Zina Beatrice Selwyn Cumbrae-Stewart (née Hammond) (1868–1956) was a prominent philanthropic volunteer in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Early life

Zina Beatrice Selwyn Hammond was born on 30 August 1868 at Brighton, Victoria, the daughter of Robert K. Hammond and his wife Jessie Duncan (née Grant). In 1875 her father Robert K. Hammond died leaving her mother a widow of ten children. Up until the bank crash of 1893 Zina had a lively social life in the Brighton society. After the crash Zina returned to Mrs R. Sadleir Forster's Ladies School, St Kilda, where she was educated, to teach drawing. Then on 24 January 1906 she married one of her pupil's brothers named Francis William Sutton Cumbrae-Stewart at St Andrew's Church of England, Brighton. Together, they lived in Brisbane with their only child, Francis Denys, who was born in 1908.

Community work

Zina Cumbrae-Stewart and her husband Frank were prominent and active citizens of Brisbane early in the 20th century, where her husband was a barrister and professor of law at the University of Queensland. A deeply committed evangelical

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

, Zina Cumbrae-Stewart was an executive member of the Australian Red Cross in Queensland for twenty-two years, was an original member of the Mother's Union and its president for nine years and president of the National Council of Women of Queensland for nine years. She helped found the Queensland Social Service League in 1931 to cope with problems related to the Depression. Other societies she was involved with included the Mothercraft Association, the Traveller's Aid Society and the Shakespeare Society. Zina Cumbrae-Stewart was the first woman to speak from the platform of the

Brisbane City Hall Brisbane City Hall, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the seat of the Brisbane City Council. It is located adjacent to King George Square, where the rectangular City Hall has its main entrance. The City Hall also has frontages and entranc ...

and had early involvement in educational broadcasting. In 1936 she claimed that she had attended 360 committee meetings that year. Her home

Scott Street Flats Scott Street Flats is a heritage-listed apartment block at 2 Scott Street, Kangaroo Point, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Elina Mottram and built to by W B Johnstone. It is also known as Scott House. It was added ...

in Kangaroo Point is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

Later life

Her husband Frank retired in 1936 and died in Melbourne in 1938. On 31 July 1956 Zina Cumbrae-Stewart died in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

where she was living with her son. She was buried with her husband in the Burwood Cemetery in Melbourne on 2 August 1956.

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumbrae-Stewart, Zina Beatrice Selwyn People from Brisbane 1868 births 1956 deaths Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Australian philanthropists People from Brighton, Victoria