Anne Patricia Dalgarno

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(6 July 1909 – 6 May 1980) was an Australian politician, nurse and community leader. Dalgarno was born Anne Patricia Smith in Wrentham,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, to farmer Henry Patrick Smith and Mabel Christina, ''née'' Edwards. Cardinal Patrick Moran was her uncle. She had governesses before attending the Convent of the Holy Family in Littlehampton,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and migrated to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

with her family when she was sixteen. Smith trained at the Children's and Perth hospitals and became a registered nurse in 1933. She married Kenneth John Dalgarno, a civil engineer, on 1 July 1937 at St Mary's Cathedral in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. They had two children before moving to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1948. Dalgarno established the Nurses Club in 1954 and was a board member of Canberra Community Hospital (1954–59) and president of the ACT branch of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation. She unsuccessfully ran for the

division of Australian Capital Territory The Division of Australian Capital Territory was an Australian electoral division in the Territory of the same name. The division was created in 1949 and included the whole of the city of Canberra and surrounding rural areas. Prior to 1949, t ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

in 1958 and an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in 1966. She was elected as an independent to the Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council in 1959 and served until 1967, and again from 1970 until 1974. She was the only woman on the council ( Mary Stevenson having been a member until 1959 and Lyndall Ryan being a member from 1967 to 1968 when Dalgarno was not on the council) and encouraged women to become involved in politics. Dalgarno was an opponent of self-government, supporting a lord mayor as opposed to a chief minister. She presided over the Foundation for Youth Ltd from 1972 and established the Emergency Housing Committee in 1973. Dalgarno, a proponent of Christian values and vigorous opponent of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1977. She died at Royal Canberra Hospital in 1980 of chronic

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

and was buried in Canberra Cemetery. Dalgarno Close in the

suburb of

Macquarie Macquarie may refer to: People * Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of the British colony of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. * Elizabeth Macquarie Campbell, Lachlan Macquarie's second wife Locations * Division of Macquarie, an electoral district in th ...

is named in her honour.

Achievements

* Member of Board of the

Canberra Community Hospital Royal Canberra Hospital was the first hospital in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It opened in 1914 (a year after the planned city was opened) on the Acton Peninsula, as the Canberra Community Hospital. It grew to become the major hospital i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalgarno, Anne 1909 births 1980 deaths Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire English emigrants to Australia People from Wrentham, Suffolk People from Canberra People from Littlehampton Australian Capital Territory politicians 20th-century Australian women