Dame Anne Mills McEwen DBE (1900 – 10 February 1967), known as Annie McEwen, was an Australian social activist, and the wife of

John McEwen Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...

(who after her death became

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

). She was active in the Country Party and devoted her life to working for the public good.

Early life and activism

Born in

Tongala, Victoria Tongala is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of northern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Campaspe local government area, between Kyabram and Echuca, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Tongala had a population ...

as Anne Mills McLeod, she was educated at Girton Church of England Girls' Grammar School in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. She married John McEwen on 21 September 1921 at Ballavoca, Tongala. They had no children. She was an experienced farmer and, with her husband, developed the soldier settler property. They sold it and bought others, to eventually hold in the Stanhope area. A skilled organiser, she raised funds for local causes and was an active member of the

Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. She was appointed a Life Governor of Melbourne's

Prince Henry's Hospital A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

for her many years of voluntary work there. She was also an active figure in the Country Party and remained so in the period of McEwen's expulsion from the party from 1938 to 1943. She spoke at women's meetings and was a key organiser in the Country Party during the early stages of her husband's political career. She drove thousands of miles through Victoria to political meetings while her husband worked on his speeches in the back seat of his car. He was elected to the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

in 1934 as member for

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

. He later held the seats of

Indi Indi may refer to: *Mag-indi language *Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives *Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of Karnataka, India *Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface, a distributed control sys ...

from 1937 to 1949 and

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

from 1949 to 1971, when he retired from politics. He became leader of the Country Party in 1958. While her husband was Minister for Air, Annie McEwen arranged for the care of young

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

recruits from other states who were training at the

Flying School Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

Point Cook Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point Cook ...

. She continued this work during the war and took over an old mansion in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak as a recreation centre. Anne McEwen was also a founding member of the ''White Wings Auxiliary'', a group formed to support the

Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve, as well as by the Chief of the Air Staff, who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service ov ...

(WAAAF), established in 1941 when her husband was Minister for Air. On 1 January 1966, Anne McEwen was made a Dame Commander 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 ...

(DBE) in recognition of her long and active service in public life and for country people.It's an Honour
/ref> An invalid for many years, she received the award from the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Lord Casey Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey, (29 August 1890 – 17 June 1976) was an Australian statesman who served as the 16th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1965 to 1969. He was also a distinguished army officer, long-serving ...

at a private investiture at her home in Toorak.

Death

Annie McEwen died at home in Toorak on 10 February 1967 following a long illness. She did not live to see her husband become the

for three weeks after the disappearance of

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

in December 1967. He was the only Australian Prime Minister to be single during his term, although he later remarried.

References

* *''Wife of Deputy PM dies; life of service'',

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

, 11 February 1967, p 6. *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McEwen, Annie 1900 births 1967 deaths Australian activists Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Tongala Australian people of Scottish descent Spouses of prime ministers of Australia