Elizabeth May Ramsay (Tannock) Couchman DBE JP BA (1876 - 1982)

Born 19 Apr 1876 in Geelong, Victoria (Australia)

Wife of Claude Ernest Couchman — married 9 Jan 1917 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Died 18 Nov 1982 at age 106 in Camberwell, Victoria, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kenneth Evans [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth (Tannock) Couchman DBE JP BA is Notable.

Elizabeth (Tannock) Couchman DBE JP BA was a centenarian, living to age 106.

Elizabeth (Tannock) Couchman DBE JP BA was born in the Colony of Victoria (1851-1900)

Elizabeth (Tannock) Couchman DBE JP BA has Scottish Ancestors.

Dame Elizabeth Couchman DBE JP BA was an Australian political activist. She was a co-founder of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Elizabeth May Ramsay Tannock was born on 19th April 1876 in Geelong, Victoria (Australia). She was the younger daughter of Scottish-born parents Archibald Tannock (c1828-1902), a confectioner, and Elizabeth Ramsay (c1838-1921). ^[1]

After matriculating at Geelong Girls' High School in 1895, she taught at the Methodist Ladies' College and Tintern Grammar, another independent girls' school. In 1913 she moved to Perth, Western Australia to undertake a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at the University of Western Australia, where tuition was free. Her sister, Jane, had married the infamous Henry Mercer, Dean of Perth from 1912-1917, in 1909.

Aged 41, Elizabeth married widower Claude Couchman, an architect and engineer with the Victorian Public Works Department, on 9th January 1917 in St George’s Cathedral, Perth. ^[2] By so doing, she became step-mother to Claude's eighteen year-old daughter, Winifred (1899-1978). The couple did not have children and Claude passed away in 1931. Upon his death Elizabeth decided to devote the rest of her life to the pursuit of public interests, which included voluntary work and the duties of a Justice of the Peace. From 1927 to 1945, she was president of the Australian Women's National League (AWNL), a conservative women's organisation established in 1904 to support the monarchy and empire, combat socialism, educate women in politics, and safeguard the interests of the home, women and children. She was the first woman to be appointed to the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), from 1932 to 1940, and was a member of the Australian delegation to the League of Nations in 1934. Elizabeth was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1941 New Years Day Honours 'in recognition of service to the public service'. ^[3]

In 1945, the AWNL merged with the United Australia Party (UAP) to help form the new Liberal Party of Australia. Elizabeth insisted on equal representation of women and men at all levels of the Victorian division, and was involved in establishing the branch structure of the party. She worked in the Liberal Party organisation as a member of the state executive and state council, and served as Victorian vice-president of the party from 1949 to 1955.

Elizabeth was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1961 New Years Day Honours 'in recognition of service to public and patriotic services'. ^[4]

It is not presently known what level of relationship Elizabeth enjoyed with her step-daughter, who passed away in Melbourne in 1978.

Aged 106 years, Dame Couchman passed away on 18th November 1982 in Camberwell, Victoria. ^[5]

Couchman Crescent, in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm, is named in her honour.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #9654/1876
2. ↑ Western Australia Marriage Index #100055/1917
3. ↑ Australian Honours: OBE; accessed 22 Apr 2024
4. ↑ Australian Honours: DBE; accessed 22 Apr 2024
5. ↑ Victoria Death Index #29795/1982; registered at Camberwell; birth incorrectly stated to have been in Perth

See Also:

• Smart, Judith. 'Couchman, Dame Elizabeth May (1876–1982)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2007; accessed online 22 Apr 2024.
• Wikipedia: Elizabeth couchman; accessed 22 Apr 2024.