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Calling all aviation enthusiasts and Brisbane historians, allow extra time on your next trip to Brisbane Airport to visit the the Kingsford Smith Memorial.
This memorial is dedicated to the early Australian aviator Sir Charles, best known for making the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia, the first non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland and the first flight between Australia and New Zealand.
The preserved “Southern Cross” aeroplane, which Kingsford Smith used for the trans-tasman flight is on display at this memorial, and Brisbane Airport is the custodian of this important relic for the Commonwealth of Australia.
The best way to tour the centre is through a self-guided tour of the information boards, or via the voiceover system that tells the story of the Southern Cross.
Did we mention it’s completely free and open 24/7?
Location:
Airport Drive, Brisbane Airport
Directions:
Find the memorial off Airport Drive. The exit is just before the roundabout at the International Terminal.
Urban sketchbook: Kingsford Smith Memorial
Recently as part of Brisbane Open House, Urban Sketchers Brisbane captured their unique perspectives of the Kingsford Smith Memorial. Each sketch invites you to look closer and rediscover a piece of Brisbane’s aviation story through the eyes of a local artist. Below is a selection of the sketchers work - a full gallery of works is available for viewing in the Domestical Terminal until mid-September.
Maybe when you plan your visit to the Kingsford Smith Memorial, you can have a go at sketching the building or the aircraft yourself?
Maureen Young
" the details of my life are inconsequential" ... I am a 57 year old woman who lives in public housing in Rocklea with my dog and cat. I live with a mental illness. Art of all kinds has been a lifelong interest, and I have enjoyed attending urban sketching events for several years. I appreciate being part of this all inclusive community of artists. As a Brisbane native I feel especially connected to many of the sites we visit- I remember visiting the Kingsford Smith Memorial on a school excursion.
Alan Innes
Alan Innes is a Brisbane artist with a 50 year design background in architecture, urbanism, landscape and graphics. His hand drawings include sketches and hybrid works [digitally edited and assembled] depicting local street views. His sketches appear in World of Urban Sketching by Stephanie Bower published in USA in 2022. In 2024 he was invited to take part in AsiaLink Sketchwalk in George Town Penang as an urban sketching demonstrator. Between 2018 and 2025, Alan has been a finalist in art awards including the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award [Grafton Regional Gallery], Harold & Agnes Richardson Drawing Prize [RQAS], Clayton Utz Art Award, Lethbridge 20000, Lethbridge Landscape, and ArchiGraphicArts [Moscow].
Michael Geissler
What I love about Urban Sketching is that you see the familiar with fresh eyes. You see the beauty in a rusting air conditioning duct snaking its way up a wall, or power lines making spider webs against the sky. And I get to go to corners of this city that I've never been to.
Case in point: I've been working at the Brisbane Airport precinct for 20 years but had never stopped at the Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith Memorial. I did two contrasting sketches: the Southern Cross aircraft in washes of graphite, and the building itself in pen and watercolour.
Tony Walker
In front of the ‘Southern Cross’ aeroplane at Brisbane Airport’s Kingsford Smith Memorial, you feel its looming bulk and power, imagine the roar of its three radial air-cooled piston engines and its great flight. That's what I aimed to convey in this sketch. As a Brisbane artist, I've sketched and painted in ink and watercolour in my studio and worldwide, exhibited regularly and received awards for artwork. I've found that pen drawing with acrylic ink rendering is ideal for urban sketching-a great medium for rapidly capturing character, mood and the life.