Richard Ash Kingsford

Richard Ash Kingsford (1821–1902) was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Australia, and a mayor of Cairns, Queensland. He is the grandfather of the aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith

Early life and education Richard Ash Kingsford was born on 2 October 1821 in Canterbury, Kent, England, the son of John Kingsford and Mary Anne Walker.

In 1852, after marrying Sarah Southerden, his first wife, in the fourth quarter of 1851, Kingsford and his wife emigrated to Sydney and, ultimately, relocated to Brisbane in 1854. Later (around 1878), he had a poultry farm at the Springs, Tingalpa, east of Brisbane. He served on the following council committees: which he held until he lost it in the 1883 election.

In 1888 Kingsford stood for election in the Cairns seat of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, but was defeated by Frederick Thomas Wimble, founder and editor of the Cairns Post. Emily Jane (b. 1859 in Brisbane)

Kingsford was a Baptist and a lay preacher Because of the confusions caused by having such a common name as Smith, the couple adopted the surname Kingsford-Smith (or Kingsford Smith) and were the parents of noted Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.

Richard and Sarah moved to Cairns around 1883, where son-in-law William Smith was working as a bank manager. Some time after Kingsford's failure in the 1888 election in Cairns, the couple moved to Tasmania. Sarah died at Fairview House, Launceston, Tasmania on 13 September 1890.

On 31 August 1892, Kingsford remarried; his second wife being Emma Jane Dexter in Launceston, Tasmania. The couple had a daughter, Dorothy (b. 20 June 1893 in Tasmania).

Kingsford returned to Cairns in 1895 where he built a magnificent cedar and hardwood home called "Fairview" on the prominent Munros Hill in Mooroobool. It had 28 bedrooms and was completed in 1896. Kingsford spent his retirement in the home, until his death on 2 January 1902 at "Invicta", the residence of the Kingsford Smiths (his daughter and son-in-law) in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia at age 80. He was buried in the Cairns Pioneer Cemetery in McLeod Street.

Kingsford's widow Emma died on 8 September 1943 in Buenos Aires.

Legacy Kingsford Street in Mooroobool, Cairns is named after him,

His home Fairview in Cairns became the Z Experimental Station during World War II. The building was subsequently destroyed in a fire and in 1996 a 72-apartment complex with six three-storey buildings was constructed on the site.