William Hart-Smith Biography | Poet

William Hart-Smith (23 November 1911 – 15 April 1990) was a New Zealand / Australian poet who was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. His family moved to New Zealand in 1924. He had about "seven years of formal schooling" in England, Scotland and New Zealand before getting work at 15. His first job was as a radio mechanic. In 1936, he emigrated to Australia working in commercial radio, and then the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He then did army service, returned to ABC, and resigned spending a year in the Northern Territory, becoming a free lance writer.