Whitlam, Margaret Elaine (1919 - )

Recognised as a National Living Treasure, Margaret Whitlam achieved public figure status after 1972 as the wife of Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. She was outspoken on many issues affecting women and was appointed to the National Advisory Committee for International Women's Year in 1974.

• Dovey, Margaret (maiden name, 19 November 1919 - 22 April 1942)

Events

1943	Social Worker for the Family Welfare Bureau
1964 - 1967	Medical Social Worker at the Parramatta Hospital, Sydney
1974 - 1977	Director Commonwealth Hostels Limited
1975	Member of the Advisory Council for International Women's Year
1977 - 1982	Director of the Sydney Dance Company
1978 - 1980	President of the Australian Capital Territory Council of Social Services
1978 - 1981	Councilor/President of the Sydney Teachers College
1979 - 1981	Chairman of the Opera Conference
1982 - 1983	President of the Council for the Sydney CAE
1982 - 1983	Chairman of the Board of Governors for the Law Foundation of New South Wales
1989 - 1991	Chairman of the National Council for the International Literacy Year (ILY)
1990	UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the International Literacy Year
1990 - 1999	Travel consultant of the International Study Programs
1995 - 1996	Co-Chairman of the Safer Australia Committee
November 1995	Along with a number of other Voluntary Aids from World War II, Margaret Whitlam spoke about her wartime experiences at a commemorative luncheon as part of the 'Australia Remembers, 1945-1995' celebrations
2002	Member of the Library Society Committee for the New South Wales Library

Membership

• International Women's Year National Advisory Committee (1974 - 1976)

Sponsored

• National Foundation for Australian Women (1989 - )

Related Corporate Bodies

• Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) (1914 - )

  Assistant Commandant of the Sydney University Voluntary Aid Detachment (No. 906)

Books

• Whitlam, Margaret, My Day - First edition., Collins, 1974. [ Details... ]
• Whitlam, Margaret, My Other World, Allen & Unwin, 2001. [ Details... ]

Reviews

• Producer/Director: Jenny Ainge, 'The Life and Times', review of Margaret Whitlam: The Life and Times, Australian Film Commission Women's Program: Australian Women's Archival Series, Australian Film Commission, 1994. [ Details... ]

Online Resources

• 'Margaret Whitlam 1938 Third British Empire Games, Sydney', Womensport and Recreation NSW Newsletter, Womensport and Recreation Incorporated NSW, December 1999, p. 1, http://www.womensportnsw.com.au/no_3.htm. [ Details... ]
• National Archives of Australia, 'Gough Whitlam/Margaret Whitlam', in Australia's Prime Ministers, 2002, http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/meetpm.asp?pmId=21&pageName=wife. [ Details... ]

See also

• Herd, Margaret (ed.), Who's who in Australia 2002, 38 edn, Crown Content, Melbourne, 2002, 2020 pp. [ Details... ]
• Mitchell, Susan, The matriarchs: twelve Australian women talk about their lives to Susan Mitchell., Penguin Books, Ringwood, Vic., 1987. [ Details... ]