Daphne Calder ( Campbell; 5 January 1924 – 15 October 2013) was an Australian politician, actress and controversial entrant in the 1947 Miss Australia charity quest.

History

Campbell was born in

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an urban population of 41,920 at the 2021 Australia Census, 2021 Cens ...

, the eldest child of orchardist Vic Campbell, and worked with a cosmetics firm in Orange before enlisting with AAMWS at age 18. She was a corporal stationed in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

with AAMWS when "discovered" by director

Harry Watt Raymond Egerton Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film '' The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into th ...

for the role of Mary Parsons in the all-Australian cast for the British

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

film '' The Overlanders''. She had been persuaded to audition by a friend when in Sydney, and was chosen for her simple good looks and easy manner. She was also an expert horsewoman. While on the set, Campbell met Stephen "Sam" Calder DFC, who had been an

RAAF The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the governor-general of Aus ...

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

pilot during the war, and had recently been taken on as a commercial pilot by

Connellan Airways Connellan Airways (later Connair) was an airline headquartered in Alice Springs, Australia. It operated scheduled flights as well other air transport services throughout the Northern Territory from 1939 to 1980. History The company was f ...

. They married in August 1945 and had a home in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. Sam would later have a career in politics as MHR for the Northern Territory 1966–1980. In August 1947 Campbell was approached by an organising committee from the Alice Springs sub-branch of the Returned Servicemen's League to represent the Northern Territory in the Miss South Australia Quest, preparatory to the Miss Australia Quest. The purpose behind the Quest was fund-raising for the RSL and for the Kindergarten Union, and Campbell was enthusiastic about these causes. An interstate protest was made against her candidature was made on the grounds of her being a married woman, but denied on the grounds of her nomination having been accepted before the rule had been instituted. A fair number of special fund-raising activities were held in the Territory in support of her campaign, including a rodeo and an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football match, and Campbell worked as hard as anyone but support was lacking from people who could best afford it, and a spoiling campaign developed on the grounds that she wasn't a "true Territorian", with the result that her funds raised barely exceeded £800 when expectations had been for considerably more. Campbell was adjudged Miss South Australia 1947. Her eligibility for inclusion in the

Miss Australia Miss Australia was an Australian beauty pageant held from 1908 until 2000. It was replaced by Miss World Australia from 2002, and Miss Universe Australia from 2004. From 1926 to 1991 the program operated as the Miss Australia Quest, after which ...

judging, on the basis of her marital status, was also questioned. Campbell never made another film or entered another charity quest. In 1988, Campbell was elected as to

Alice Springs Town Council The Alice Springs Town Council is a local government area in the Northern Territory. On 1 July 1971, Alice Springs was gazetted as a Municipality with the town council elected on 25 July 1971. It is situated south of Darwin. The council governs ...

. Her time as an alderman was brief, resigning in May 1989 just under a year after being elected.

Personal

The Calders had two daughters, Erika (born September 1946) and Diana (born 5 January 1949).

References

External links

1996 Interview with Daphne Campbell by Ken Berryman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Daphne Australian film actresses 1924 births 2013 deaths Northern Territory local councillors