Marion Ellen Lea Allnutt (Polly) (8 September 1896 – 10 November 1980) was a welfare worker, and full-time secretary and commanding officer of the non-governmental Women's Australian National Services (WANS) from 1940.

Early life

Allnutt was born in 1896 at

Woodville Park Woodville Park is a suburb in the northwestern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, around 8 km from the city centre. Woodville Park is bordered to the north by Torrens Road, to the east by Kilkenny Road and David Terrace, to the south by ...

in Adelaide to Earnest Allnutt, merchant, and Marion Anderson (

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 ...

Fowler). She was educated at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, studying piano and accompanied soloists in concerts at the

Adelaide Town Hall Adelaide Town Hall is a landmark building on King William Street in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The City of Adelaide Town Hall complex includes the Town Hall and the office building at 25 Pirie Street. Description and history Adelai ...

Career

Her early career involved voluntary work, where she simultaneously served on the committee of the Walkerville Church of England Boys' Home from between 1927 to 1952, the executive of the

Kindergarten Union of South Australia Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

from between 1928 and 1938, and acted as a transport officer for the South Australian division of the

Australian Red Cross Society 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 ...

from between 1939 to 1941. She became a charter member of the Soroptimist Club of Adelaide and was its president from between 1951 to 1953. During this time she was a founding member of WANS in South Australia. WANS was established as a non-governmental organization in World War II to provide assistance and training on the home front. She became its commanding officer in 1942 and in 1944, despite criticism, she organized WANS members to act as strikebreakers during a strike by domestic workers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She later helped organize the Wanslea Emergency Home for Children, which was opened at

Payneham Payneham is an eastern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Norwood Payneham St Peters. It is part of a string of suburbs in Adelaide's east with a high proportion of Adelaide's Italian-Australian and French-Australian residents, many of whom can be ...

in March 1947 and later moved to Kingswood, before it phased out residential care and became a childcare centre in 1980. She did work on Wanslea council from between 1947 to 1969 and then from 1975 to 1980. In 1951 she was made an

M.B.E. Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

"in recognition of service to the social welfare services in South Australia."

Death and recognition

Allnutt died on 10 November 1980 at Wynwood Nursing Home, Norwood, and was cremated. Marion Allnutt House at Wanslea Child Care Centre, Kingswood, was named after her in 1991, and Allnutt Crescent in

Forde, Australian Capital Territory Forde is a northern suburb of the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin. It is named in honour of Frank Forde, who served as Prime Minister of Australia for a week in 1945 following the untimely death of John Curtin. The suburb abuts the Mu ...

was named after her in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allnutt, Marion Ellen Lea 1896 births 1980 deaths Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women