Muriel Quartermaine was born in Katanning in 1931, to farmer Charles Quartermaine and his wife Grace. She studied at Perth Technical College and Albany Technical College, and married Rolstun Patterson in 1951. From 1964 she farmed with her husband at Tambellup, than taught dressmaking until 1977. She joined the Albany Chamber of Commerce in 1976, and was President from 1984-1986. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Patterson was elected to the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Western Australia for the South West Region in 1989. She was re-elected in 1993 and 1996, and retired on 21 May 2001.

Sources used to compile this entry: Black, David and Bolton, Geoffrey (eds), Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia, Vol. 2, 1930-1990, Western Australian Parliamentary History Project, Perth, Western Australia, 1990; Black, David and Phillips, Harry, 'Making a Difference: Women in the West Australian Parliament 1921-1999', Parliament of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 2000; Muriel Patterson's page on the Parliament of Western Australia website is at http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament%5CMemblist.nsf/WAllMembersFlat/Patterson,+Muriel+Grace?opendocument [accessed 2009-11-30].