Gladys Elphick was born Gladys Walters in Adelaide, South Australia, but was raised at the Point Pearce Mission on the Yorke Peninsula. On leaving school at age twelve, she worked in Point Pearce's dairy. Elphick married Walter Hughes, a shearer, in 1922. After her husband's death in 1937, Elphick moved to Adelaide, lived with her cousin Gladys O'Brien, and worked as a domestic. Elphick worked at the Islington Railway Workshops in Adelaide's northern suburbs during World War II creating shells and other munitions. She married Frederick Elphick in 1940.
Community work
Elphick joined the Aborigines Advancement League of South Australia in the 1940s and became active in committee work with the League in the 1960s. In 1964, Elphick became the founding president of the Council of Aboriginal Women of South Australia, a role she served until 1973. The Council was active in campaigning for the 1967 Referendum. The Council became the Aboriginal Council of South Australia in 1973, and from then included men in its remit and governance. Also in 1973, Elphick was involved in setting up the Aboriginal Community Centre, and served as its treasurer, and helped establish the College of Aboriginal Education in 1973. She co-founded the Aboriginal Medical Service of South Australia in 1977.
Awards and Honours
Gladys Elphick was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1971 in recognition of service to the Aboriginal community. She was named South Australian Aborigine of the Year in 1984, during National Aborigines Week. A plaque honouring Gladys Elphick and her work for the community is part of the Jubilee 150 Walkway, a series of 150 bronze plaques set into the footpath of North Terrace, Adelaide commemorating "a selection of people who had made a significant contribution to the community or gained national and international recognition for their work". An award has been named in her honour by the International Women's Day Committee. Presented since 2003, it is a Community Spirit Award Acknowledging Outstanding Aboriginal Women. Known as the Gladys Elphick Award, it is awarded to recognise Aboriginal women working to advance the status of Indigenous people. One of the parks in the western parklands of Adelaide has been named Gladys Elphick Park in her honour. A Google Doodle released on 27 August 2019 was dedicated to her.
