Daughter of William Hewlett, Awdrey wrote poetry from the age of ten, and won awards while she was still at school for her poetry and essays. She came to Adelaide with her husband in 1950, and it was here that their son, Peter Miles, was born.
During the fifties she adapted children's books for ABC school broadcasts, and took up acting. She appeared in a number of plays, and did a season with the State Theatre Co. Her poetry was published in newspapers, magazines and anthologies, and broadcast on Radio 5 UV and the ABC. Her first full-length play, The Gentle Rain from Heaven was first performed at the SE Festival of the Arts, Millicent and Mt Gambier in 1963, and following that she had plays performed in SA and NSW. She was a member of the FAW (SA) and the Friendly Street Poets.