Mary Smith (22 November 1909 – 25 November 1989) was an English-born Australian psychologist.

Early life

She was probably born at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in England, the daughter of storeman David Smith and Wilhelmina Fletcher, ''née'' McLean. The family moved to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1911, settling in the suburbs of

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

and Largs Bay North. She was educated at state schools and graduated from Adelaide High School in 1927 before studying at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

(

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, 1930;

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

, 1932), becoming a schoolteacher.

Career

As a teacher she became interested in "problem children", working as an honorary probation, officer with the Children's Court. In 1938 she was given a free passage to England to begin doctoral research in psychology at the Victoria University of Manchester on "the mental readjustment of the problem child".

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

disrupted Smith's career and she returned to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1940. On her return Smith became assistant psychologist with the Department of Education, becoming departmental psychologist in 1942. She resigned in 1944 after campaigning vigorously and controversially for better salaries for female teachers, and established a private practice, becoming well known for her column in the '' Sunday Mail'' (1944–1969). She returned to the Victoria University of Manchester after winning the

Catherine Helen Spence scholarship Catherine Helen Spence Memorial Scholarships are travelling scholarships founded by the South Australian Government in 1911 in recognition of the pioneering social worker and feminist Catherine Helen Spence. The scholarships are administered by ...

in 1945, studying "modern trends in child psychology and work with adolescents". She was the first South Australian woman to stand for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, as an ungrouped

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

at the 1949 federal election, she was unsuccessful. Full-time child psychologist at the

Adelaide Children's Hospital The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia. It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flin ...

from 1953, Smith made progress with direct play therapy and was involved in the special education branch of the Department of Education. Considered a pioneering South Australian psychologist, she took a mentalistic approach which became outdated as

behaviouralism Behaviouralism (or behavioralism) is an approach in political science that emerged in the 1930s in the United States. It represented a sharp break from previous approaches in emphasizing an objective, quantified approach to explain and predict pol ...

came into vogue. She was also active in the community as president of the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

of Adelaide from 1950 to 1951. She died at North Adelaide in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mary 1909 births 1989 deaths Australian women psychologists 20th-century Australian women 20th-century British psychologists English emigrants to Australia Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Scientists from Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni People educated at Adelaide High School Australian schoolteachers