William ‘Bill’ Smith was the son-in-law of George Bunyan, the man who created the Old Bar airstrip in the late 1920s. Bill and his wife Jean Bunyan lived at Saltwater opposite Wallabi Beach on a small farm.
During WW2, Bill joined the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) and later the AIF.1 Before and after his discharge as a civilian, Bill was tasked with protecting the strategically located Old Bar Airstrip. Airplanes used to stop at Old Bar for refuelling and repairs. As night landings were required Bill and others would light lanterns on the beach opposite our farm to guide the aircraft to the airstrip.
Bill was also a Coast Watcher in the VDC. In 1943, off the Saltwater Headland, he spotted what he thought was a Japanese submarine off the coast. Convinced it was Japanese, he quickly drove his truck to a house at Wallabi Point where he phoned authorities. It appears Bill was right. Soon after, the US Liberty ship ‘Starr King’ was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine 1.21 just off Port Macquarie.2 The Australian Navy ship HMAS Warramunga was immediately dispatched to the area and rescued all personnel.3 It is important to note that at the time, strict wartime censorship shielded the majority of Australians from this news.4
In 1948 at a ceremony in Rushby Casino, Bill Smith along with Ted Goslett, Wilfred Carles, Harry Ryan and Harry Badger were each presented with a Key to Old Bar Village and a solid silver medallion for their service during WW2.5
Author: Dr Leonard Smith, son of Bill and Jean
References:
1 NAA: B883, NX201121 and NAA: B884, N459149.
2 Canberra Times, 13 Feb 1993, 2; Royal Australian Navy News, 15 Jan 1960, 11.
3 AWM, USA Liberty ship ‘Starr King’ sinks off Port Macquarie.
4 https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/underattack/bombed
5 Northern Champion, 8 December 1945, 1. The medallion was solid silver featuring a laurel wreath, the rising sun of the AIF, the wings of the Air Force and the crown of the Navy with a small map of Australia in blue enamel on which is printed “For Service 1939-45” and a scroll on the bottom with “Old Bar” in blue enamel. On the back is inscribed each soldier’s name, rank and service.
