Award-winning Australian writer, filmmaker and explorer Damien Lay will launch his debut novel Of Air and Men in Sydney on 24 February 2026, marking the culmination of more than 20 years of research into one of Australia’s enduring aviation mysteries.
The book explores the life and final flight of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, focusing on the disappearance of his Lockheed Altair 8D Lady Southern Cross during a record-breaking attempt between England and Australia in 1935. Kingsford Smith and co-pilot Tommy Pethybridge vanished over the Andaman Sea, sparking decades of speculation about their fate.
Lay’s work draws on 18 expeditions to Burma (Myanmar), where he ultimately located the wreckage of Lady Southern Cross off Aye Island using sonar imaging and multiple dives. The discovery brought new clarity to a mystery that had baffled historians for generations.
The Sydney launch will be held from 6pm at the Palamino Lounge in Newtown. The evening will include a Q&A hosted by Daily Telegraph journalist Warren Brown, a reading from the book by Kingsford Smith’s great-nephew Leofric Kingsford Smith, and a book signing by Lay.
Lay said the novel represents the final, unwritten chapter in a story that has resonated through Australian aviation history for 90 years.
The release of Of Air and Men coincides with the 90th anniversary of the disappearance of Lady Southern Cross, one of the most significant events in the nation’s aviation legacy.
Lay is best known for his work as a director and producer, including the documentary The Battle of Long Tan, one of the highest-rating programs in Australian pay television history. His career spans more than three decades across feature films, documentaries and screenwriting, with a consistent focus on uncovering untold historical narratives.
To attend the event on 24 February at Palamino Lounge, 134A Enmore Road, Newtown, RSVP to marta@marksonsparks.com.