Dame Alice Miriam Berry (; 28 April 1900, Sydney – 18 September 1978,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

) was an Australian activist dedicated to finding ways to improve the lives of women and children in rural areas. Born 28 April 1900 in Sydney, the eldest daughter of Charles Roy McKenzie, a native-born mining engineer, and his wife Matilda, née Abram, from New Zealand, she made a lasting contribution to the provision of services in country areas through her work in the

Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...

(CWA) in Queensland, and in the

Associated Country Women of the World The Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) is the largest international organization for both rural and urban women, with a membership of nine million in over 70 countries. ACWW holds a triennial conference and publishes a magazine, ''The Cou ...

(ACWW).Profile
adb.online.anu.edu.au; accessed 18 April 2016. Alice Berry worked tirelessly for projects dear to countrywomen, namely education, mothers' hostels, the aerial medical service and access to seaside cottages. Involved in other organizations, during World War II she worked for the

Red Cross Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest group of non-governmental organizations working on humanitarian aid, is composed of the following bodies: *The ''International Committee of the Red Cross'' (ICRC), a com ...

and the Australian Comforts Fund; she was also a commissioner of the Girl Guides' Association. Survived by her daughters, Dame Alice died on 18 September 1978 at Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Family

On 11 June 1921 she married Henry Berry, a woolclasser, grazier and merchant, at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Sydney. He had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916 and served in the 1st Light Horse Regiment in the Middle East. The couple had two daughters.

Honours

In 1948 Berry was appointed State International Officer of the C.W.A. She served as Deputy-president (1951–52) of the State C.W.A. and president in 1953. Having led the Queensland delegation to the conference of the Associated Country Women of the World in Copenhagen in 1950, she did so again, to Toronto, Canada. There, in 1953, she was the first Australian to be elected president of the A.C.W.W. Re-elected unopposed in 1956, she served its six million members in twenty-seven countries for a further three years. During her term of office she twice toured the world to visit member nations. She returned to Queensland and was president (1961, 1962) of its C.W.A. Berry was promoted from Officer (OBE) of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

to Dame Commander (DBE) of the order on 1 January 1960 for "services to country women".Profile
womenaustralia.info; accessed 18 April 2016. In 1962 she was elected national president of the CWA, and retired the next year. She worked on the State association's archives for ten years. In 1971 she was made a member of honour of the ACWW.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Alice 1900 births 1978 deaths Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Queensland People from Sydney 20th-century Australian women