5th
July 1929 � 31st March 2002
Grant
Smith�s first contact with the Airline industry was on Kangaroo Island
in the early 1950s where he worked for Bonds Tours who operated the bus
services between Kingscote and the airport at Cygnet River.
Grant�s first direct employment in the industry was
to work for the Guinea Airways Ltd. Route agent on the island, Dudley
Shepherd. He cheekily secured his position by answering the agent�s
advertisement for an �Office girl�.
In October 1955, Grant joined Australian National
Airways and carried out shift work on the passenger counter in the old
North Terrace office adjacent to the Strathmore Hotel.
In September 1956 he transferred to Guinea Airways
Ltd. and worked in the Reservation area under the supervision of Doug
Sanderson. He became a Senior Clerk in October 1959 when Ansett-ANA took
over Guinea Airways to form Airlines of South Australia.
January 1966 heralded a change for Grant, when he
became Sales Supervisor for Airlines of South Australia following the
transfer of Aubrey Bartsch to New Guinea. He soon became Sales Manager
and held that position until the Airline ceased operations in June 1986.
He was then appointed to the position of Special
Projects Manager for Ansett Airlines of Australia until his retirement
in 1987 following 35 years of service in the airline industry.
Grant is missed by many friends from all sectors of
the Airline industry as he had shown more interest than most in both the
history and operational sides of aviation in general.