Raymond's Story
Ray Smee began playing water polo for Sydney's local Bondi sides, just after World War II, at the age of 16. He was vice-captain of the Australian Olympic Water Polo Team at the 1952 Helsinki Games (where he was selected in the ‘Rest of the World’ Team) and captain in 1956 at the Melbourne Olympic Games. In an era where there were no World Championships and the Australian Team was only selected every four years, Smee still accrued over 50 international caps.
Although not concerning the Australian Team, the men's water polo tournament at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games is the most famous in history, having seen the "Blood in the Water" semi-final match between Hungary and the Soviet Union. The Hungarian revolution started as athletes left for the Games, and they were crushed by the Soviet army. The match erupted into violence when a member of the Soviet Union team said the word "facist" across the water. A punch-up occurred in which Hungary's Ervin Zador suffered a badly gashed eye. Hungary led 4-0 before the games was called off in the final minute because of the violence.
