Topsy Smith

Topsy Smith was born around 1875, the daughter of Mary Kemp, who was of Arabana descent,[1] from the Oodnadatta area, in northeast South Australia.

Her father was policeman George White but he did not play a large role in her life as she as mostly raised by her mother and her step-father Arthur Evans.

The couple had a variety of jobs together, including running a store at Alice Well, until Arthur 'got respectable' and left Mary to marry a white woman.

[3] Topsy and her children were assisted by pastoralists Jane and Ted Hayes from Undoolya Station, with whom they lived for some time before moving on to Alice Springs.

By this time Smith had had enough and wanted to return to Oodnadatta, her mothers country, but she was prevailed upon to stay through the move where she lived in a tent under a bough shelter throughout summer.

[1] The Topsy Smith Hostel in Alice Springs, which provides long-term accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander renal patients and their carers, is named after her.