Margaret Elaine Whitlam, AO (née Dovey; 19 November 1919 – 17 March 2012) was an Australian social campaigner, author, and athlete. She was the wife of

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the ...

, the 21st Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975, and a representative of Australia in swimming at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 yea ...

in Sydney.

Early life

Born Margaret Dovey in

Bondi, New South Wales Bondi () is a suburb of eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. It is often colloquially referred to as "Bon ...

, she was the daughter of Wilfred Robert "Bill" Dovey, a

New South Wales Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Cour ...

judge and Mary Dorothy Duncan. She attended

SCEGGS Darlinghurst , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = , type = Independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school , denomination = Anglicanism , oversight = , educational_authority = New South Wales Departme ...

, where she excelled at sport. She grew to stand 188 cm (6'2") tall, towering over most other women. At the

in Sydney, she represented Australia in the 220-yard breaststroke, placing sixth out of seven swimmers. Dovey began an economics degree at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

in 1938 before transferring to social work after two years of study. She graduated with a Diploma of Social Studies, and then began working at

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

District Hospital.

Marriage and children

Dovey married

, a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

officer, in April 1942 in St Michael's Church of England,

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.federal opposition leader and parliamentary leader of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

in 1967. Margaret was described as "deeply and loyally in love" with her husband. Together, they had four children:

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

(7 January 1944), who has been a barrister, federal MP and a judge; Nicholas (6 December 1945), who became a prominent merchant banker and businessman; Stephen (April 1950), a diplomat, and Caroline Whitlam (2 February 1954),Nick Whitlam, ''Still Standing'', extract published in ''The Age'', 4 October 2004, A3 who later changed her name to Catherine Dovey after she lost a job because of her family name; she is married to former

News Limited News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...

Chief Executive Officer Kim Williams. In between Stephen and Catherine, in about 1952 or 1953, Margaret Whitlam had miscarried another child.

Advocacy and public life

Upon Gough Whitlam's election as Prime Minister, Margaret Whitlam quickly became known as an outspoken advocate for issues including women's rights, particularly abortion law reform and conservation; influenced by

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

. She faced widespread public criticism about her proactive role; however she refused to limit herself to traditional preconceptions. She was a regular guest speaker on radio and television, and wrote a column for the magazine ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was f ...

'', where she offered an insight into the life of a prime minister's wife. Whitlam was outspoken about the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975, saying she told her husband that he should have torn up the letter of dismissal from the Governor-General,

Sir John Kerr Sir John Robert Kerr (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constit ...

After the end of her husband's political career, Whitlam held a number of public and cultural offices, including serving as inaugural chair of the Australian Opera Conference; and on the boards of

Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the ...

between 1977 and 1982; International Literacy Year,

International Women's Year International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established. Histo ...

(1975), and the Law Foundation of New South Wales. In 2006, she criticised Janette Howard, wife of then-Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

, for what she considered a lack of commitment to community activities. Mrs Whitlam also criticised Mrs Howard for having no sense of humour and that she should not be holding hands with her husband in public. Mrs Howard declined to comment on Mrs Whitlam's criticism.

Honours

Whitlam was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983 for services to the community. In 1995 she was awarded an honorary degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

by the University of New England and, in 1997, became one of the one hundred Australian National Living Treasures. In 2001 she received a Centenary Medal "For outstanding service to Australian society and to the Australian community". In 2007 she and her husband were made national life members of the Australian Labor Party.

Published works

* *

Death and funeral

Whitlam died in a Sydney hospital on 17 March 2012, following a fall. The Whitlam family declined an offer from the Australian Government for a state funeral. A memorial service was held in

St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...

on 23 March 2012. The Rev Andrew Sempell gave the sermon, taking love as his theme, using readings from Isaiah 43:1–5 & 1 Corinthians 13. He said: "Margaret Whitlam was indeed a gifted and talented person who used her abilities for the benefit of others, and we celebrate that." The service was attended by her widower

, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, former

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

, Bob Hawke,

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...

and

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

, as well as other present and past politicians.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitlam, Margaret 1919 births 2012 deaths Accidental deaths in New South Wales Accidental deaths from falls Australian female breaststroke swimmers Australian diarists Australian memoirists Australian social workers Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Gough Whitlam Officers of the Order of Australia Swimmers from Sydney People from the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) Recipients of the Centenary Medal Spouses of prime ministers of Australia Swimmers at the 1938 British Empire Games University of Sydney alumni Australian women memoirists People educated at Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School