Sarah Maria Scullin (née McNamara; 21 April 1880 – 31 May 1962) was the wife of

James Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 Australian federal election. He was the first Catho ...

, the 9th

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 ...

Early life and marriage

Scullin was born in

Ballarat, Victoria Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Within months of Vic ...

, to Sarah (née Simcocks) and Michael McNamara. Her mother was born in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Ireland, and her father was born in

Bodyke Bodyke (; ga, Lúbán Díge) is a village in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in eastern County Clare in the Catholic parish of Bodyke. During the 1880s, a series of evictions in the Bodyke area were widely publicised. Location and ameniti ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

. She was educated at local Catholic schools, and was known as a skilled dressmaker and a talented artist. She married James Scullin at St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat, on 11 November 1907. The couple had no children.

Public life

Scullin accompanied her husband on his election campaigns, but did not make speeches herself. According to his biographer John Robertson, she was "significant politically in an indirect manner, for she provided a serene domestic haven as a base for her husband's political activities". When her husband became prime minister in 1929, the couple chose to live in the

Hotel Canberra The Hotel Canberra, also known as Hyatt Hotel Canberra, is a major hotel in the Australian national capital, Canberra. It is located in the suburb of Yarralumla, near Lake Burley Griffin and Parliament House. It was built to house politici ...

rather than The Lodge, as an economy during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. She nursed him during his bouts of ill health, and during the four-hour "sickroom cabinet" meeting of August 1930 "stood guard at the door, refusing entrance to all unwanted visitors".

Later life

Scullin was widowed in January 1953. Her husband had been seriously ill and frequently bed-ridden for about two years, during which she was his primary caregiver. She died at their house on Park Avenue,

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, in May 1962, aged 82. She was buried alongside her husband in the Catholic section of

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scullin, Sarah 1880 births 1962 deaths 19th-century Australian people 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian people 20th-century Australian women Spouses of prime ministers of Australia People from Ballarat Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery Australian people of Irish descent