Ethel Dunlop Bruce, Viscountess Bruce of Melbourne (née Anderson; 25 May 1879 – 16 March 1967) was the wife of

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as ...

, who served as

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

from 1923 to 1929. She was the first prime minister's wife to live at The Lodge.

Early life

Bruce was one of seven daughters born to Elizabeth () and Andrew George Anderson, part of "a large family ..with pioneer associations with western Victoria". She was of mostly Scottish ancestry, although she had an Irish grandmother. An uncle was Sir

Walter Manifold Sir Walter Synnot Manifold (30 March 1849 – 15 November 1928) was an Australian grazier and politician. Born in Melbourne, Manifold was the son of Thomas Manifold, the pioneer grazier in the Western District, and a descendant of Sir Wa ...

, who served a term as

President of the Victorian Legislative Council The President of the Victorian Legislative Council, also known as the presiding officer of the council, is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria and equivalent to the President of ...

Marriage

Bruce first met her future husband while at school; she was three years his senior. On a visit to England in 1912, she became reacquainted with him, and they were married on 12 July 1913 at

Sonning-on-Thames Sonning (traditional: ; modern: ) is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook o ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. They honeymooned in North America, then lived in London for a period before returning to Australia in 1917 and settling in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Bruce was "caring and completely devoted to her husband, and accompanied him on almost all his many journeys". The couple had no children, although Stanley's niece Lindsay often stayed with them.

Public life

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...

, Stanley Bruce's predecessor in the prime ministership, once told him that "you were the worst prime minister we ever had, but your wife was the best prime minister's wife". She and her husband were the first residents of The Lodge, which was completed in 1927 and intended to be only a temporary residence. Prior to the capital moving from Melbourne to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, they had lived in ''Pine Hill'', a 16-room mansion in Frankston. Bruce was viewed as devoted to her husband's career, but in a way that was "unobtrusive". Although she was involved with charities she generally kept a low profile. After Stanley Bruce was appointed

Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The high commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northe ...

in 1933, he and his wife lived in an official residence in

Ennismore Gardens ''Ennismore'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Colin Blunstone of rock band the Zombies. The name of the album comes from Ennismore Gardens, a square in Knightsbridge where Blunstone was living; the name being a variant spe ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

.Cumpston (1989), p. 176. She was seriously ill during their first years there, and spent time recuperating in France. In 1939, after the outbreak of war, they briefly relocated to a flat in

Cranleigh Cranleigh is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Waverley, Surrey, England. It lies southeast of Guildford on a minor road east of the A281, which links Guildford with Horsham. It is in the north-west corner ...

, but soon moved back to South Kensington. Her husband's term as High Commissioner ended in 1945, but he then served a term as chairman of the UN

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

until 1951; he was elevated to the

peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great B ...

in 1947. They remained in London in retirement, where they had a relatively small circle of friends, mostly couples with ties to Australia. They enjoyed the theatre and played bridge and golf, and took annual holidays in France, at

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...

in the summer and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionCumpston (1989), p. 265.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Ethel 1879 births 1967 deaths Spouses of prime ministers of Australia People from Melbourne British viscountesses Australian people of Scottish descent Australian people of Irish descent