Aileen May Griffiths OAM (1918–2007) 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 ...

who was awarded the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1996, and the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

in 2001, for her community work in the

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Griffiths was the daughter of William Atkinson and Therese Peters. She went to school at the Leichhardt Public School and then Petersham High School. After her father's death, she moved to her grandparents' property at South Cronulla. She joined the North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club, formed its first Ladies Committee and organized dances and carnivals during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During 1944, she began fund raising to build a hospital at Sutherland. The Sutherland Hospital opened in 1958. Griffiths organized fund raising events for the hospital for the next thirty years, and served on the hospital board. In 1948 she married George Griffiths. Griffiths was a founding member of the Sutherland Shire Historical Society, and the

Woolooware Woolooware is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolooware is located south of the Sydney central business district in the Sutherland Shire. It shares the 2230 postcode with Cronulla. Woolooware stretch ...

Golf Club. In 2006, she was made Citizen of the Year by the Sutherland Shire Council to celebrate its 100th year.

References

1918 births 2007 deaths People from the Sutherland Shire Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia {{australia-bio-stub