Dick Smith (b. 1944 )
1986 Award

Adventurer and Philanthropist

As a child, Sydney-born Smith had two interests: the bush and radio. After dropping out of tertiary studies he worked for an electronics firm. In 1968 he started a business that later became the retail chain Dick Smith Electronics, which he sold in 1982 to pursue publishing, exploration, aviation and philanthropy. Uniting many of his interests, he began the quarterly magazine Australian Geographic in 1986. He made a number of pioneering flights in a helicopter and a balloon, and has a keen interest in the Scout movement, bushwalking, conservation and mountaineering. He is a strong supporter of the Smith Family and of the late Reverend Ted Noff's Life Education Centres.

Through his high-profile activities Smith has become a widely recognised public figure. Smith is philosophical about his detractors, seeing himself as a tall poppy due for the chop some day. On his tour of honour he campaigned against advertising of alcohol and cigarettes directed at young people. A firm believer in free enterprise and the virtues of hard work, Smith says: 'Australia is an absolutely fantastic country, but the only thing we lack is the ability to work harder'.