Marigold Merlyn Baillieu Southey, Lady Southey (; born 2 May 1928) is an Australian philanthropist who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006. Lady Southey was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

into the

Myer family The Myer family is an Australian retailing dynasty with jewish origin. It was founded in Australia by Sidney Myer, who started the department store Myer, and Merlyn Myer, his wife. Following the death of Sidney Myer in 1934, his nephew, Sir No ...

, the youngest of four children of Sidney and

Merlyn Myer Dame Margery Merlyn Myer (; 8 January 19003 September 1982) was an Australian philanthropist, who was notable for her charitable work. Birth and marriage Born as Margery Merlyn Baillieu in Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia, to George Franci ...

(). She was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. From the mid-1950s until 1999, she was director of the

Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...

family companies. In 1996, she succeeded her brother, Sidney, as president of the philanthropic

Myer Foundation The Myer Foundation is a major Australian philanthropic organisation. History The Sidney Myer Charitable Trust was established by the will of Sidney Myer, who died in 1934, leaving a portion of his estate for the benefit of the community. Myer's ...

until she resigned in 2004. On 1 January 2001, Lady Southey was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria under Governor

John Landy John Michael Landy OLY (12 April 1930 – 24 February 2022) was an Australian middle-distance runner and state governor. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run and held the world records for the 1500-metre ...

. In 1950, she married Ross Shelmerdine, who died in 1979—they had four children. In 1982, she married businessman and former Liberal Party president Sir Robert Southey, becoming Lady Southey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southey, Marigold 1928 births Living people Australian women philanthropists Australian philanthropists Philanthropists from Melbourne Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal University of Melbourne alumni Australian people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Lieutenant-Governors of Victoria 21st-century women philanthropists Myer family People educated at St Catherine's School, Melbourne