Dame Elizabeth May Ramsay Couchman DBE (née Tannock; 19 April 1876 – 18 November 1982) was an Australian political activist. She was a co-founder of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

Biography

She was born Elizabeth May Ramsay Tannock, the daughter of Elizabeth Mary (née Ramsay), and Archibald Tannock. Her father was a confectioner. She had a sister, Jean, who married

Henry Mercer Henry Chapman Mercer (June 24, 1856 – March 9, 1930) was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker, and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works; and th ...

Dean of Perth St George's Cathedral is the principal Anglican church in the city of Perth, Western Australia, and the mother-church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is located on St Georges Terrace in the centre of the city. On 26 June 2001 the cat ...

from 1912 to 1917. She was born and grew up in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, and was educated to matriculation level at the Girls' High School. She matriculated in 1895. After a period of teaching at the Methodist Ladies' College and

Tintern Grammar , motto_translation = By deeds not words , established = 1877 , type = Independent, co-educational , denomination = Anglican , slogan = , principal = Brad ...

, another independent girls' school, she moved to

Perth, Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 1916 to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

.Biography
womenaustralia.info; accessed 23 July 2017. In 1917, aged 41, she married businessman Claude Couchman, but they had no children. He died ten years later. On his death she decided to devote the rest of her life to the pursuit of public interests, which included voluntary work and the duties of a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. From 1927 to 1945, she was president of the

Australian Women's National League The Australian Women's National League (AWNL) was an Australian political lobby group federation first established in 1904. It acted in many ways like a political party, with an extensive branch network and the capability to run its own candidates ...

, a conservative women's organisation established in 1904 to support the monarchy and empire, combat socialism, educate women in politics, and safeguard the interests of the home, women and children. Between the world wars, the League claimed 40,000 members and was the largest continuous non-labour organisation, but those numbers had dwindled to approximately 12,000 by 1944. In 1945, it merged to help form the new

. Couchman insisted on equal representation of women and men at all levels of the Victorian division, and was involved in establishing the branch structure of the party. She worked in the Liberal Party organisation as a member of the state executive and state council, and served as Victorian vice-president of the party from 1949 to 1955. She was the first female to be appointed to the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

, from 1932 to 1940, and was a member of the Australian delegation to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1934. She sought pre-selection for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on three occasions, but was unsuccessful. She eventually gained pre-selection for the safe

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

seat of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in the 1943 election, but was defeated. Dame Elizabeth Couchman died in

, aged 106.

Honours and recognition

She was appointed an Officer 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 ...

in the 1941 New Years Day Honours and promoted to Dame Commander in the 1961 New Years Day Honours for her public and patriotic services. Couchman Crescent, in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm, is named in her honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Couchman, Elizabeth 1876 births 1982 deaths Australian centenarians Australian justices of the peace Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Politicians from Melbourne Australian women in politics Nationalist Party (Australia) politicians Liberal Party of Australia politicians Women centenarians 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women People from Geelong