[1][2][3] Smith was of English and Darug descent; her grandmother, Lucy Leane, belonged to the Cabrogal people.

[1] Smith's grandmother petitioned the NSW Aborigines Protection Board for a fishing boat in 1893.

[6] The ambulance trains were designated to transport injured soldiers from the front lines to military hospitals, and were known to be difficult environments in which to work.

[2] After the conclusion of her ambulance train contract, Smith went first to Italy with the Italian Expeditionary Force and then to the University War Hospital in Southampton, United Kingdom.

[2] The couple moved to Trinidad, where Walls served as headmaster of Naparima College; Smith wrote the school's hymn and created its dormitory infirmary.