Hilda Stevenson

Dame Hilda Mabel Stevenson DBE (née McKay, formerly Kidd; 1893–1987) was an Australian philanthropist and community worker.[1] She was the daughter of Hugh Victor McKay, a combine harvester inventor.[1] She was the trustee and founder of the Sunshine Foundation.[1][2][3]

Dame

Dame Hilda Mabel Stevenson

Born
Hilda Mabel McKay

1893
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Died1987
Occupation(s)Philanthropist, community worker
Spouses
  • Cleveland James Kidd
  • Colonel George Ingram Stevenson
Children1
Parent

Education and early life

Born as Hilda Mabel McKay in Ballarat, Victoria, her father was Hugh Victor McKay, the inventor of the first commercially viable combine harvester. She attended Clarendon College and Presbyterian Ladies' College.[1][3] Her first marriage was in 1916 to Cleveland James Kidd, who died in 1923. In 1936, she remarried to Colonel George Ingram Stevenson, CMG. She had one child, a daughter, by her first marriage.[1][4]

Philanthropy

Association

In addition to working with the management committees of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne and Melbourne University, Stevenson was also heavily involved in the Victoria Lawn Tennis Association and Alexandra and Peninsula Golf Clubs.[1][3] On 31 December 1960, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, recognizing her social welfare work and Philanthropy. She was further made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1963 and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1968.[1][3] The University of Melbourne awarded Hilda with an honorary doctorate of laws in 1973.[1]

Honors and recognition

  • Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 31 December 1960
  • Commander of the Order of the British Empire 8 June 1963
  • Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1 January 1968
  • Honorary doctorate of laws by the University of Melbourne, 1973

References

  1. "Stevenson, Hilda Mabel (1893 - 1987)". The Australian Women's Register. Australian Women's Archives Project. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  2. "The Cluthan - 2014 Edition". Issuu. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  3. Lack, John; McNeill, Dorothy, "McKay, Cecil Newton (1899–1968)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 22 March 2019
  4. Howard, E. J. H., "Stevenson, George Ingram (1882–1958)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 22 March 2019

Archival resources

  • University of Melbourne, Baillieu Library Special Collections Papers, 24 March 1980—19 November 1980, 81/110; The University of Melbourne, Baillieu Library Special Collections.
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