Mary Isobel Downer, Lady Downer (13 December 1924 – 14 October 2014) was

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n patron, wife of federal MP and high commissioner Sir Alexander "Alick" Downer, and mother of Liberal Party leader, Australian Foreign Minister and high commissioner

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United K ...

Early life

Mary Gosse was born on 13 December 1924. She and her four brothers were raised in Parkside, (an inner suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

) and was educated at Presbyterian Girls' College (now Seymour College), then a private

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...

(now

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

) school for girls. Her father, Sir James Gosse, was a prominent Adelaide businessman and philanthropist, as was her grandfather

Tom Elder Barr Smith Thomas Elder Barr Smith (8 December 1863 – 26 November 1941) was a South Australian pastoralist and philanthropist. Tom Barr Smith was born in Woodville, South Australia, the son of Robert Barr Smith, and his wife Joanna Lang, ''née'' Elde ...

. At the age of 18, in the thick of World War II, like her brothers before her, she enlisted in the Army.GOSSE, MARY ISOBEL
World War 2 Nominal Roll (Department of Veterans' Affairs). She joined the Searchlight Battalion, where she served as a truck driver in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. Mary Gosse married

Alick Downer Sir Alexander Russell "Alick" Downer (7 April 1910 – 30 March 1981) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 1949 and 1963, representing the Liberal Party, and served as Minister for ...

on 23 April 1947 at the Church of the Epiphany in Crafers.

Later years

Downer moved to London with her husband in 1964 as he took up the post of Australian High Commissioner. She became involved with an Australian expatriate community, establishing the Chicken and Chablis Club, and became Lady Downer in 1965 when her husband was knighted. Lady Downer was an active patron of the Mary Potter Foundation, from 1994. The foundation works to raise funds to support the work of the Mary Potter Hospice, operated by Calvary Health Care Adelaide, and to support the development of services to the terminally ill and their families by the Hospice through the provision of additional buildings, facilities, equipment and/or services. She was the primary patron of the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinat ...

Music Festival in South Australia until its termination in 2005. An article on Lady Downer was featured in the Spring 2008 issue of ''Barossa Living''.

Death

Mary, Lady Downer, died on 14 October 2014, aged 89, in London, while visiting her son Alexander Downer, the incumbent Australian High Commissioner to the UK. Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Lond ...

paid tribute to her, calling her a "person of substance and style". Her body was cremated at Mortlake Crematorium in London on 22 October 2014 after a service officiated by the

Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the Abbey's status as a Royal Peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbu ...

References

External links

The Downer Family Archival Collection at the University of South Australia Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, Mary 1924 births 2014 deaths Australian people of English descent Australian women philanthropists Australian philanthropists Australian Army soldiers Australian Army personnel of World War II Women in the Australian military Australian women in World War II Downer family 20th-century philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists

Early life

Later years

Death

See also

References

External links