Dame Helen Frances Blaxland, DBE ( Anderson; 21 June 1907 – 17 December 1989) was an Australian charity fundraiser, heritage conservationist, skilful flower arranger and nonfiction writer. Blaxland spent much of her life working for charitable institutions, particularly the

Australian Red Cross The Australian Red Cross, formally the Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1923 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, the Australian Red Cro ...

Society, which she joined in 1939. Her efforts were recognised by the award of

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in the 1967 New Year's Honours. She was also known for her creative flower arranging and published two books on the subject, ''Flower Pieces'' (1946) and ''Collected Flower Pieces'' (1949). Blaxland joined the New South Wales branch of the National Trust of Australia in 1959, was elected to its council in 1962, vice-president from 1965 to 1971 and a member of the Parramatta Properties Committee from 1967 until her resignation in 1983. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 14 June 1975 for service to the community in recognition of her contribution to the Trust.

Family

Helen Blaxland was the daughter of Brigadier General Sir Robert M. McCheyne Anderson and Jean Cairns ( Amos) Anderson. She was educated at

Bedales School Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conven ...

in England and later at

Frensham School Frensham School is an independent non-denominational comprehensive single-sex preschool, primary, and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located at Mittagong, in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. Es ...

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. She married Gregory Blaxland on 8 November 1927. They had one child, a daughter, Antonia, who became a photographer. Antonia Blaxland predeceased her mother by four months. Dame Helen Blaxland died on 17 December 1989, aged 82, at Camden and was cremated.

References

External links

* The Australian Women's Register
Blaxland, Helen Frances (1907–1989)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaxland, Helen 1907 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Bedales School People educated at Frensham School Australian humanitarians Women humanitarians Australian conservationists 20th-century Australian women