A Book That Travels

Born to the Hamilton clan in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1949, Helen Smith became dux of the area’s combined colleges despite suffering from polio that kept her in the hospital during most of her formative years. After several operations, she was able to walk successfully and traveled widely, became an Australian citizen, and worked for the Australian government’s Bureau of Statistics Office in Western Australia. After early retirement in 2003, Helen lived for eight years in Thailand’s Bangkok before returning to Australia to live on the Gold Coast in Queensland with her husband, Gordon, who played an important role in helping her with research and production of this book. Helen passed away at the Gold Coast Hospital on February 12, 2011.