281:: one of her favourites being "There's nothing out of plumb with the Catholic religion; it's the way Catholics practise it." Kennedy said that she had "a capacity to comfort the afflicted but never suggested that she would not afflict the comfortable". Smith also gave regularly of her time to visit largely non-Indigenous schools through groups such as the
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Because of her work visiting
Aboriginal prisoners, Mum Shirl is the only woman in Australia to have been given unrestricted access to prisons in New South Wales. "She'd be at one end of the state one day, and seen at the other end of the state the next day. The department wasn't getting her from A to
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Smith's welfare work, however, was not confined only to prisons and the legal system. She also spent considerable time and money finding homes for children whose parents could not look after them and helping displaced children to find their parents again. The children with nowhere to go often ended
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and was taught by her grandfather and learned 16 different
Aboriginal Languages. She began to visit Aboriginal people in jail after one of her brothers was incarcerated and discovered that her visits also benefited other prisoners. Her community activism also saw her accompanying indigenous people
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who were unfamiliar with the legal system to court when they had been charged with a crime. Her nickname came from her habit of replying, "Iām his mum" whenever officials queried her relationship with the prisoners - the name by which she became widely known.
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B. She used to rely on family and friends to get her around," said Ron
Woodham from NSW Corrective Services. Later the Department of Corrective Services revoked her pass, making her prisoner support work near impossible.
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and communities as part of educating the broader
Australian community on Aboriginal issues and concerns. In the late 1960s, Mum Shirl began as an adviser for the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Sydney.
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Mum Shirl had epilepsy throughout her life. She was badly injured in a car crash after which she had a heart attack and was in the hospital for seven months. She died on 28 April 1998. Her funeral at
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In 1970, Smith, along with Ken
Brindle, and Chicka and Elsa Dixon, were the guiding force behind a group of young Aboriginal men and women who were involved in the
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up living with her. By the early 1990s, she had raised over 60 children. Likewise, many people with no family or friends in Sydney arrived at Mum Shirl's
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woman, social worker and humanitarian activist committed to justice and welfare of
Aboriginal Australians. She was a founding member of the
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505:'Smith, Shirley Coleen (Mum Shirl) (1921ā1998)', Indigenous Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University,
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Mum Shirl was an integral and committed part of the
Catholic Church of St Vincent's Redfern with the prominent priest Father
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321:, was presided over by her friend Father Ted Kennedy and was attended by several dignitaries including the
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301:(1985). The National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) named Mum Shirl as
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520:"The Order of the British Empire - Member (Civil) (MBE(C)) entry for Smith, Shirley Colleen"
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in 1990. Just a few months before her death, the
National Trust acknowledged her as one of
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AM. QB 1985. MBE. QB77 NSW. For service to
Aborigines. For service to Aboriginal community
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189:. During her lifetime she was recognised as an Australian National Living Treasure.
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http://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/smith-shirley-coleen-mum-shirl-17817/text29401
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553:"Member of the Order of Australia (AM) entry for Smith, Shirley"
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MBE (22 November 1924 – 28 April 1998), better known as
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624:. New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. pp. 4410ā11.
614:, Deputy Premier of New South Wales (29 April 1998).
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organised a tribute exhibition of artworks in her honour.
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Mum Shirl was born as Coleen
Shirley Perry Smith on the
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Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire
410:. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from
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261:and the Detoxification Centre at Wiseman's Ferry.
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656:Mum Shirl with the assistance of Bobbi Sykes,
245:in July 1971. They also helped establish the
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561:Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
528:Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
348:On 8 July 2018, Mum Shirl was featured in a
283:Red Land Society at St. Augustine's College
249:in 1971, the Aboriginal Black Theatre, the
482:"Mum Shirl: fighter for Aboriginal rights"
441:. National Foundation for Australian Women
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752:Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park
343:Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative
737:Australian women human rights activists
636:"Celebrating Shirley (Mum Shirl) Smith"
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732:Australian indigenous rights activists
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616:"Death of Mrs Colleen Shirley Smith"
307:Australian National Living Treasures
241:and others helped to establish the
585:Long, Stephen (13 December 1990).
463:, Mammoth Australia, 1992, pp 107
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722:Members of the Order of Australia
404:"Australians - Mum 'Shirl' Smith"
621:Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
439:The Australian Women's Register
255:Aboriginal Children's Services
175:Aboriginal Children's Services
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587:"Big fuss over a great woman"
323:Governor-General of Australia
293:She was made a Member of the
480:Kennedy, Ted (13 May 1998).
141:2 (1 died during childbirth)
90:, New South Wales, Australia
660:, Mammoth Australia, 1992,
658:Mum Shirl: an autobiography
557:Australian Honours Database
524:Australian Honours Database
461:Mum Shirl: an autobiography
337:Two years after her death,
319:St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
295:Order of the British Empire
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717:Australian Roman Catholics
259:Aboriginal Housing Company
243:Aboriginal Medical Service
179:Aboriginal Housing Company
167:Aboriginal Medical Service
148:Coleen Shirley Perry Smith
58:Coleen Shirley Perry Smith
591:The Sydney Morning Herald
435:"MumShirl (c. 1924ā1998)"
133:Cecil "Darcy Smith" Hazil
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693:(further links provided)
247:Aboriginal Legal Service
237:. This same group, with
231:campaign for land rights
163:Aboriginal Legal Service
559:. Canberra, Australia:
526:. Canberra, Australia:
509:, accessed 8 July 2018.
251:Aboriginal Tent Embassy
226:house seeking shelter.
171:Aboriginal Tent Embassy
277:and a mistress of the
382:"Shirley Perry Smith"
303:Aborigine of the Year
433:Land, Clare (2002).
273:. She was a devout
27:Australian activist
299:Order of Australia
157:, was a prominent
742:People from Cowra
666:978-1-86330-144-2
486:Green Left Weekly
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18:Mum (Shirl) Smith
16:(Redirected from
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459:Mum Shirl,
354:NAIDOC Week
271:Ted Kennedy
106:Nationality
71:, Australia
701:Categories
540:Aborigines
491:26 January
445:26 January
418:26 January
408:Schools TV
388:26 January
368:References
177:, and the
114:Occupation
109:Australian
687:Mum Shirl
596:5 January
567:5 January
534:5 January
384:. AustLit
203:Wiradjuri
193:Biography
159:Wiradjuri
155:Mum Shirl
36:Mum Shirl
358:Bigambul
341:and the
275:Catholic
265:Religion
211:epilepsy
138:Children
48:Portrait
651:Sources
360:artist
279:bon mot
233:by the
224:Redfern
183:Redfern
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640:Google
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333:Legacy
325:, Sir
289:Awards
257:, the
253:, the
187:Sydney
173:, the
169:, the
165:, the
130:Spouse
88:Sydney
207:Cowra
201:, in
662:ISBN
598:2016
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