Portrait of Jack and Hazel Smith (nee Holloway) on their return to Australia after some years ...

Portrait of Jack and Hazel Smith (nee Holloway) on their return to Australia after some years living in the United States. They were accompanied by their five children Barbara, Phillip, David, Carol (front) and Dianne, and met by Hazel's grandmother, Mrs Barbara Jackson. Mrs Smith was a war bride who had met and married Jack who was serving with the United States Navy. Jack Smith was one of thousands of American sailors based in Sydney during the Second World War and it was here that he met and fell in love with Hazel Holloway. The couple decided to marry, but could not do so before Hazel's "suitability" was investigated and approved by a US naval chaplain. They married in December 1942. On 9 June 1945 Hazel sailed for her new country, eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow. She had been given only a week's notice. Her husband remained on active service in the Pacific and could not leave the navy until 1947. Hazel and her two small children made their home in San Francisco. Her new family were welcoming, but suspicious of her independent nature. When Jack returned, they made their home in Utah and three more children were born. In 1953 the family returned to Australia, convinced a country life in southern New South Wales would provide a better future. On return, Hazel wanted to arrive in style and wore a black strapless dress and a pink grosgrain jacket.