Addie Viola Smith (1893-1975) was born in Stockton, California, U.S.A.. After graduating from the Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., in 1920, she embarked on a career in the U.S. Civil and Foreign Service. From 1920 to 1948 she held postings in economic and trade promotion in China, and from 1949 to 1951 she served with E.C.A.F.E.. From 1952 to 1966 she was representative to the U.N. for the International Federation of Women Lawyers and a member of its Executive Committee. A Vice-President of the Australian Local Government Women's Association from 1968 to 1970, she published, in 1975, Women in Australian Parliaments, Past and Present : A Survey. In 1957 she had made her retirement home with Eleanor Hinder at Neutral Bay in Sydney. She assisted and significantly augmented Eleanor's genealogical researches. Among Smith's duties as executrix of Eleanor Hinder's estate, were the arranging and annotating of her friend's papers for deposit in the Mitchell Library, tasks that she faithfully and diligently executed over the rest of her life.

Sources used to compile this entry: A. Viola Smith - further papers, 1957 - 1975, MLMSS 7032; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales; Barker, Heather, 'Smith, Addie Viola (1893-1975)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, Australian National University, 2006, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160316b.htm; Eleanor M. Hinder - papers, 1837-1963, together with the papers of A. Viola Smith, ca. 1850-1975, 1850 - 1975, MLMSS 770; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales.