Patricia Jean (Smith) Adam-Smith AO OBE (1924 - 2001)

Born 31 May 1924 in Nowingi, Victoria, Australia

Died 20 Sep 2001 at age 77 in Brighton, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Patsy (Smith) Adam-Smith AO OBE is Notable.

'Patsy Adam-Smith AO OBE is one of Australia's best-known and loved non-fiction authors and historians. She was a prolific writer on a range of subjects covering history, folklore and the preservation of national traditions.

Patsy (Smith) Adam-Smith AO OBE was born in Victoria, Australia

Patricia 'Patsy' Jean Smith was born on 31st May 1924 in Nowingi, a rural locality approximately ffity kilometres south of Mildura, Victoria, Australia. She was adopted at an early age by Albert, a railroad ganger, and Bridget Smith, a caretaker. She lived in a number of small Victorian country towns and was educated at small country schools; later adopting the hyphenated surname Adam-Smith.

On 17th March 1943, during the imminently threatening Second World War, Patsy enlisted as a nurse with a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). She was released from duty on 14th July 1944.

In 1970, she took the position of Manuscripts Field Officer for the State Library of Victoria, a job she held until 1982. In 1973 she was State president of Australian Writers in Victoria and the Federal president of the Fellowship of Australian Writers. From 1976 to 2001, she was a member of the board of directors for the Royal Humane Society Australasia, and from 1983 to 2001 was a committee member of the Museum of Victoria.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1980 Patsy was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature. ^[1] She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day Honours 1994 in recognition of 'service to community history, particularly through the preservation of national traditions and folklore and recording of oral histories'. ^[2]

Aged 77 years, she passed away on 20th September 2001 in Elanora, Brighton, in Melbourne's inner south west, and is buried in Drouin Cemetery. ^[3] She is survived by her children, Michael and Cathy.

Select bibliography

• Hear the Train Blow: An Australian Childhood, Ure Smith, 1964
• There was a Ship, Rigby, 1967
• The ANZACS, Thomas Nelson (Australia), 1978
• Hear the Train Blow: Patsy Adam-Smith's Classic Autobiography of Growing
• The Shearers, Nelson, 1982
• Australian Women at War, Nelson, 1984
• Australia: Beyond the Dream-time, William Heinemann Australia, 1987
• Prisoners of War, Viking,1992
• Goodbye Girlie, Viking, 1994

Significant awards

• The Age Book of the Year Award for The Anzacs, 1978
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 1980
• Order of Australian Association Book Prize for Prisoners of War, 1993
• Officer of the Order of Australia, 1994
• Audiobook of the Year, Benalla Award, 1995 for Good-bye Girlie
• TDK Australian Audio Book Awards, Unabridged Non-Fiction Category, 1995 for Good-bye Girlie

Sources

1. ↑ Australian Honours: OBE; accessed 3 Mar 2024
2. ↑ Australian Honours: OA; accessed 3 Mar 2024
3. ↑ DEATH Ryerson Index to death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers ADAM-SMITH Patsy Death notice 20 SEP 2001 Death 77 at Elanora, Brighton Herald Sun (Melbourne) 22 SEP 2001

See also:

• Patsy's Wikipedia: Patsy Adam-Smith.