Dick Smith Australian adventurer Robert Gott -,. _ _J ) Dick Smith Australian Adventurer Written by Robert Gott Heinemann First published 1998 by Heinemann Library an imprint of Reed Educational & Professional Publishing 18-22 Salmon Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria 3207, Australia (a division of Reed International Books Pty Ltd, ACN 001-002-357) -@__ A Reed Elsevier company © Reed Educational & Professional Publishing 1998 02 01 00 99 98 10 98765 43 21 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Cover by Anita Belia Edited by Jane Pearson Picture research by Kirsty Grant Paged by Scriptorium Desktop Publishing Pty Ltd Production by Alexandra Tannock Printed in Hong Kong by H&Y Printing Limited National Librmy of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Gott, Robert. Dick Smith: entrepreneur and adventurer Includes index. ISBN 1 86391 878 7. 1. Smith, Dick, 19 44-. -Juvenile literature. 2. Adventure and adventurers -Australia -Biography -Juvenile literature. 3. Businessmen -Australia -Biography -Juvenile literature. 4. Air pilots -Australia -Biography -Juvenile literature. I. Title. (Series: Makers and shakers). 338.092 Every attempt has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright. Where the attempt has been unsuccessful, the publisher would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner so that any omission or error can be rectified. Contents Introduction Childhood 4 Getting started 8 The electronics business 12 Sharing good fortune Aviation 15 heroes 20 A record-breaking flight 24 Australian Geographic 28 To the North Pole 32 Across the country by balloon 35 Further adventures 38 Further reading 42 Glossary 43 Index 44 Dick Smith's adventures have taken him around the world more than once by helicopter. Introduction ichard Harold Smith, or had to rely on his own knowl­ Dick Smith as he is edge and skill to navigate, as his known to most Aust­ helicopter was not fitted with ralians, is a passionate man. sophisticated satellite navigation He is passionate about many equipment. Dick Smith was the things: he is a conservationist, firstperson to fly a helicopter a businessman, a philan­ solo around the world. He was thropist (a person who helps also the first person to fly a others) and an adventurer. He helicopter to the North Pole has made millions of dollars and the first person, along with but he is not really interested his co-pilotJohn Wallington, in the money itself. He gives to fly in a hot-air balloon millions of dollars away. across Australia. Dick Smith is a great believer in Money isn't enough the power of the individual to Dick Smith is the first to admit make a difference. He admires that as a student he people who take risks, facechal­ did not appear to lenges and contribute to our be marked out world in ways that make it bet­ for success. ter. He is an adventurer who has However, he performed daring and dangerous discovered that feats of flying. While he says that he had a talent the key to success is to minimise for electronics risks, he has never undertaken a and through challenge in which all the risks hard work were eliminated. On his solo and persever­ Making money '·· I found I helicopter flight around the ance he soon : hated sitting in an office merely world in 1983, for example, he became one making money.' of Australia'.s most successful Most Australians are pretty laid businessmen. Dick Smith back, so if you put in hard work, Electronics was a multi-million ask advice, copy the success of dollar company but at the height others and surround yourself of its success he sold it and left. with capable people, you are Making money was not satisfy­ bound to do well.' ing for Dick In the introduction What Dick Smith really wanted to his book Our Fantastic Planet: to do was to go adventuring. He Circling the Globe via the Poles also wanted to show Australians with Dick Smith, he writes that their country was a place of 'Australia is the most wonderful extraordinary beauty He started place to start a business, because a magazine which set out to do there's not much competition. Bushwalking is one of Dick's greatest pleasures. 2 Makers & Shakers • Dick Smith this. Dick felt that there was too He doesn't like to turn matters much in the media that was over to committees for decisions. negative. It created a sense of He would rather make the deci­ hopelessness in people and he sions with a hand-picked group wanted to change this. The of advisors, and be responsible incredible success of his maga­ for the consequences. He is zine, Australian Geographic, always ready to listen to advice proved that Australians wanted though. This is, he says, the real to read a quality magazine that secret of his success. Listen and celebrated nature. learn. He has said that if there is one thing that annoys him about The power of the individual many Australians, it is their in­ Dick Smith has won many ability to communicate. If you awards including Australian of don't know about something, the Year in 1986. He has pro­ ask. 'People having misunder­ duced many documentaries for standings and not asking advice. television and published several It's an Australian condition,' he beautiful books of his travels. He says. has also held important posi­ tions in the community Between The simple things 1990 and 1992 he was Chair­ Despite his adventures and his man of the Civil Aviation Auth­ busy life, in the end it is the ority He was also appointed to a simple things which give Dick similar position in 1997. He has Smith the most pleasure. Bush­ never been afraidto speak his walking with his family is his mind about matters that are idea of the ideal adventure. One important to him. He was so of his greatest pleasures is bush­ concerned about the problems walking in the bush near his he saw within the Department of home outside Sydney There is a Aviation that he wrote a book cave there which no one knows about it called Two Years in the about except him. He says, 'Its Aviation Hall of Doom. more beautiful than any cathe­ Dick Smith's energy seems inex­ dral. I go there and sit and look haustible. His belief in the at these beautiful trees. And I power of the individual makes dream of adventure and things him impatient with bureaucracy I'm going to do.' Makers & Shakers • Dick Smith 3 "'9 · I ( I111 .. d..noo ·d here was no indication when Dick Smith was a child that he would grow up to become a millionaire. In fact, he never expected to make any money himself. He was born on 18 March 1944 at Roseville in Sydney and his parents named him Richard Harold Smith. Dick Smith is happy to admit that he was never any good at schooL He just didn't fit in. He As a child, Dick Smith was very interested in wildlife. didn't like doing many of the things other kids did and he School days didn't pay much attention in his School gave Dick little satisfac­ classes. He was always a bit of a tion. He didn'tplay sport loner and that was the way that because he was hopeless at it, he liked it. He relied upon his and when he was in primary imagination to provide him 1Nith school he was called names. At stimulation and enjoyment. He the time he found this difficult was lucky too in that he lived to deal with and it spoiled what close to bushland. This was an little chance he had of enjoying enchanted world for him. He school. But Dick wasn't always would explore the bush and unhappy. When he wasn't at imagine great adventures. school, he pursued the things he Perhaps it was here where his did enjoy. He loved the natural love of adventure began. world; even at a very young age 4 he was fascinatedby it. He loved Scouts and he loved tink­ would collect lizards and insects ering with radio sets. He was and observe their behaviour. eight years old when he first While other kids were running joined Cubs and discovered a around playing games, Dick was group of people who were inter­ off by himself, experiencing the ested in many of the things that world of the bush and wonder­ interested him. He learned self­ ing about it all. If he thought reliance and survival skills. He about what he might do when he grew up, he imagined being a park ranger. At such a young age he couldn't think of a more perfect job. Imagine a job where you could be outside in the bush all day. Dick's academic performance did not improve when he went to North Sydney Technical High School despite his gift for mechanics. He admits that he spent a good deal of his time 'nicking off'. His results reflect his actions - in his intermediate year he scored only seven per cent for French. His own poor achievement at school taught Dick Smith a valuable lesson. There is more to a person than his or her academic results and it is a mistake to make judgements about people based on these results. Scouts There were elements of Dick's life outside school which gave Dick was eight years old when he joined him enormous satisfaction.