Anne Godfrey-Smith | |
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Born | Anne McIntyre 30 November 1921 Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
Died | 15 June 2011 Narrabundah, Australian Capital Territory | (aged 89)
Pen name | Anne Edgeworth |
Occupation |
|
Education | |
Alma mater | Flinders University |
Notable awards | ACT Citizen of the Year, 1994 |
Relatives |
|
Anne Godfrey-Smith OAM BEM (30 November 1921 – 15 June 2011) was an Australian poet, theatre director and women's activist.
Godfrey-Smith was born on 30 November 1921 in Launceston, Tasmania. Her mother, Margaret Edgeworth McIntyre (née David), was the first woman to be elected to the Tasmanian parliament. [1] Her father, William Keverall McIntyre, practised as an obstetrician. [2]
Her education began in Launceston at Broadland House Church of England Girls Grammar School, [3] but from 1935 to 1938 she was sent to board at Frensham School in Mittagong, New South Wales. [1]
She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1941 with a BSc in biochemistry. [1] She later took a BA at the Australian National University, followed by an MA at Flinders University for her thesis on Samuel Beckett. [4]
In the 1940s she worked as a pathologist at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital. Following her marriage, she and her husband, Rowland Anthony (Tony) Godfrey-Smith, moved to Launceston [1] where she continued her involvement in theatre as part-time actor, producer and director with the Launceston Players, the company her mother had founded in 1926. [3] When her husband undertook postgraduate training in England in 1950 she was given the opportunity by Tyrone Guthrie to spend five months at the Stratford-on-Avon Memorial Theatre where she developed her theatre production and management skills. [1]
Returning to the Launceston Players, she also worked as producer/director for the local opera company. In 1953 she moved to Canberra as full-time producer and manager for the Canberra Repertory Society. The following year she was divorced by her husband on the grounds of desertion. [5] In the late 1950s she married Robert Johnson [6] and at the end of 1958 she resigned from Canberra Repertory Society. [7]
In 1975 Godfrey-Smith was appointed by the National Youth and Children's Performing Arts Association to conduct an Australia-wide survey of young people and the performing arts, [8] producing a detailed report on her findings in late 1977. [9]
In the 1980s she served on the Theatre Board of the Australia Council and in 1986 was appointed to the ACT Arts Development Board. [10]
Godfrey-Smith was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 1980 New Year Honours "for service to theatre". [11] She was ACT Citizen of the Year in 1994, [1] while in the 2005 Australia Day Honours she was recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia "for service to the arts, particularly through a range of theatre, literary and cultural organisations". [12]
Godfrey-Smith died in Narrabundah on 15 June 2011. She was survived by her two sons, Anthony ("Tony") Godfrey-Smith and William Grey. [1]
Godfrey-Smith supported and encouraged writers in a variety of genres over many years. In 2013 her family established the Anne Edgeworth Trust, which provides a Fellowship in her memory to support emerging writers in the Canberra region. [13] [14] The Anne Edgeworth Fellowship has been administered by the ACT Writers Centre, which Godfrey-Smith was actively involved with when it was established in 1994. [4] The ACT Writers Centre was renamed MARION in 2022, [15] and continues to collaborate with the Anne Edgeworth Trust in supporting the Fellowship. [16]
Anne Godfrey-Smith | |
---|---|
Born | Anne McIntyre 30 November 1921 Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
Died | 15 June 2011 Narrabundah, Australian Capital Territory | (aged 89)
Pen name | Anne Edgeworth |
Occupation |
|
Education | |
Alma mater | Flinders University |
Notable awards | ACT Citizen of the Year, 1994 |
Relatives |
|
Anne Godfrey-Smith OAM BEM (30 November 1921 – 15 June 2011) was an Australian poet, theatre director and women's activist.
Godfrey-Smith was born on 30 November 1921 in Launceston, Tasmania. Her mother, Margaret Edgeworth McIntyre (née David), was the first woman to be elected to the Tasmanian parliament. [1] Her father, William Keverall McIntyre, practised as an obstetrician. [2]
Her education began in Launceston at Broadland House Church of England Girls Grammar School, [3] but from 1935 to 1938 she was sent to board at Frensham School in Mittagong, New South Wales. [1]
She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1941 with a BSc in biochemistry. [1] She later took a BA at the Australian National University, followed by an MA at Flinders University for her thesis on Samuel Beckett. [4]
In the 1940s she worked as a pathologist at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital. Following her marriage, she and her husband, Rowland Anthony (Tony) Godfrey-Smith, moved to Launceston [1] where she continued her involvement in theatre as part-time actor, producer and director with the Launceston Players, the company her mother had founded in 1926. [3] When her husband undertook postgraduate training in England in 1950 she was given the opportunity by Tyrone Guthrie to spend five months at the Stratford-on-Avon Memorial Theatre where she developed her theatre production and management skills. [1]
Returning to the Launceston Players, she also worked as producer/director for the local opera company. In 1953 she moved to Canberra as full-time producer and manager for the Canberra Repertory Society. The following year she was divorced by her husband on the grounds of desertion. [5] In the late 1950s she married Robert Johnson [6] and at the end of 1958 she resigned from Canberra Repertory Society. [7]
In 1975 Godfrey-Smith was appointed by the National Youth and Children's Performing Arts Association to conduct an Australia-wide survey of young people and the performing arts, [8] producing a detailed report on her findings in late 1977. [9]
In the 1980s she served on the Theatre Board of the Australia Council and in 1986 was appointed to the ACT Arts Development Board. [10]
Godfrey-Smith was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 1980 New Year Honours "for service to theatre". [11] She was ACT Citizen of the Year in 1994, [1] while in the 2005 Australia Day Honours she was recognised with the Medal of the Order of Australia "for service to the arts, particularly through a range of theatre, literary and cultural organisations". [12]
Godfrey-Smith died in Narrabundah on 15 June 2011. She was survived by her two sons, Anthony ("Tony") Godfrey-Smith and William Grey. [1]
Godfrey-Smith supported and encouraged writers in a variety of genres over many years. In 2013 her family established the Anne Edgeworth Trust, which provides a Fellowship in her memory to support emerging writers in the Canberra region. [13] [14] The Anne Edgeworth Fellowship has been administered by the ACT Writers Centre, which Godfrey-Smith was actively involved with when it was established in 1994. [4] The ACT Writers Centre was renamed MARION in 2022, [15] and continues to collaborate with the Anne Edgeworth Trust in supporting the Fellowship. [16]