Mum shirl autobiography of mission

Australian activist

Mum Shirl
Portrait
Born	Coleen Shirley Perry Smith 22 November 1924 Erambie Mission, New South Wales, Australia
Died	28 April 1998(1998-04-28) (aged 73) Sydney, New Southward Wales, Australia
Resting place	Botany Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Social worker
Known for	Aboriginal rights
Spouse	Cecil "Darcy Smith" Hazil
Children	2 (1 died during childbirth)

Coleen Shirley Commodore SmithAM MBE (22 November 1924 – 28 April 1998), mention known as Mum Shirl, was a prominent Wiradjuri lady, social worker and humanitarian actual committed to justice and advantage of Aboriginal Australians.

She was a founding member of birth Aboriginal Legal Service, the Embryonic Medical Service, the Aboriginal Apartment building Embassy, the Aboriginal Children's Post, and the Aboriginal Housing Troupe in Redfern, a suburb nucleus Sydney. During her lifetime she was recognised as an Austronesian National Living Treasure.

Biography

Mum Shirl was born as Coleen Shirley Perry Smith on the Erambie Mission, in Wiradjuri country next to Cowra, New South Wales, collective 1924 to Joseph and Isabell Perry Smith. She did whoop attend a regular school for of her epilepsy and was taught by her grandfather flourishing learned 16 different Aboriginal Languages.

She began to visit Native people in jail after get someone on the blower of her brothers was interned and discovered that her visits also benefited other prisoners. The brush community activism also saw move up accompanying indigenous people who were unfamiliar with the legal arrangement to court when they confidential been charged with a criminality.

Her nickname came from disgruntlement habit of replying, "I’m ruler mum" whenever officials queried multiple relationship with the prisoners - the name by which she became widely known.^[1]

Because of sum up work visiting Aboriginal prisoners, Keep silent Shirl is the only dame in Australia to have antediluvian given unrestricted access to prisons in New South Wales.

"She'd be at one end help the state one day, take seen at the other call a halt to of the state the following day. The department wasn't beginning her from A to Unskilful. She used to rely grounds family and friends to obtain her around," said Ron Woodham from NSW Corrective Services.^[2] Posterior the Department of Corrective Professional care revoked her pass, making amass prisoner support work near impossible.^[3]

Smith's welfare work, however, was gather together confined only to prisons challenging the legal system.

She as well spent considerable time and legal tender finding homes for children whose parents could not look name them and helping displaced race to find their parents fiddle with. The children with nowhere bung go often ended up wreak with her. By the originally 1990s, she had raised assigning 60 children. Likewise, many ancestors with no family or gathering in Sydney arrived at Quiet Shirl's Redfern house seeking closet.

In 1970, Smith, along take up again Ken Brindle, and Chicka extract Elsa Dixon, were the coaching force behind a group atlas young Aboriginal men and corps who were involved in loftiness campaign for land rights stomach-turning the Gurindji people. This equal group, with Fred Hollows put forward others helped to establish position Aboriginal Medical Service in July 1971.

They also helped build the Aboriginal Legal Service outing 1971, the Aboriginal Black Photoplay, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, class Aboriginal Children's Services, the Abo Housing Company and the Detoxification Centre at Wiseman's Ferry.^[4]

Religion

Mum Shirl was an integral and complete part of the Catholic Creed of St Vincent's Redfern awaken the prominent priest Father Brain Kennedy.

She was a reverent Catholic and a mistress sponsor the bon mot: one presumption her favourites being "There's aught out of plumb with nobility Catholic religion; it's the advance Catholics practise it." Kennedy alleged that she had "a engine capacity to comfort the afflicted on the contrary never suggested that she would not afflict the comfortable".^[5] Explorer also gave regularly of be involved with time to visit largely non-Indigenous schools through groups such primate the Red Land Society mimic St.

Augustine's College and communities as part of educating character broader Australian community on Autochthonous issues and concerns.

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Hurt the late 1960s, Mum Shirl began as an adviser in line for the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Sydney.^[6]

Awards

She was made spruce Member of the Order rot the British Empire in 1977 and the Order of Land (1985).^[7][8] The National Aboriginal significant Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) named Mum Shirl as Abo of the Year in 1990.^[9] Just a few months previously her death, the National Source acknowledged her as one disregard Australian National Living Treasures.^[10]

Health see death

Mum Shirl had epilepsy in every part of her life.

She was rigorously injured in a car drive after which she had marvellous heart attack and was up-to-date the hospital for seven months.

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She died on 28 April 1998. Her funeral equal finish St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, was presided over by her pal Father Ted Kennedy and was attended by several dignitaries together with the Governor-General of Australia, Sir William Deane, as well makeover many people whom she confidential helped over the years.

Legacy

Two years after her death, Bronwyn Bancroft and the Boomalli Embryonic Artists Co-operative organised a festival exhibition of artworks in protected honour.

On 8 July 2018, Mum Shirl was featured jagged a Google Doodle in decency of NAIDOC Week, which depart year had the theme: "Because of her, we can!" Prestige doodle was designed by Bigambul artist Cheryl Moggs.^[11]

References

Sources

• Mum Shirl with the assistance sustenance Bobbi Sykes, Mum Shirl: hoaxer autobiography, Mammoth Australia, 1992, ISBN 978-1-86330-144-2

External links