Bill Dray

My Dad, Arthur Saunders, served with his brothers in PNG in WWII. Another relative, Uncle Ted, served in Vietnam. Accordingly, it was natural that I would join the military. I was born in Mitchell, Queensland. I moved to the big smoke of Brisbane at the age of 15 after completing the Junior Certificate. After seeing a Phantom jet fly over one day, I was inspired to join the Royal Australian Air Force to fly those very jets. However, my eyesight was not 100% in seeing the colours of red and green which put a stop to my flying ambitions. The Air Force took me in as an Instrument Fitter. I served at No. 486 Squadron (486SQN) at Richmond, New South Wales. It was here I repaired the instruments, flight directors, compasses, oxygen systems and autopilots of the C130 Hercules aircraft.

During my posting to 486SQN, I was assigned to repairing the flight simulators, which eventuated in a posting to New York, USA with my wife Di. What a great time!

After discharging in 1987, we relocated to Innisfail Far North Queensland. It was here I joined the Air Cadets as an instructor of cadets. It was a very satisfying experience to watch the youth of Innisfail grow and develop into the young leaders they were to become. Both of our children joined cadets and progressed on to the military. I felt a need to contribute back to our defence comrades and accordingly became the President of the Innisfail RSL, which I enjoyed for five years. I also needed a bit more… so I joined our local Army Reserve unit (51st Far North Queensland Regiment) as a Defence Liaison Officer with the rank of Sergeant. Here I mentored the local Indigenous recruits to assist with their new routines and expectations

Aside from working with the military, I was pleased to be appointed as a Director on the board of our local Indigenous health entity, Mamu Health Service

As a proud Gunggari man, the Defence Force has provided wonderful opportunities and memories for me.