Janet Biddlecombe (24 April 1866 – 15 February 1954) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

pastoralist and philanthropist.

Life

Biddlecombe was born in 1866 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 ...

. Her parents were Euphemia Leslie (born Carstairs) and George Russell and she was the last of their eight children. She had only one brother and her mother died when she was young. Her father was a pastoralist. Golf Hill Station at Shelford in Victoria state had been established in 1836 on the banks of a river. In 1839, her father bought land from the crown to build a home and move his HQ to Shelford. Most of the local squatters and her parents had come from Scotland so the town had a strong Presbyterian feel. The small town expanded as her father rented out space for new businesses. Shelford had two schools by 1853. Janet Biddlecombe and one of her bulls In 1888 her father died, and after two years Biddlecombe started to manage the Golf Hill station taking over from her brother. This was a task, as the station was not profitable. However she wanted to preserve her families work and she had sisters. In 1890 Matthew William Webb exhibited a portrait of her. That painting is now in the State Library of Victoria. She married Commander John Biddlecombe who had been in the British Navy in 1900. Her new husband became the station's manager. He died in 1929 and they had won many prizes for their cattle. The two of them had created a stud for

Hereford cattle The Hereford is a British List of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It was the result of selective breeding from the mid-eighteenth century by a few famil ...

and she continued as a widow. Her station was managed by men but if necessary she would intercede. The prize winning bulls were all sold in 1953 in the hope that they would improve Australian bloodlines. The sale raised a substantial sum and Biddlescombe donated it to charity in. Janet, who was then a childless widow, died in 1954.

Death and legacy

Biddlecombe died in 1954 at Golf Hill near

Shelford, Victoria Shelford is a town in Victoria, Australia. The locality is in the Golden Plains Shire near the regional city of Geelong and west of the state capital, Melbourne. Shelford is nestled in a valley divided by the Leigh River, Golf Hill Station w ...

. Her body was not allowed to be buried at Golf Hill but her ashes were cast there. She had a small funeral as her family had died, although several organisations sent representatives in gratitude for her generosity. The philanthropy was largely unknown in her lifetime even though it was her own money that she was donating. The gifts came from the proceeds of her success in business. Several buildings were named after her. She left the contents of her house including her paintings to the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

and the

Geelong Art Gallery Geelong Gallery, formerly known as Geelong Art Gallery, is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The Gallery forms Geelong's Cultural Precinct, along with the adjacent Geelong Library and Heritage Centre (Geelo ...

References

External links

Biography at ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddlecombe, Janet 1866 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Australian philanthropists Australian stockmen Cattlewomen Australian pastoralists People from Melbourne