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Cecilia Betsy (Patty) Teudt (1910–1994)

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Cecilia Betsy ('Patty') Teudt, née Smith (1910-1994) domestic worker, trade unionist and political activist

Birth: 15 August 1910 at Punds of Goster in parish of Dunrossness, Shetland Islands, Scotland, daughter of Peter Smith (1874-1954) and Margaret, née Pottinger (1877-1966). Marriage: 1931 at Sydney, New South Wales, to native-born Harold John (Harry) Teudt (1908-1997), orchardist, later mine employee. They had two sons and one daughter. Death: 29 August 1994 in Milton Hospital, Milton, NSW; usual residence Camden Street, Ulladulla. Religion: Christened in Free Church of Scotland. 

  • Voracious reader and excelled in school work. Self-educated.
  • Family arrived in Australia in 1923 and her parents bought an orchard at Glenorie, New South Wales. Not able to attend high school as it was 20 miles away with no school bus and fruit prices were very low, Pat took domestic work first at Glenorie and later in various Sydney suburbs. She worked in a clothing factory and later became a life member of the Clothing Trades Union.
  • At the age of 16 she encountered the Glenorie Mission Church, which was led by the principal and students from the Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Pat made a commitment to Christ and began to witness brightly to delivery people and travelers. She read the Bible each morning as a source of inspiration and strength throughout her life.
  • After her marriage she lived with her husband at Penrose and assisted in the parental boarding house.
  • She joined the Kensington Branch of the Australian Labor Party in 1941. Moved in 1942 to Helensburgh, where her husband was a mine employee. She was instrumental in having water laid in her local community and in getting the War Memorial Pool built by Broken Hill Pty Ltd and smaller companies and individuals, taking about ten years.
  • Attended to her gravely ill father who died from cancer. Moved to Ulladulla in 1974.
  • Secretary of the Milton Ulladulla branch of the ALP for four years. Member of State executive of the ALP for 4 terms. Life member of ALP together with her husband Harry.
  • Became ill a few years before death. Cause of death: respiratory failure/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischaemic heart disease (10 years).

Sources
Information from S. Tracey 1997; Eulogy at funeral service on 2 September 1994 at Woronora Crematorium.

Citation details

'Teudt, Cecilia Betsy (Patty) (1910–1994)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/teudt-cecilia-betsy-patty-35005/text44125, accessed 27 April 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Smith, Cecilia Betsy
Birth

15 August, 1910
Dunrossness, Shetland Isles, Scotland

Death

29 August, 1994 (aged 84)
Milton, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

pulmonary heart disease

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Occupation or Descriptor
Key Organisations
Political Activism