The Myer family is an Australian retailing dynasty with jewish origin. It was founded in Australia by

Sidney Myer Sidney Myer (born Simcha Myer Baevski (); 8 February 18785 September 1934) was a Russian-born Jewish-Australian businessman and philanthropist, best known for founding Myer, Australia's largest chain of department stores. Early life Myer was ...

, who started the department store

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 ...

, 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 ...

, his wife. Following the death of Sidney Myer in 1934, his nephew, Sir Norman Myer, continued much of his retailing dynasty. The family has a strong history of philanthropy and established one of Australia's first single

family offices A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50-$100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer w ...

in 1976.

Biographies

The

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

has articles on the following members of the Myer family: *

* Dame Merlyn Myer * Sir Norman Myer

Family tree

*Ezekiel Baevski m. Koona Dubrusha ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Shur **Yacov Meer Baevski (2 May 1928 – 1899), m. Chaya ''née'' Sitz *** Sir Norman Myer (born Nahum Moshe Baevski; 25 May 1897 – 17 December 1956) m. (1) Gladys Margaret ''née'' Roche, divorced in 1951. ****Pamela Myer m.

Simon Warrender Simon George Warrender DSC (11 August 1922 – 8 May 2011) was a Royal Navy officer and businessman. He was decorated for his actions in World War II, and immigrated to Australia after the war's end, when he was involved in the aviation industry. ...

(11 August 1922 – 8 May 2011), a businessman and former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer, the son of

Victor Warrender, 1st Baron Bruntisfield Victor Alexander George Anthony Warrender, 1st Baron Bruntisfield (23 June 1899 – 14 January 1993), known as Sir Victor Warrender, Bt, between 1917 and 1942, was a British Conservative politician. He held minor political office between 1928 an ...

. Myer and Warrender divorced in 1986. *** Sir Norman Myer (born Nahum Moshe Baevski; 25 May 1897 – 17 December 1956) m. (2) Pamela Margaret ''née'' Sallmann. **Elcon Myer (born Elcon Baevski; 4 December 1875 – 18 February 1938) m. Rose ''née'' Marks ( – 4 August 1927), later divorced. **

(born Simcha Myer Baevski (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: '); 8 February 1878 – 5 September 1934) m. (1) Hannah Nance ''née'' Flegeltaub (1868–1963) on 8 March 1905; divorced. **

(8 February 1878 – 5 September 1934) m. (2) Merlyn ''née'' Baillieu (8 January 1900 – 3 September 1982) ***

Ken Myer Kenneth Baillieu Myer, (1 March 1921 – 30 July 1992) was an American-born Australian patron of the arts, humanities and sciences; diplomat, administrator, businessman and philanthropist. He was a member of the notable Melbourne retailing Myer ...

(1 March 1921 – 30 July 1992) m. Prudence ''née'' Boyd in 1947, divorced 1976. ****Joanna Baevski ****Michael Myer ****Philip Myer ****

Martyn Myer Martyn may refer to: *Martyn (surname), one of the Tribes of Galway and others *Martyn (given name) See also *Martin (disambiguation) *Marten (disambiguation) A marten is a mammal in the family ''Mustelidae''. Marten, Mårten, or Martén may also ...

, a Coles Myer director since 1996. ****Andrew Myer ***

m. Yasuko ''née'' Hiraoka (16 March 1945 – 30 July 1992). Ken is a co-founder of the

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 ...

. Ken and Yasuko Myer were killed in a light aircraft crash in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

on 30 July 1992. *** Neilma (7 November 1922 – 15 June 2015) m. Vallejo Gantner (1911–1996) on 8 August 1941 in Toorak, Melbourne, and later divorced. Neilma is a co-founder of

The Gantner Myer Collection of Australian Aboriginal Art ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, which was assembled over a four-year period by curator Jennifer Isaacs. The collection was unveiled in San Francisco in September 1999. Neilma Gantner was a member of the Executive of International Social Service, and of the

and the

Sidney Myer Fund 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 ...

. She worked as a novelist, poet and short story writer under the pseudonym of Neilma Sidney, and founded the

Four Winds Cultural Festival 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

(Bermagui, New South Wales). In 2017 Writers Victoria announced the first recipients for the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund, named in her memory. ****

Carrillo Gantner Carrillo Baillieu Gantner (born June 17th, 1944) is an American-Australian, who is noted as a Victorian cultural leader and philanthropist and a member of the Melbourne retailing Myer family. Biography He was born in San Francisco, Californi ...

, a co-founder of The Gantner Myer Collection of Australian Aboriginal Art ****Vallejo Gantner Jnr ( – 1962) at the age of 19. Along with her son Carillo and brother Baillieu Myer, she established *** Sidney Baillieu Myer (Bails) (11 January 1926 – 22 January 2022) m. Sarah ''née'' Hordern. Sidney Baillieu Myer was a co-founder and past president of the Myer Foundation. He was a Trustee of the Sidney Myer Fund from 1958 to 2001 and chairman from 1992 to 2001. He was chairman of The Myer Emporium Limited, president of the Howard Florey Institute and Executive Member of the CSIRO. His career has spanned the fields of business, medical research, aged care, Australia-Asian relations, the arts, conservation, education and rural communities. His commitments and appointments include: Patron of Asialink, Patron of the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal, Trustee Emeritus, National Gallery of Victoria, Director of the Howard Florey Institute, 1971–2002, and President, 1988–1992, chairman, The Myer Emporium Limited, 1978–1986, Executive Member, CSIRO, 1981–1985. He was made an Honorary Doctor of Law, University of Melbourne, in 1993. ****

Sid Myer Sidney Hordern Myer is an Australian businessman and philanthropist with strong associations with ongoing relations between Australia and Asia. He is a grandson of Sidney Myer and Dame Merlyn Myer. Since graduating from Monash University with a ...

****Samantha Myer **** Rupert Hordern Myer (13 August 1958 – ), currently the chair,

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

, since 2012, and a Deputy Chairman of

Holdings Limited. *** Marigold Merlyn Baillieu Myer m. (1) Ross Shelmerdine ( – 1979) in 1950. ****Tom Shelmerdine ****Stephen Shelmerdine , a winemaker *** Marigold Merlyn Shelmerdine (Lady Southey) m. (2) Sir Robert Southey ( - 1998) on 22 July 1982. Lady Southey has a longstanding service to the community in the support of health care, medical research and the arts. She was Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria 2001–2006; and served as president of Philanthropy Australia between 2000 and 2006; and the St Catherine's School Foundation. She resigned as president of the Myer Foundation in 2004. Lady Southey is a supporter and Honorary Life Member of the Australian Ballet, Life Member of the Nuffield Farming Scholars Association, and a supporter of Birds Australia.

References

{{Reflist Myer family