OBE

Born

21 December 1881
Frensham, Surrey, England

Died

26 September 1971
Australia

Occupation

Artist and Headmistress

Summary

Winifred West arrived in Sydney in 1907 and took up work as an illustrator for the Australian Museum. In 1913 she founded the Frensham boarding school for girls at Mittagong, 120km out of Sydney. She remained there as headmistress until 1938. West built up a solid reputation based upon the philosophy of Frensham with its experimental curriculum and emphasis on the arts and physical education. She was a great inspiration to many of her students.

Sources used to compile this entry: Kennedy, Priscilla, 'West, Winifred Mary (1881-1971)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, Australian National University, 2006, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120500b.htm.