Cecilia Smith (activist)
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Cecilia Smith (née Hatton; 24 March 1911 – 23 December 1980) was an Australian Aboriginal activist. Born in Beaudesert, Queensland, she was originally a domestic worker before moving to Fortitude Valley, Queensland, where she opened an open house residence. She later served as a member of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, including three years as honorary secretary in the Queensland chapter. She later campaigned on the "yes" side in the 1967 Aboriginal referendum. She died of kidney failure after surgery in Brisbane.[1]
Cecilia Hatton was born on 24 March 1911 in Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia, the second of five children to labourer William "Pompey" Hatten and his second wife Dolly née Tate. Both her parents were Aboriginal. She attended a local school in Beaudesert and was confirmed at the Church of England. At 18 she gave birth to Charles, the son of Charles Banks, however they never married.[2] She married farm labourer Ernest Smith on 8 August 1932 at Christ Church in Boonah. The couple separated in 1943 and she relocated to Fortitude Valley in Brisbane with their four children.[1]
