Mary Emelia Mayne (31 December 1858 – 12 August 1940), was an Australian

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Early life

Born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, Mary Emelia Mayne was the second youngest of five children of Irish parents, Patrick Mayne, a butcher and grazier, and his wife Mary McIntosh Mayne. She attended

All Hallows' School All Hallows' School (AHS) is a Catholicism, Catholic day school for girls, located in Fortitude Valley, close to the central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1861, the school is a day school, having had a boarding ...

, a Catholic girls' school in Brisbane, until 1877. Thereafter she oversaw and hostessed many functions at Moorlands, the family home at Auchenflower. She and her siblings all inherited real estate, giving them independent means. Neither she nor her siblings would marry.

James O'Neil Mayne

James O'Neil Mayne (28 January 1861 – 31 January 1939), one of her brothers, attended

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , c ...

, graduated with a B.A. from 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 si ...

in 1884, and studied medicine at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, receiving the qualifications of Licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

(LRCS) and

Membership of the Royal College of Physicians Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries ...

(MRCS) in 1890. James Mayne worked as a doctor at the

Brisbane General Hospital The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) is a tertiary public hospital located in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Metro North Health, part of the Queensland Health network. The hospital has 929 be ...

from 1891 until 1898. James O'Neil Mayne died at Moorlands.

Philanthropy

The Mayne family made Moorlands available to the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

working parties during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and contributed to the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

St Martin's War Memorial Hospital. James and Mary Emelia Mayne became the principal benefactors of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

giving it 280 hectares of land at Pinjarra Hills for agricultural education in 1923. After negotiations beginning in 1926, they paid a further £63,000 to resume over 281 hectares at

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

. This site became the current University of Queensland campus.

Death

Mary Emelia Mayne died in the Mater Misericordiae Private Hospital (run by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

who also controlled her school, All Hallows') during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

on 12 August 1940. Mary Emelia Mayne and James O'Neil Mayne are buried in the

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest ceme ...

in the family tomb, which the university was requested to maintain.

Wills

Their wills demonstrate that James Mayne's estate was valued for

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the st ...

at £113,334 and Emilia Mayne's at £83,375. Their chief assets were listed as the prestigious

Brisbane Arcade Brisbane Arcade is a heritage-listed shopping arcade at 160 Queen Street through to Adelaide Street in the Brisbane CBD, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey, Junior and built in 1923 to 1924 by J & E L ...

, the Regent Building, and Moorlands. Identical wills provided that the estates be applied in perpetuity for the university's medical school.

Legacy

They are commemorated by the Mayne chairs of medicine and surgery, the Dr James Mayne Building at the

Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) is a tertiary public hospital located in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Metro North Health, part of the Queensland Health network. The hospital has 929 be ...

, the Mayne String Trio and Mayne Hall where there is a bronze plaque of them by Kathleen Shillam. A portrait of Mayne by Melville Haysom hangs in the

University of Queensland Art Museum A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

which is named the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre.

Early life

James O'Neil Mayne

Philanthropy

Death

Wills

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading