Dame
''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...
Mary V. Austin (née Hall-Thompson; 29 July 1900 — 10 September 1986) was an Australian community worker and political activist. The daughter of Admiral
Percival Hall-Thompson and his wife, Helen (née Deacon), she was educated in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
at Marsden College, Wellington.
Affiliations
*
Red Cross Society (Superintendent Regional Commandant, Victorian Division)
*
Australian Liberal Party, Vice President, and later National Vice-President (1947–76)
*
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 ...
, honorary life membership
Australian Government Office for Women Faith, Hope, Charity site
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Damehood
She was appointed DBE on 16 June 1979 for community and welfare services.
Family
She married Ronald Albert Austin (1893-1965) on 9 June 1925. The couple had one child, Derrick Albert Austin, who was born in 1926. Little other information exists regarding her personal life in Mortlake, Victoria
Mortlake is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway, north-east of Warrnambool. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area and the federal Division of Wannon. At the 2001 census, Mortlake had a pop ...
.
Sources
* Draper, W J (ed.), ''Who's who in Australia'', 1983, 14th edn, ''The Herald and Weekly Times'', Melbourne, 1983
* Draper, W J (ed.), ''Who's who in Australia'', 1980, 23rd edn, ''The Herald and Weekly Times'', Melbourne, 1980, vol 928, page 68
References
External links
''London Gazette'' notice of Mary Austin's damehood for "distinguished service to the community"
NLA profile
Ancestry.com website info re Ronald Austin
Ancestry.com website info re Mary Austin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Mary V.
1900 births
1986 deaths
People from Victoria (Australia)
Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Australian activists
Place of birth missing