Early Life, Family and Training Joshua Smith was born on 12 March 1905 in Annandale, Sydney. He was the third of five children born to James Alexander Smith, a coach painter, and Louisa, née Thorpe. His upbringing was shaped by the industrial landscape of Alexandria, where the family moved to be near the Randwick tramway workshops. Smith left Alexandria Public School at the age of fourteen, entering the workforce before finding his wa…