Isabel is an unlikely heroine. The odds are stacked against her as a woman seeking purpose in a man’s world. A white man’s world.
At age 26, her parents have her life carefully planned. Teaching music and living in comfortable sedate Adelaide, settling down with a white-collar husband as Australia emerges from the grips of the Great Depression. In a nice suburb and a nice house. She loved children and longed to be a mother.
For Isabel that seemed dull. Predictable. She wanted more from life. She wanted adventure. Her parents wanted to keep her safe. Have her living nearby. Never more so than when the Japanese threat of the second world war was on Australia’s doorstep.
With her boyfriend called up to join the army she ventured north to Alice Springs where reinforcements were being stationed, to visit him in the Christmas holidays of 1941. There her life took an unplanned and unexpected turn when she met a quaint little man named Percy McDonald Smith ascending the steps of a little wooden church, sunbaked and under layers of red dust.
Percy introduced her to Aboriginal people for the first time. Isabel was shocked at the appalling conditions they were forced to live in on the outskirts of the town. She had no idea that such poverty existed in modern Australia. She was ashamed of herself and her blindness to this suffering. She was heartbroken when she saw the sad eyes of the children and the fear in their mother’s eyes. Shy and without hope. Fathers nowhere in sight.
From that moment on Isabel’s heart and mind could not settle back in Adelaide. Forces beyond her control were changing her life, but her parents were standing in the way.
Can she defy her father and take on one of the biggest challenges facing Australia, how to deal with the Aboriginal people? What can she do to help these people, people who didn’t count?
Percy had found her, but can Isabel find herself?
This is the story of Isabel Elizabeth Almond.
Her vast personal strength, grace, kindness, compassion and desire to be a mother combined with humility, love and discontent with injustice, helped her to save part of a generation of children who may have otherwise been lost in the government policy of assimilation of Aboriginal people. This film shines a light on her stories with them.
Alongside her husband Percy McDonald Smith, she offered on a daily basis generosity to the needy, hospitality to strangers, hope and justice to the unfairly treated, perseverance in the face of adversity and kindness to the suffering. All with a warm smile and polite demeanour. Her innocence and faith ensured her mind was open. As was her heart.
John P McD Smith with his mother Isabel at Government House in Adelaide to receive her award from Queen Elizabeth II in the 1992 Australia Day Honours
John P McD Smith with his mother Isabel at Government House in Adelaide to receive her award from Queen Elizabeth II in the 1992 Australia Day Honours
John P McD Smith with Charles Perkins AO, (Bill Espie – obscured), Isabel and Percy Smith at a gathering to celebrate Percy’s award from Queen Elizabeth II in the 1980 Queen’s Birthday Honours
John P McD Smith with Charles Perkins AO, (Bill Espie - obscured), Isabel and Percy Smith at a gathering to celebrate Percy's award from Queen Elizabeth II in the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours
1944 – Group of children who resided at St John’s Hostel, Alice Springs
1944 – Group of boys ready to leave for St Francis House. Bill Espie, John Palmer (Back), Noel Hampton, Charles Perkins, Malcolm Cooper (Front), Mrs Smith, Father Smith
1937- Anglican Children Group with Fr Ken Leslie & Fr Percy Smith at ‘The Bungalow’ Alice Springs
1937 – Father Smith on Donkey at the Bungalow
1936 – Town of Alice Springs from ANZAC Hill. Note new Church of the Ascension on the right in Bath Street
1934 – Washing day at ‘The Bungalow.’
1934 – ‘The Bungalow’ – Girls playing hockey
Phillip Sunman, the ‘White Brother’ of John P McD Smith standing at left. Isabel Smith is seated. Photo taken in 1980
Phillip Sunman, the 'White Brother' of John P McD Smith standing at left. Isabel Smith is seated. Photo taken in 1980
1947 St Francis House boys – St Francis House Boys. | Back: Charlie Kunoth, Bill Espie, Peter Tilmouth, John Palmer. | Middle: Laurie Bray, Charlie Perkins, Ernie Perkins, Malcolm Cooper, David Woodford | Front: Brian Butler, Gordon Briscoe
1947 St Francis House boys - St Francis House Boys. | Back: Charlie Kunoth, Bill Espie, Peter Tilmouth, John Palmer. | Middle: Laurie Bray, Charlie Perkins, Ernie Perkins, Malcolm Cooper, David Woodford | Front: Brian Butler, Gordon Briscoe
St Francis House boys Desmond Price, John Moriarty, Charles Perkins, Vincent Copley, Isabel Smith, Percy Smith, Les Nayda and Gordon Briscoe at the 1976 baptism of Vincent Copley Junior
St Francis House boys Desmond Price, John Moriarty, Charles Perkins, Vincent Copley, Isabel Smith, Percy Smith, Les Nayda and Gordon Briscoe at the 1976 baptism of Vincent Copley Junior
1966 – St Francis House reunion. (L-R) Vincent Copley, Tim Campbell, John Moriarty, Wilfred Huddleston, Father Smith, Malcolm Cooper, Ken Hampton.
1966 - St Francis House reunion. (L-R) Vincent Copley, Tim Campbell, John Moriarty, Wilfred Huddleston, Father Smith, Malcolm Cooper, Ken Hampton.
1952 – St Francis House – Malcolm Cooper and Peter Tilmouth
1948 – Father Smith standing outside St Francis House
1947 – St Francis House boys group with Father Smith
1947 – Father Smith assists Malcolm Cooper and Charles Perkins with their homework at St Francis House
1945 – Easter Monday – St Francis House boys are ready for a picnic. Isabel Smith is standing fourth from the right.
1945 - Easter Monday - St Francis House boys are ready for a picnic. Isabel Smith is standing fourth from the right.
1979 – 8 October – The Advertiser reports on St Francis House reunion. Article entitled ‘Charlie’s Angels’ make top by Robert Ball
1976 – Father Smith celebrates 50 years of ordination
1976 – Church Guardian Article – Father Smith celebrates 50 years of ordination
Father Smith inspects the grounds at Glanville Hall before the boys move in – in 1946.
Father Smith inspects the grounds at Glanville Hall before the boys move in - in 1946.
The war forced Father Smith to become an Army Chaplain supporting the growing number of soldiers being stationed in Alice Springs as the Japanese threat from the north edges closer.
The war forced Father Smith to become an Army Chaplain supporting the growing number of soldiers being stationed in Alice Springs as the Japanese threat from the north edges closer.
The war forced Father Smith to become an Army Chaplain supporting the growing number of soldiers being stationed in Alice Springs as the Japanese threat from the north edges closer.
The war forced Father Smith to become an Army Chaplain supporting the growing number of soldiers being stationed in Alice Springs as the Japanese threat from the north edges closer.
1945 Newspaper report of the Smith’s new endeavour.
1945 Newspaper report of the Smith's new endeavour.
By the 1970s the boys from St Francis were making an impact in government. Working at the Department for Aboriginal Affairs were Vincent Copley, Gordon Briscoe, John Moriarty and Charles Perkins (seated).
By the 1970s the boys from St Francis were making an impact in government. Working at the Department for Aboriginal Affairs were Vincent Copley, Gordon Briscoe, John Moriarty and Charles Perkins (seated).