Dame Eadith Campbell Walker (18 September 1861 - 8 October 1937) was an Australian heiress and philanthropist.

Life and career

Eadith Campbell Walker was born at The Rocks, Sydney, the only child of Scottish parents, Thomas Walker, a merchant, and his wife Jane (née Hart). The family moved to their home, Yaralla, an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

mansion on the Parramatta River in Concord West, an inner-western suburb of

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 ...

. Following the death of her mother, she was raised by her paternal aunt, Joanna Walker. She and her father carried out numerous charitable works in Australia. When the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

came she took a special interest in returned soldiers suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and housed 32 of them at "The Camp" in the grounds of Yaralla Estate from 1917 to 1920. From April 1917 to December 1922, she lent another home in Leura for the same purpose and paid the entire cost of maintenance. It was later converted into a children's home. She built cottages for elderly men at Yaralla and provided an endowment fund for their upkeep. Additionally, she supported sporting clubs, religious, educational, and health institutions, as well as returned soldiers after the

Honours

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1917 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 4 June 1928 for philanthropic and charitable services.

Legacy

Dame Eadith died on 8 October 1937, aged 76, unmarried. She was cremated at the chapel in Rookwood, and her ashes were buried in the family grave at St John's Ashfield. She left an estate of £265,000. After providing for many legacies to relations, friends and employees, one-third of the residue of the estate went to the Returned Soldiers' and Sailors' Imperial League of Australia, and the real estate to the

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. After her death, two-thirds of the income from £300,000 of her father's estate was set aside for the upkeep of the Thomas Walker Hospital, which had been built from 1891-93 with money provided by her father's will. Another £100,000 was used to turn Yaralla into the Dame Eadith Walker convalescent home for men, and one-third of the income from another sum of £300,000 was set aside for its maintenance. Both Yaralla and the Thomas Walker Hospital (now known as Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Unit) are now listed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

.''The Heritage of Australia'', Macmillan Company, 1981, pg. 2/23

References

Sources

*J. MacCulloch
'Walker, Dame Eadith Campbell (1861 - 1937)'

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, pp 356–57.

External links

*
Walker, Eadith
at ''

The Dictionary of Sydney The Dictionary of Sydney is a digital humanities project to produce an online, expert-written encyclopaedia of all aspects of the history of Sydney. Description The Dictionary is a partnership between the City of Sydney, the University of Sydne ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Eadith 1861 births 1937 deaths Australian women philanthropists Australian philanthropists Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from New South Wales Australian people of Scottish descent 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women Colony of New South Wales people