Herbert 'Smoky' Dawson MBE (1913-2008), entertainer, began his musical career in 1934 with a series of live broadcasts on Melbourne's Radio 3UZ - the first broadcasts of their kind in Australia. After securing his first recording contract in 1941 he served with an Australian Entertainment Unit in Borneo during WW2. Between 1952 and 1962 he and his elocutionist wife Dot gained nationwide fame as the stars of the radio serials The Adventures of Jindywarrabel and The Adventures of Smoky Dawson. Although chiefly known as a singer and songwriter, Smoky also excelled as a yodeller, whip cracker, sharp shooter, knife thrower and stunt rider - he and his horse Flash performed regularly until Flash's death in 1982. In 1978 Smoky was inducted into Australia's Country Music Roll of Renown; he was the inaugural inductee into the ARIA Icons Hall of Fame in 2005. His memoirs, Smoky Dawson: A Life, were published in 1985.
