Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about a great Australian: Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. There are no words that can adequately portray the contribution Dame Elisabeth made to the community and Australia as a whole. She was an inspiration for thousands of people around this nation, and she was an inspiration to me.

I had the very great pleasure of meeting Dame Elisabeth on a number of occasions. I enjoyed sitting next to her at dinner, which guaranteed a lively conversation. Dame Elisabeth was known not only for her sharp wit and curious mind, but for her ability to converse with people from all walks of life. On her conversational skills, she was once famously asked, 'What is the art to holding a conversation over a dinner table, to engage in someone?' She responded, 'Ask the man what he does. That's my opening. I am never stuck for a question. If you ask your next-door neighbour what he does it flows out. You can't stop him.' It is good advice, and having tested it I can say that it is accurate.

One hundred and four years ago, Dame Elisabeth was born in Melbourne and educated at St Catherine's School, in my electorate of Higgins, followed by Clyde School in Woodend. Dame Elisabeth had deep roots within the Melbourne community.

At an early age Dame Elisabeth displayed a strong commitment to charity, for which she is so well-known. She volunteered for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and, as a school girl, knitted a record number of baby garments for the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. This last activity earned her a tour of the hospital, which confirmed to her that her life would be one of service.

This passion for helping others drove her life's work. But it was not her only passion. At the age of 19 she was courted by, and then married, one of Australia's leading publishers, Sir Keith Murdoch. They had four children: Rupert, Janet, Anne and Helen. In 1952 Dame Elisabeth assumed the role of matriarch, when her husband passed away from cancer at the age of 67.

Dame Elisabeth served as President of the Royal Children's Hospital Management Committee from 1954 to 1965 where she was the driving force behind fundraising events and donations. She was recognised for her work in 1963 when she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This association with the Royal Children's Hospital is one, of course, that is a close connection and one that so many Australians and particularly Victorians really, really admire her for and have received much benefit from. I have a very good friend who is currently receiving excellent care with her newborn baby at the Royal Children's Hospital. It is a very stressful time and I know that without the great care and skill of the people at the Royal Children's Hospital it would be a very, very traumatic time for her. So we admire Dame Elisabeth for the great work that she did there.

In 1968 Dame Elisabeth became the first woman on the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria. She held the position for eight years. In the same year 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.

In 1976 she co-founded the Victorian Tapestry Workshop and served as its chairman from 1986 to 1988. In 1984 she helped found the Murdoch Institute known today as the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, another very well-known and well-regarded institute. She was an honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture and she funded the Elisabeth Murdoch Chair of Landscape Architecture and the Australian Garden History Society.

In an interview later in her life, she was asked why she dedicated her life's work to helping others. Her response was 'as a sort of thanksgiving'. Humble to the very end, Dame Elisabeth understood and respected the life that she was handed and, in turn, gave back to those less fortunate. Graceful and elegant, Dame Elisabeth was someone we could all look up to as an example of the human spirit at its most gracious and compassionate. Dame Elisabeth leaves a wonderful legacy. While she may have 77 direct descendants, her life has enriched millions more, and we thank her for that.

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