedding speech. Oh, yes. If not, doesn't matter. And if it is, how'd it go? Imagine. What are the odds?

I'm just saying Millie from Melbourne, there's a chance. What, Millie sat you down and practised or? Didn't sit us down, we did it standing. Asked for a couple of tips. Standing at a chance. What, Millie sat you down and practiced? I didn't sit us down. We did it standing. Just asked for a couple of tips. Standing at the bar. For public speaking. That's nice.

Yeah, and read out a couple of jokes. I thought they were great jokes. My only tip was just pause and enjoy the moment because there were some really funny punchlines in there. Nice. So, how'd it go? Did you pause for too long? But you didn't take any of those tips for your speech at your wedding, Dave. Very dull.

Oh, my God. I didn't pause at all. I went for hours. Spoke too fast and too long. And too furious. Yeah. God. Thank you, Millie.

Do we name Millie's plane? Yes, the big, big doogle. Of course. Or the big mac. Dave, do you want to thank a few? I'd love to. From Como in Western Australia, a Australia big shout out and thank you to Carly Fraser

Quiet Jack Not just whispering Jack Quiet Jack That's fun a little nod to Farnsey Carly Fraser thanks so much I'd like to thank now from Melbourne Here in Victoria Ever heard of it it's Matthew

Arnett. Oh, probably got to be the family assortment. Oh, that is great. What's your favourite in the family assortment? The creams? Yeah. Got to be a Mont. Yeah, it's Monte Carlo.

Oh, no, I like the... Oh, the... The Kingston Smith? No, I love the Kingston Smith. Charles Kingston. That's what I love. You like the Kingston? No, I love the... Delta Cream. No, That's what I love. You like the Kingston? No, I love the

Delta Cream. No, just the shortbread cream. Orange Slice. Shortbread Cream. Okay. Yeah, I think it's a bit of a drop off for me from Monte Carlo. It's on its own little level, isn't it? On a pedestal. Thank you so much, Matthew.

Matthew and it's just called the Assortment. Family Assortment. That's the name assortment. Family assortment. That's the name of the plane. Carly Fraser in the Quiet Jack is fantastic. I love it. Thank you to horsegenerator.com. That's not the website. I'm not. I'm gatekeeping it. It's mine.

That website actually generates horses. 3D prints them from the hoof up. I would like to thank from Leopold in Victoria, Julia Serendopoulos. Julia Serendopoulos. Serendopoulos. Blue Oasis. Oh, again. That's nice.

That's great. It's got a like, is it blue with a palm tree on the side? Yeah. Yep. That's beautiful. Isn't it? Very calming. I hope it's not going to crash into one. Yeah. The sky is my blue oasis. Yes. Good stuff, Julia.

Crane first and the blue oasis. Those two would be beautiful flying partners. Should I keep going, Jess, because you've got your- I can thank some people. Okay. You've very kindly taken over the last few weeks because I've gotten really into my horse name generator. No, we'll try and get some from the top of the dome then. We'll use our own plane generator names, our brains.

Okay. You can do one word each. Okay. Okay. I would love to thank, from Bar Scrub in Queensland, Australia, Stacey Whitlock. The Colonel's Salad. The Colonel's Salad.

Oh, for a plane. That's interesting. That is interesting. The Colonel's Salad. The Colonel's Salad, yeah. It just came to me. No, no criticism here, mate. That is interesting. The Colonel Salad. The Colonel Salad, yeah. It just came to me. No, no criticism here, mate. You're nailed.

I'd also love to thank from Paddington, also in Queensland, Maria Wolford. Okay. The Great Sniper. Oh! Dangerous. The Great Sniper. That's fun. That's fun.

Maria Wolford in The Great Sniper. What was fun. That's fun. Maria Walford in The Great Sniper. What was Stacey Whitlock in again? The Colonel's Salad. The Colonel's Salad. I think that's- Probably an all-time. It's like the exact opposite of a dog's breakfast. Yeah, the Colonel's Salad.

Oh, what have we got here? The Colonel's Salad. Oh, my God. Yeah, right. This is a success. It's just a turn of phrase for, like, food that looks fancy. Oh, that's nice then. And finally-

Fantastic. You're back on board. I would love to thank, from New York, New York, Stephanie Futch. Oh, Stephanie Futch is a fantastic name. Can I say- Dave, can I kick it off? Okay. The Incredible.

Okay. Okay. Oh, did you say, can I kick it off? No, you're going to kick it off? Okay. The Incredible. Okay. Did you say, can I kick it off? No, you're going to kick it off. The Incredible. And you can come back to me if you want. All right, I will. The Incredible Red Dipper. Oh, The Incredible Red Dipper.

Oh, that's good. Double Dipper. Yeah, fantastic. Thank you so much to Stephanie and The Incredible Red Dipper. Stephanie Fudge. Maria, Stacey, Julia, Matthew, Carly, Millie, Mason, and Rebecca. We love you all. the incredible red dipper stephanie fudge maria stacy julia matthew carly millie mason and rebecca we love you all and the final thing we need to do is welcome a few people into the triptych club now dave how does this work again this is our hall of fame for people that have been supporting the

show for three consecutive years or more we've already shouted these people out a couple years back but to thank them again we enshrine them into our hall of fame, our clubhouse, our theater of the mind, hangout zone. Once you remember, you can never leave and why would you want to? Because we've got food, we've got drink, we've got live music, we've got fun stuff to do. There's an activity zone. There's a kid's club if a kid has somehow gotten in here. There's kids meals too. We don't talk about them very often. There's always, and there's always, what about up at the bar? As well as all the food, we always say there's always a nuggy bar. Yeah, fish fingers. Veggie and chicky and fish nuggies. You can grab them at any time.

