diff --git a/src/common/event.cpp b/src/common/event.cpp
index 072c82e953..b41f31cb8c 100644
--- a/src/common/event.cpp
+++ b/src/common/event.cpp
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 
     #if wxUSE_GUI
         #include "wx/window.h"
+        #include "wx/combobox.h"
         #include "wx/control.h"
         #include "wx/dc.h"
         #include "wx/spinbutt.h"
@@ -435,20 +436,27 @@ wxCommandEvent::wxCommandEvent(wxEventType commandType, int theId)
 
 wxString wxCommandEvent::GetString() const
 {
-    if (m_eventType != wxEVT_TEXT || !m_eventObject)
-    {
-        return m_cmdString;
-    }
-    else
+    // This is part of the hack retrieving the event string from the control
+    // itself only when/if it's really needed to avoid copying potentially huge
+    // strings coming from multiline text controls. For consistency we also do
+    // it for combo boxes, even though there are no real performance advantages
+    // in doing this for them.
+    if (m_eventType == wxEVT_TEXT && m_eventObject)
     {
 #if wxUSE_TEXTCTRL
         wxTextCtrl *txt = wxDynamicCast(m_eventObject, wxTextCtrl);
         if ( txt )
             return txt->GetValue();
-        else
 #endif // wxUSE_TEXTCTRL
-            return m_cmdString;
+
+#if wxUSE_COMBOBOX
+        wxComboBox* combo = wxDynamicCast(m_eventObject, wxComboBox);
+        if ( combo )
+            return combo->GetValue();
+#endif // wxUSE_COMBOBOX
     }
+
+    return m_cmdString;
 }
 
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/tests/controls/textentrytest.cpp b/tests/controls/textentrytest.cpp
index a5027b9ecf..588e61bc72 100644
--- a/tests/controls/textentrytest.cpp
+++ b/tests/controls/textentrytest.cpp
@@ -177,9 +177,32 @@ void TextEntryTestCase::Replace()
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(2, entry->GetInsertionPoint());
 }
 
+#if wxUSE_UIACTIONSIMULATOR
+
+class TextEventHandler
+{
+public:
+    explicit TextEventHandler(wxWindow* win)
+    {
+        win->Bind(wxEVT_TEXT, &TextEventHandler::OnText, this);
+    }
+
+    const wxString& GetLastString() const
+    {
+        return m_string;
+    }
+
+private:
+    void OnText(wxCommandEvent& event)
+    {
+        m_string = event.GetString();
+    }
+
+    wxString m_string;
+};
+
 void TextEntryTestCase::Editable()
 {
-#if wxUSE_UIACTIONSIMULATOR
 
 #ifdef __WXGTK__
     // FIXME: For some reason this test regularly (although not always) fails
@@ -203,6 +226,7 @@ void TextEntryTestCase::Editable()
     window->SetFocus();
     wxYield();
 
+    // Check that we get the expected number of events.
     wxUIActionSimulator sim;
     sim.Text("abcdef");
     wxYield();
@@ -210,6 +234,26 @@ void TextEntryTestCase::Editable()
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("abcdef", entry->GetValue());
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(6, updated.GetCount());
 
+
+    // And that the event carries the right value.
+    TextEventHandler handler(window);
+
+    sim.Text("g");
+    wxYield();
+
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("abcdefg", handler.GetLastString());
+
+    // ... even if we generate the event programmatically and whether it uses
+    // the same value as the control has right now
+    entry->SetValue("abcdefg");
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("abcdefg", handler.GetLastString());
+
+    // ... or not
+    entry->SetValue("abcdef");
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("abcdef", handler.GetLastString());
+
+    // Check that making the control not editable does indeed prevent it from
+    // being edited.
     updated.Clear();
 
     entry->SetEditable(false);
@@ -218,9 +262,10 @@ void TextEntryTestCase::Editable()
 
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL("abcdef", entry->GetValue());
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(0, updated.GetCount());
-#endif
 }
 
+#endif // wxUSE_UIACTIONSIMULATOR
+
 void TextEntryTestCase::Hint()
 {
     GetTestEntry()->SetHint("This is a hint");