Murdoch, Elisabeth Joy (1909 - )

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch is Patron of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and a life governor of the Royal Women's Hospital. She supports 110 charitable organisations annually.

• Green, Elisabeth (maiden name)

The daughter of Rupert Green, Elisabeth Murdoch was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak and Clyde School, Woodend. Before marrying Keith (later Sir Keith) Murdoch in 1928, she was a voluntary worker at a kindergarten and a member of the Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

As Mrs. Murdoch and later Lady Murdoch, Elisabeth became involved with numerous community organisations including the Royal Children's Hospital. She was a member of the Hospital's management committee from 1933, serving as its president from 1954 to 1965. In 1963, over ten years after the death of her beloved husband, Elisabeth Murdoch was awarded the Order of the British Empire - Dames Commander.

1968 saw Dame Elisabeth become the first woman on the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria. She held the position for eight years. In 1976 she co-founded the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, and served as its Chairman from 1986-88. Murdoch's philanthropic activities continued throughout her varied career, and in 1984 she was a founding member of the Murdoch Institute (known today as the Murdoch Children's Research Institute).

An honorary fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture, Dame Elisabeth funded and helped to establish the Elisabeth Murdoch Chair of Landscape Architecture and the Australian Garden History Society. In 1968 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Melbourne in acknowledgement of her contributions to research, the arts and philanthropy. Trinity College installed her as a Fellow in November 2000.

Children

• Calvert-Jones, Elisabeth (Janet) (1939 - )

Membership

• The Alexandra Club (1903 - )

  President

  [1968 - 1970]

• Lyceum Club (Melbourne) (1912 - )

Related Cultural Artefacts

• Dame Elisabeth Murdoch (Rose)
• The Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship (1985 - )
• Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Tapestry (2000 - )

Related Places

• Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Arboretum

Books

• Monks, John 1929-, Elisabeth Murdoch: Two Lives, Macmillan, Chippendale, NSW, 1994, 338 pp. [ Details... ]

See also

• 'Trinity has three new Fellows', in TRINITYToday, http://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/publications/trinity_today/summer2001. [ Details... ]
• Browning, Julie, 'A Winning streak: The Murdochs', in Dynasties, Australian Boardcasting Corporation, Sydney, 2002, pp. 169-209. [ Details... ]
• Herd, Margaret (ed.), Who's who in Australia 2002, 38 edn, Crown Content, Melbourne, 2002, 2020 pp. [ Details... ]
• Starke, Monica, The Alexandra Club : A Narrative 1903-1983, Alexandra Club, Melbourne, 1986, 140 pp. [ Details... ]