A small plate of pasta. Yeah. Yeah. These go unspokenoken Yeah, yeah That's just always there Just know that they're there But Jess does include a new drink or food every week Yeah, I'm serving everything on plane trays Oh, yeah

So, like aeroplane food And you're going to spoon feed Here comes the aeroplane No There's far too many people Yeah How could I possibly do that, Matt? What am I, magic?

Well, I think so So, I've got To bunch of pre-made meals. I'm going to microwave them so they're scalding hot on the outside, but pretty cold on the inside. And balance it out. A fairly stale roll with not quite enough butter and a bit of a shit dessert. So, line up, enjoy. There's one really, really good option and I've only got three of them.

Sorry, we don't have any more of that. Sorry about that. And don't order a Diet Coke. Apparently, they're the worst ones to pour in the sky. Really? Apparently. Did you learn that on TikTok? That fizzles up.

It feels like a TikTok fact. I feel like you've told us that before. Yeah. And Dave's responding like he didn't listen that time. And Dave, you normally book a band for the after party? Yes, this week. You're going to wish you were here. We've got Incubus.

Oh. Dropping by. Are they going to drive over? They will be driving over. And you'll say, pardon me. I wish I had been speaking to my friend Anna Molly, but we've had a stellar time. Are you in?

Love hurts. Welcoming you into the club. The way this works is I'm on the door. I'm reading out the name. When you hear your name, jog on in. Dave's up on the stage hyping you up with a bit of pretty weak wordplay. Jess is hyping up Dave. We're all hyping each other up together Oh yeah Matt's great at the hyping up

He's a real team player Now here we go From Dagenham in Essex Great Bryn It's Sarah Russell Welcome her in Let me Russell you up as Sarah Woo From Babinda in Queensland Australia

It's Anne Badabing Badabinda It's Anne From Address Unknown You can only assume from somewhere deep within the fortress of the moles. It's Sophie. Sophie, you're my trophy.

Oh, that's creepy. Like, you know, I'm praising you. Oh, Sophie, here's a trophy. There we go. That's better. That's less weird. I'm not like, I'm putting you on a shelf forever. From Nan in South Australia, it's Jake Simpson.

For goodness sake, it's Jake. For goodness, Jake, that would have been better. Edit as appropriate in your mind, Jake. And from Bulleen, Victoria in Australia, it's Brydon Coverdale. Brydon Coverdale, the shark himself? Holy shit. Well, this guy's never going to stop swimming. Four runs, Brydon Coverdrive, Coverdale.

Is that something? Dave's losing his mind Back to the pavilion Keep it going From Port Talbot In Great Britain It's Craig Merriman Foley Never

Don't pay the ferryman But pay the merriman Yes Foley Pay him his respects From Boreham Wood In Great Britain It's Roy Phillips

Roy Phillips More like Joy Phillips He's my boy Roy Shut the fuck up from address unknown can only assume from deep within the fortress of the moles it's jake b bush jake b bush jake b awesome yeah we'd be happy to see you yeah we'd be happy from nepean in ontario in canada it's tara nepean great to see you yes from stratford upon Stratford-upon-Avon in Great Britain.

It's Dominic Hood. Well, let me make a pun like the bard himself. More like boys in the Dominic. Dominic Hood. Oh, I got it. And it was fantastic. From Maidstone in Victoria, Australia, here in Melbourne, it's Alex Wabry.

Alex way, way, way back in the, yeah, back there. But come on up. I'll just jump to the queue. Come on in, Alex. From Egan in maybe Minnesota, I reckon, in the United States. It's Sophie Morris. I'm absolutely losing my mind here. From Egan.

I'm eager. What about Sophie? Have a trophy. Yes. And again, would you believe, from Nepean in Ontario, Canada, a place until moments ago I'd never heard of, it's Samantha Hollingshead. Samantha Hollingshead.

It's great to see you from Nepean. Oh, my God. How does he do it? Thank you so much, Samantha, Sophie, Alex, Dominic, Tara, Jake, Roy, Craig, Bryden, Jake, Sophie, Alex, Dominic, Tara, Jake, Roy, Craig, Bryden, Jake, Sophie, Anne, and Sarah. Welcome into the clubs. Make yourselves at home.

Grab a drink and enjoy the fun. What was the band he was playing in? Incubus. Incubus. Very forgettable band. In almost every way. My sister Alex loves them, but they're all right. Yeah, I reckon we had the Morning View album.

My sister had that one. All right, we get it You guys have sisters Yeah A cover band that used to play at a local pub Used to change it to I wish you were beer Very funny

Did they change any other lyric? Oh probably It's good stuff You gotta keep it interesting for yourselves You gotta I think they wanted to be Weird Al deep down Don't we all I wish you were.

What do we need to tell people before we finish up, Bob? You can suggest a topic at dogoonpod.com. There's also a link in our show notes and on the website you can find stuff about live shows and previous episodes and all sorts of good stuff and you can find us at dogoonpod across all social media as well. Hey, we'll be back next week with another episode, but until then we'll say thank you so much for listening but until then it's goodbye we can wait for clean water solutions or we can engineer access to clean water we can acknowledge indigenous cultures or we can learn from indigenous voices we can demand more to clean water. We can acknowledge Indigenous cultures.

Or we can learn from Indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future.