Roy Smith Dies Age 56
It is with much sadness that I write this post.
Overnight, Roy Smith – Shooters & Fishers Party MLC died in his sleep.
Roy was only 56 and is survived by his wife Pauline and his two sons.
I only met Roy once, but had talked with him many times. He was the last person I interviewed on Hunt & Shoot Radio and I met him for the first and last time at this years SHOT Expo.
From my experience with Roy, he was a bloke that was all too happy to help – especially if it meant helping a fellow shooter or hunter.
Roy was a top bloke who had so much more to give to shooters and hunters of this country. The whole community will sorely miss him and the great work he has done and was doing.
Thank you Roy for helping us hunter’s and shooters your legacy will live on and when I vote 1 for The Shooter’s & Fisher’s Party in August I’ll be thinking of you mate.
My deepest condolences to everyone close to Roy.
Related posts:
- Hunt & Shoot Radio Ep27 – Roy Smith MLC, The Shooter’s Party
- SHOT Expo 2010 – Roy Smith & Robert Brown Interview
- The Shooter’s & Fishers Party Site Online Now
Category: Keith Drain's Column
Thank you for your words about Mr Roy Smith. I’m just an old friend of his, dating from 1980, and haven’t seen Roy for a number of years since he visited me some years ago in NYC where I now reside. I am also not a spokeman for anyone, so my words are just as an individual, who had the good luck to know Roy.
I’m 63 and lived around the world. I never known a better man, a better bloke than Roy. I’ve never said such things about anyone else. He achieved enormous amounts for shooters and sportmen, and I am sure SSAA will have to post an extemely long list of all his accomplishments and the postions he held while giving of himself to the sport. He was also a top flite competitor, but his work on behalf of the sport, for us all pretty much put a stop to his time as an award/medal winning competitor. He upheld the reputation of the sport, competed for it, arranged International Oceania shoots, National Competitions, put Rifle Silhoutte on the map in Australia, negotiated agreements with Government at all levels to allow Australianb sportmen the participation in Conservation programs and controlled culling of feral animals, worked on our behalf on legislation for many years, assisted fellow shooters in the sport, assisted in the establishment of new shooting Ranges and Branches, the list is just so long and it is not my place to try and give that thanks.
But Roy was also a fine man and human being, of admirable honesty and moral fibre, generous even to those who for political reason may not have been kind to him, he always insisted on understanding things through the eyes of opposition as well as his own side, and held no grudges, never said an unkind word about another. He was traight and sincere and kind, a straight talker and a straight shooter.
I never saw him distressed on his own behalf, but I did witness his disappointment when he was unable to achieve everything he aimed for on behalf of his friends and teammates and his sport, he felt that devoted to coming through for the rest of us.
He was the finest of men, and the finest of family men, and our hearts go out to his wife, his sons, and grandchildren, who his love for was clear and open.
He loved mechanical devices, building some amusing and imaginative contivances, and putting together fine accurate rifles.
He was just such damn good company.
He was a true friend. He was simply the best, all of us who had the fortune to know him, will miss him sorely. And that is so many many people.
Ty Enright SSAA member since 1980.
Thank you for sharing that with us Ty, very moving. Roy is certainly going to be missed in the hunting and shooting world.
after the shambles of Port Arthur, which was a trajedy for all Australians, in the iicenseing and kneejerk reaction afterwards, I for some reason had my license cancelled by the NSW Police. One phone call to Mr. Roy Smith explaining the sitsuation and my license was restored. This was a man of actions, for which I will be forever gratefull. This is just one example of his tireless works on behalf of the SSAA membership. He leaves a huge gap to fill and will be grately missed.