Zara Hore-Ruthven, Countess of Gowrie ( Zara Eileen Pollok; 20 January 1879 – 19 July 1965) was the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

wife of the 1st Earl of Gowrie,

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

1928–34,

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

1935–36 and the longest serving

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Ballinasloe,

County Galway, Ireland "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

in 1879, the daughter of John Pollok, DL, and his wife the Honourable Florence Madeline, née Bingham, daughter of the 4th Baron Clanmorris. She studied music in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

when she was young. On 1 June 1908 at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...

, she married Alexander Hore-Ruthven, over the objections of her family, who considered him "the impecunious son of an impoverished family, with indifferent prospects". The following month they came to Australia, where he took up the post of military secretary to

Lord Dudley Baron Dudley is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created circa 1440 for John Sutton, a soldier who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The title descended in the Sutton family until the 17th century when Frances Sutton, the heir app ...

, 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 ...

. He had previously served as aide-de-camp to Lord Dudley when he was

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

. In 1928 he was appointed

and was knighted, she becoming Lady Hore-Ruthven. In January 1935 he became

, and in January 1936 Governor-General. He had earlier been elevated to the peerage as ''Baron Gowrie of Canberra and Dirleton'', and she became Baroness Gowrie. In the 1930s Lady Gowrie heard the budding opera singer Joan Hammond, and she fostered her career, including organising the costs of her travel to Europe to study music, and putting her in touch with the director of the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

, then visiting Australia. Hammond called her "my fairy godmother", and her first real success came only after this assistance from Lady Gowrie.

Lady Gowrie Child Centres

Starting from around 1939, the Lady Gowrie Child Centres in the state capital cities were established by the Commonwealth Government to demonstrate exemplary benchmarks of quality in early childhood practice. This followed lobbying by Lady Gowrie and others for the establishment of centres across Australia to improve the health and wellbeing of Australian children, particularly disadvantaged children. The first Lady Gowrie Child Centre was established at Battery Point in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. There is also a Lady Gowrie Library and Resource Centre in Hobart, which contains a range of specialised early childhood publications to support

early childhood professional An early childhood professional is anyone who directly works with young children from infancy to age 8. Most often referred to as an early childhood teacher. These professionals include: *Teachers *Daycare workers *Social workers *Educational as ...

s. The Lady Gowrie Child Centre in

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 ...

is now known as "Gowrie Victoria". It supports the early years sector through education and care programs, demonstration services, nationally recognized training and professional learning, professional bookshop, library plus early childhood consultancy and advice. In

Perth 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 ...

, Western Australia, a centre was established in about 1940 in Victoria Park, but the centre has now been supplanted by local council administrative offices. Gowrie NSW provides a range of childcare, family support and professional development services and partners with universities and researchers to undertake and support research.

Canberra Services Club

Lady Gowrie played an active role in the establishment of the

Canberra Services Club Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the List of citi ...

, then known as the Canberra Services Welfare Association. The Association wanted to build a "rest hut" for use by members of the forces. She hosted a Garden Fair at

Government House, Canberra Government House, in the suburb of Yarralumla, is the official residence of the governor-general of Australia. It is located in the suburb of Yarralumla, in the City of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The house is set amid of p ...

, which raised the very considerable sum for those days of £3,500, and she also donated some of her personal belongings for a raffle. The Lady Gowrie Services Club was opened on 13 March 1941, and she was the inaugural president until the Gowries returned to the United Kingdom in 1944. In April 2009 the Lady Gowrie Hall at the Canberra Services Club was formally dedicated. She also organised various other concerts and fairs at Government House for the war effort. She made a radio broadcast to the women of Australia on New Year's Day 1941, calling for hope and courage. Lord Gowrie made a similar broadcast the following year. She was an enthusiast for the

Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

movement, president of the South Australian branch of the Red Cross Society and was associated with the

Victoria League The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisatio ...

Diplomatic incident

In early 1941, Tatsuo Kawai took up his post as Japan's first Ambassador to Australia. He met Lady Gowrie and offered to present her with a

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

pine tree. Australia declared war on Japan in December 1941, and Kawai was placed under house arrest pending repatriation to Japan. In 1942, Lady Gowrie was advised by Sir John Latham, Australia's former representative in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

who was returning to Australia to resume his post as Chief Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

, that Kawai now wanted to honour his offer. She indicated she would be delighted to accept the gift, even though the two nations were now at war and over 20,000 Australian soldiers were in Japanese captivity following the

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...

. Her reply to Kawai was stopped by the Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, and the bonsai tree was never presented to her.

Return to England

At the end of Lord Gowrie's term as Governor-General in 1945 they returned to England. Later that year, Baron Gowrie was created 1st Earl of Gowrie, and Baroness Gowrie became the Countess of Gowrie. He died in 1955, and she died on 19 July 1965, aged 86, survived by two grandsons, one of whom had succeeded his grandfather as the 2nd Earl of Gowrie in 1955. Dame Joan Hammond's career had come to an end through illness, and she sang in public for the last time at Lady Gowrie's funeral on 30 July 1965, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. This occasion was also memorable for the fact that Hammond was the first woman ever granted Royal permission to sing in that Chapel.

Children

The Gowries had two sons. The younger, Alistair Malise Hore-Ruthven, was born on 2 August 1917 but died the following year. The elder, Patrick Hore-Ruthven, a poet and soldier, was born on 30 August 1913 and was killed on active service in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

on 24 December 1942, after leading a commando raid on

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. A collection of his poetry, ''The Happy Warrior'', was published in 1943, with a preface by his mother. Patrick's elder son, Grey Ruthven, succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Earl of Gowrie.

Legacies

The Lady Gowrie Lookout overlooks the

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

east of the CBD. It is situated adjacent to

Kirribilli House Kirribilli House is the secondary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia. Located in the Sydney harbourside suburb of , New South Wales, the house is at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue. It is one of two official Prime M ...

, the Sydney residence of the

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 ...

. Sydney-based singer/songwriter Dan Schaumann wrote and recorded a song in 2011 called Lady Gowrie Lookout. The song is based on a couple's declaration of love for each other graffitied onto the rocks at the lookout's base, exclaiming "James & Georgie, one year and forever". Lady Gowrie was also a keen gardener, and the

Alister Clark Alister Clark (1864–1949) was the best known and most influential Australian rose breeder. His roses were the most widely planted in Australia between the World Wars and made an enduring difference to the appearance of Australian cities. His e ...

rose 'Zara Hore-Ruthven' was named after her. So was the Fitzhardinge rose 'Lady Gowrie' (now lost). The outstanding

Waterhouse Waterhouse may refer to: People *Waterhouse (surname) Places * Waterhouse, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Waterhouse Island (disambiguation) * Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica ** Waterhouse F.C., a football club based in the Waterho ...

camellia 'Lady Gowrie' was named for her when Waterhouse was 70 and she was 72. Lady Gowrie Drive is a road in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

which runs north along the seafront from Largs Bay to

Osborne Osborne may refer to: * Osborne (name) Places Australia * Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area * Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region Can ...

. It continues around the North Haven Golf Course as Lady Ruthven Drive then returns southward as Victoria Road. A plaque was affixed to a sundial in the garden of Yarralumla, Canberra, which reads: ‘1936-1944, the Australian Children remember with affection Lord and Lady Gowrie. Presented to the Commonwealth by the Honourable Clive R Evatt."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gowrie, Zara Hore-Ruthven, Countess of 1879 births 1965 deaths Child care Spouses of Australian Governors-General People from Ballinasloe British countesses 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women Recipients of the Silver Fish Award Wives of knights