Babette Smith

Babette Alison Smith OAM (2 April 1942 – 22 November 2021) was an Australian colonial historian, mediator and business executive. She wrote books about the convicts transported to Australia.

Babette Smith

OAM
Babette Smith in 2014
Born
Babette Alison Macfarlan

(1942-04-02)2 April 1942
Died22 November 2021(2021-11-22) (aged 79)
EducationFrensham, Mittagong (1959)
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationColonial historian, mediator, business executive
Known forConvict research, particularly women
Children1
AwardsNSW Premier's Prize for Regional and Community History, 2015

Early life

Born Babette Alison Macfarlan on 2 April 1942,[1] Smith was educated at Frensham, Mittagong, New South Wales (NSW).[2] She completed a BA/LLB dual-degree program at the University of Sydney.[3][4] She began work at the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, before joining Harry M. Miller, working on productions including Hair.[5]

In the 1970s, Smith worked as a television producer at Channel 9 in Sydney[6] and as publicist for films, including Silver City.[7] Then, she followed up with a stint at Hoyts as national marketing manager.[4]

Career

Her first book, A Cargo of Women, grew from her discovery that her great-great-grandmother, Susannah Watson, was a convict transported to Australia in 1829.[8]

Smith served as chief executive of the NSW Bar Association from 1993 to 1997,[9] the first woman to do so.[10] She worked as a mediator, including with Corrective Services NSW in Silverwater and Lithgow jails.[10] She was a member of the Australian Republican Movement and served on its NSW Committee for two years.[9]

She was invited to present the 2009 Russel Ward Annual Lecture at the University of New England.[11]

The Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales holds two collections of her papers (25 boxes) covering her research, writing and employment.[9][12] Jeannine Baker interviewed Smith in 2018, with the recording held by the National Film and Sound Archive.[5]

Honours and recognition

Smith was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to the community, particularly as an historian and author".[13]

The Luck of the Irish won the 2015 NSW Premier's Prize for Regional and Community history and was shortlisted for the Australian Historical Association’s Kay Daniels award for excellence in research in 2016.[14][15]

Death

Smith died on 22 November 2021.[3] She was survived by her son, Joshua.[1]

Publications

Non-fiction
  • A Cargo of Women: Susannah Watson and the Convicts of the Princess Royal, NSW University Press, 1988, ISBN 978-0-86840-067-9; 2nd ed., Sun Australia, 1992, ISBN 978-0-7251-0635-5; 3rd ed., Rosenberg Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-877058-33-2; 4th ed., Allen & Unwin, 2008, ISBN 978-1-74175-551-0
  • Mothers and Sons, Allen & Unwin, 1995, ISBN 978-1-86373-866-8
  • Coming Up for Air: The History of the Asthma Foundation of New South Wales, Rosenberg Publishing in association with the Asthma Foundation of New South Wales, 2003, ISBN 978-1-877058-17-2
  • Australia's Birthstain: The Startling Legacy of the Convict Era, Allen & Unwin, 2009, ISBN 978-1-74175-675-3
  • The Luck of the Irish: How a Shipload of Convicts Survived the Wreck of the Hive to Make a New Life in Australia, Allen & Unwin, 2014, ISBN 978-1-74237-812-1
  • Defiant Voices: How Australia's Female Convicts Challenged Authority: 1788–1853, NLA Publishing, 2021, ISBN 978-0-642-27959-0

Novel
  • A Cargo of Women: The Novel, Pan Australia, 1991, ISBN 978-0-330-27222-3; 2nd ed., Pan Macmillan Australia, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4050-3977-2

Chapter contribution
  • "Integrate Not Separate", in Cutting the Cord: Stories of Children, Love and Loss, edited by Debra Adelaide, Random House Australia, 1998, ISBN 978-0-09-183526-2

References
  1. "Death Notice: Babette Alison Smith". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  2. "Chronicle News: Chronicle 2019: Babette Smith OAM". Frensham. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  3. Overington, Caroline (23 November 2021). "Celebrated historians Babette Smith, Stuart Macintyre have died". The Australian. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  4. Price, Jenna (18 March 1995). "A mother and the making of a man . . ". The Canberra Times. 70 (21, 884). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. p. 5 (Saturday Magazine). Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Smith, Babette: Interviewed by Jeannine Baker: Oral History". National Film and Sound Archive. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. Musgrove, Nan (1 November 1972). "They Bring You the Talk of the Town". The Australian Women's Weekly. 40 (22). Australia, Australia. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Films in Production: Silver City". Filmnews. 13 (11). New South Wales, Australia. 1 November 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Convict woman's letters reveal a heaven in hell". The Canberra Times. 64 (20, 160). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 June 1990. p. 21. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Collection 1: Babette Smith papers, 1986–2004". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  10. Cunningham, Ilsa (9 June 2015). "High praise for history author Babette Smith". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  11. "Russel Ward Annual Lecture". University of New England. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  12. "Collection 2: Babette Smith further papers, 1743–1854, 1980–2015, and lock of hair belonging to Susannah Watson, 1877". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  13. "Ms Babette Alison Smith". It's an Honour. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  14. "Congratulations to our AHA member winners of the NSW Premier's History Awards!". Australian Historical Association. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  15. "Shortlists for AHA 2016 prizes and awards announced". Australian Historical Association. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
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