Amongst a flurry of heartbreaking stories of the stolen generation in Australian history, one story stands apart: the story of Percy Smith and his wife Isabel who established St Francis House in Adelaide, South Australia – a home for displaced indigenous boys.
Between 1946 and 1960, St Francis House was home to more than 50 indigenous boys hailing predominantly from Alice Springs. Among them were some of the first Aboriginal people to pursue a university education, with many going on to become leaders in government, business, sport, the arts, academia and political activism.
Finding Miss Almond, as the film is to be called, centres on the life of Isabel Almond before and after she met and married Percy Smith in Alice Springs in the shadows of the Second World War. Based on original letters and diaries, and an in-depth interview hidden for almost 30 years, the film tells the story of Isabel finding herself as a person and defining her life as a surrogate mother to the children in her care.
The film also shares stories of the first six boys who travelled with Percy Smith from Alice Springs to Adelaide in 1945 with the permission of their mothers, who wanted a better life for their sons, David Woodford, Charles Perkins, Malcolm Cooper, Bill Espie, John Palmer and Peter Tilmouth. Many of the St Francis House boys went on to write their own books about their experiences and remarkable achievements.
Alice Springs in 1944 some of the first boys who went to Adelaide, Bill Espie, John Palmer at back Noel Hampton, Charles Perkins, Malcolm Cooper
Prominent, former St Francis House residents included trailblazers such as John Moriarty, the first Indigenous Socceroo who is known for his Qantas Aboriginal Flying Art series, historian and academic Gordon Briscoe who was the first Indigenous person to stand for Parliament and to achieve a PhD, civil rights activist and Commonwealth Department Secretary Charles Perkins. Sporting stars include cricket administrator and VFL footballer Vincent Copley, three time Port Adelaide Football Club Premiership player Richie Bray and Wally McArthur who played rugby in England after he missed out on Olympic selection, on racist grounds.
Founder of Live Heart Productions, Mark Smith is Percy and Isabel’s grandson, and he is passionate to tell their story, having poured years into learning about St Francis House and its residents, many of whom he met in their later years, and were like brothers to his late father John P McD Smith who passed away suddenly in 2022.
Mr Webber said that there is huge appetite in the international market for genuine content as Hollywood resets after a tumultuous 2023 marred by actor strikes and conflict over the use of AI.
‘I am honoured to be working alongside Mark to bring his family’s incredible story to the big screen,’ Mr Webber said.
‘Finding Miss Almond has the power to bring people together with all the ingredients to be a great film; love, conflict, passion, and war.”
For more information, visit: https://liveheart.com.au/
Main Image: 1984 Reunion at St Francis House
