Age, Biography and Wiki

Mum Shirl (Coleen Shirley Perry Smith) was born on 22 November, 1924 in Erambie Mission, New South Wales, Australia, is an Australian activist. Discover Mum Shirl's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is she in this year and how she spends money? Also learn how she earned most of networth at the age of 73 years old?

Popular As Coleen Shirley Perry Smith
Occupation Social worker
Age 73 years old
Zodiac Sign Scorpio
Born 22 November, 1924
Birthday 22 November
Birthplace Erambie Mission, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death 28 April, 1998
Died Place Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Australia

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 22 November. She is a member of famous worker with the age 73 years old group.

Mum Shirl Height, Weight & Measurements

At 73 years old, Mum Shirl height not available right now. We will update Mum Shirl's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Mum Shirl's Husband?

Her husband is Cecil "Darcy Smith" Hazil

Family
Parents Not Available
Husband Cecil "Darcy Smith" Hazil
Sibling Not Available
Children 2 (1 died during childbirth)

Mum Shirl Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Mum Shirl worth at the age of 73 years old? Mum Shirl’s income source is mostly from being a successful worker. She is from Australia. We have estimated Mum Shirl's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income worker

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Timeline

1924

Coleen Shirley Perry Smith AM MBE (22 November 1924 – 28 April 1998), better known as Mum Shirl, was a prominent Wiradjuri woman, social worker and humanitarian activist committed to justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians.

She was a founding member of the Aboriginal Legal Service, the Aboriginal Medical Service, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the Aboriginal Children's Services, and the Aboriginal Housing Company in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney.

During her lifetime she was recognised as an Australian National Living Treasure.

Mum Shirl was born as Coleen Shirley Perry Smith on the Erambie Mission, in Wiradjuri country near Cowra, New South Wales, in 1924 to Joseph and Isabell Perry Smith.

She did not attend a regular school because of her epilepsy 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 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, "I’m his mum" whenever officials queried her relationship with the prisoners - the name by which she became widely known.

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 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.

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 up living with her.

1960

In the late 1960s, Mum Shirl began as an adviser for the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Sydney.

1970

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 campaign for land rights by the Gurindji people.

1971

This same group, with Fred Hollows and others helped to establish the Aboriginal Medical Service in July 1971.

They also helped establish the Aboriginal Legal Service in 1971, the Aboriginal Black Theatre, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the Aboriginal Children's Services, the Aboriginal Housing Company and the Detoxification Centre at Wiseman's Ferry.

Mum Shirl was an integral and committed part of the Catholic Church of St Vincent's Redfern with the prominent priest Father Ted Kennedy.

She was a devout Catholic and a mistress of the bon mot: 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 Red Land Society at St. Augustine's College and communities as part of educating the broader Australian community on Aboriginal issues and concerns.

1977

She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1977 and the Order of Australia (1985).

1990

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 Redfern house seeking shelter.

The National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) named Mum Shirl as Aborigine of the Year in 1990.

Just a few months before her death, the National Trust acknowledged her as one of Australian National Living Treasures.

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.

1998

She died on 28 April 1998.

Her funeral at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, was presided over by her friend Father Ted Kennedy and was attended by several dignitaries including the Governor-General of Australia, Sir William Deane, as well as many people whom she had helped over the years.

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

2018

On 8 July 2018, Mum Shirl was featured in a Google Doodle in honour of NAIDOC Week, which that year had the theme: "Because of her, we can!"

The doodle was designed by Bigambul artist Cheryl Moggs.