Celia Smith went to school in Beaudesert, Queensland, then lived in Dalby and Toowoomba with her family until she moved to Brisbane in 1943. Smith became a member of the Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders shortly after its inception in 1958 and continued to be an active member until the Council was dissolved in the 1970's. Smith campaigned for the Yes vote in the 1967 referendum that allowed the Commonwealth to legislate on Aboriginal affairs. She was actively involved with the Tent Embassy set up in King George Square, Brisbane in 1974 to highlight the need for Aboriginal housing and to protest against the State's repressive Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders' Affairs Act (1965). In the 1970s she was a member of the Queensland branch of the Union of Australian Women.
'Among the many things remembered about Celia Smith's life commitment to justice and compassion, are her lobbying for Gurindji land rights...walking the community with bags of food and loose coins which she would give to those in need; speaking in court for a young mother on manslaughter charges; running cardgames and dances and always caring for her family'. (Sources : J. Bell, Talking About Celia : Community and Family Memories of Celia Smith (1997); Best, Ysola, 'Smith, Cecilia (1911-1980)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University (Sighted: 11/08/09))
