Dame Mary Cook (née Turner; – 24 September 1950) was the wife of Australian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, Sir

Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914. He held office as the leader of the Fusion L ...

Biography

Early years

Mary Turner was 22 years old and had been a schoolteacher for eight years when she married Joseph Cook in 1885. Beginning as a pupil teacher at Chesterton Girls' School, by 1885 she was an assistant mistress. Like Cook, she came from a

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

mining family. She appears to have had a role in helping both her brothers and her husband to overcome their lack of education. At their Lithgow home, Cook studied in the evenings, moving from writing and grammar to typing and shorthand, and then to book-keeping. He began studying to become a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister.

Emigration

By 1891, six years after their marriage and emigration to Australia, the couple had three small sons, and Joseph Cook had a seat in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

parliament. By 1901 they had six children, and he had won the

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

seat in federal parliament. For the 20 years he sat in the federal parliament, Joseph Cook spent much of his time 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 ...

, where parliament sat. Mary Cook managed their large household in Sydney, with eight children born between 1886 and 1906. Cook became Navy Minister in

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 ...

' government in 1917. Mary Cook was by then very active in the New South Wales Branch of the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

Society, and in Cook's electorate of Parramatta. From the time of her husband's knighthood in 1918 she became Lady Cook and was styled in that way until seven years later when she was honoured in her own right as a Dame. She spoke at meetings there in the 1919 election campaign, and also deputised at ministerial events, such as the unveiling of an Honour Roll dedicated to the 1914–18 servicemen and women in General

Granville Ryrie Major general (Australia), Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie, (1 July 1865 – 2 October 1937) was an Australian soldier, politician, and diplomat. He served in the Second Boer War, Boer War and the First World War, in the latter comma ...

's Manly electorate.

London

During her husband's term as High Commissioner, Mary Cook played a key role for the Australian Red Cross Society, including representing the Society at a meeting of the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

Board of Governors in Paris in 1923.

Honours

Mary Cook's services to Australia were acknowledged when she was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1925 Birthday Honours List.

Retirement

The Cooks returned to Australia in 1927, enjoying an active retirement. In 1928, on the foundation of the

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

Parents' and Friends' Association, Dame Mary was elected president. In the first year of the association £300 was raised for equipment and improvements to the school's hospital. Four generations of the Cook family, including her son, Richard Cecil Cook, and grandson,

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

, attended Newington.''Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College, 1863–1998'' (Sydney, 1999), pg. 79

Death

Sir Joseph Cook died in 1947, and Dame Mary Cook died on 24 September 1950, aged 87, at her

Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Bellevue Hill is a harbourside suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located five kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the Municipality of Woollahra. The suburb is located w ...

home. She was interred beside her husband at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens,

North Ryde, New South Wales North Ryde is a suburb located in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Ryde is located 15 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government are ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Mary 1860s births 1950 deaths Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian schoolteachers Spouses of prime ministers of Australia Date of birth unknown Schoolteachers from Staffordshire Place of birth unknown British emigrants to Australia Wives of knights Burials at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens