Mein Smith completed her Ph.D. at the Australian National University in Canberra, in 1990; her thesis was titled Reformers, Mothers and Babies.
[5] A reviewer for Monash University noted that Mein Smith "argues persuasively and consistently for an acknowledgment of the role of radical women in the nation’s past and present", although felt King's work was stronger on racial relations in New Zealand.
As a result, Mein Smith and her colleague Peter Hempenstall established the New Zealand Australia Connections Research Centre (NZAC) at the University of Canterbury in 2005.
[7] Its launch coincided with the 25th anniversary of the New Zealand-Australia Closer Economic Relations Agreement (CER) and was marked with a symposium jointly hosted by the university and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.
[1] Notable students of Mein Smith include Rebecca Priestley, Professor of Science in Society at Victoria University of Wellington.