 The first delivery of oil was received at White Bay in December 1937 and, by 1939, Walkley had joined the board of Ampol as managing director.During World War II, Walkley served on the Oil Advisory Committee and the board of Pool Petroleum Pty Ltd, both of which supervised the distribution of petrol.This brought him into contact with Sir George Wales, who owned Alba Petroleum Co. of Australia Ltd, which had a small market in South Australia and Tasmania.