Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia

Dame Mary Hughes and Dame Enid Lyons (pictured together in 1955) are among the longest-serving prime minister's wives, both holding the position for more than seven years.

The spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia is generally a high-profile individual, and assists the prime minister with his or her ceremonial duties as well as performing various other functions. The wife of the current prime minister is Jenny Morrison.

With a few exceptions, the prime minister's spouse has been a public figure and the subject of media interest. Most have used the position to promote charitable causes. By convention, the spouse of the prime minister serves as the host or hostess of The Lodge and Kirribilli House, the official residences of the prime minister. He or she also assists the prime minister in welcoming foreign dignitaries to Parliament House and various other locations during ceremonial events. However, the position is unpaid and there are no official responsibilities.

The prime minister is often assisted by his or her spouse when campaigning at elections. However, only two prime minister's spouses have held public office in their own right – Enid Lyons became the first woman elected to the House of Representatives several years after her husband's death in office, while Lucy Turnbull served as Lord Mayor of Sydney over a decade before her husband became prime minister. Ethel Page held senior offices in the organisational wing of the Country Party.

All prime ministers except John McEwen and Julia Gillard were married for the duration of their term in office. McEwen was a widower during his short term, while Gillard had a domestic partner, Tim Mathieson. Until relatively recently it was uncommon for the spouse of a prime minister to have their own career. Zara Holt, a fashion designer, was the first to continue her career during her husband's term in office, and reputedly earned more money than him. Other businesswomen to hold the position have included Thérèse Rein, who ran an employment services company, and Margie Abbott, who ran a childcare centre. Bettina Gorton was an academic who lectured part-time at the Australian National University.

Role

The Prime Minister's spouse has no official duties. Some earlier spouses stayed mainly at home and took little part in public life.^[1] Although a Prime Minister's wife may be unofficially referred to as Australia's "first lady", a spouse does not receive a staff or official budget.^[2]

However, most recent Prime Ministers' spouses have been involved in charities or community organisations, working to raise public awareness, funds, and support for a range of causes. They generally assist their partners in political campaigns, and participate in official duties that come with the position, such as hosting foreign dignitaries, and, in particular, entertaining the spouses of dignitaries; accompanying the Prime Ministers on national and international trips; attending conferences and functions; and speaking in public, particularly in the Prime Minister's constituency.^[3] They have attended the opening of Parliament; hosted visitors at The Lodge and Kirribilli House; visited Buckingham Palace, the White House, or the Japanese Imperial Palace; and been present at royal coronations and conferences.^[3]

Others were initially preoccupied with rearing children, most notably Dame Enid Lyons (1932–39), who had 12 children (one died in infancy). In 1943, four years after her husband's death in office, she was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. She was a junior minister in the Menzies Government from 1949 to 1951.

Official recognition

Some Prime Ministers' spouses have received official recognition for their services to the community:

• Dame Flora Reid, Dame Mary Cook, Dame Mary Hughes, Dame Enid Lyons, Dame Pattie Menzies and Dame Zara Holt were given damehoods
• Pattie Deakin accepted the award of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1934, to be announced in the New Year's Honours of 1935; she died two days before the announcement^[4][5]
• Margaret Whitlam, Tamie Fraser and Hazel Hawke were made Officers of the Order of Australia. Lucy Turnbull was appointed an Officer before her husband became Prime Minister.

Tamie Fraser was the first spouse of a Prime Minister to be provided with an official secretary for dealing with her correspondence.^[6]

List of spouses

No.	Portrait	Spouse (Maiden name)	Tenure	Prime Minister
1		Jane "Jeanie" Barton (née Ross) 11 June 1851 – 23 March 1938 (aged 86)	1 January 1901 – 24 September 1903	Barton m. 1877
2		Elizabeth "Pattie" Deakin (née Browne) 1 January 1863 – 30 December 1934 (aged 71)	24 September 1903 – 27 April 1904	Deakin m. 1882
3		Ada Watson (née Low) 4 February 1855 – 19 July 1921 (aged 60)	27 April 1904 – 18 August 1904	Watson m. 1889
4		Florence "Flora" Reid (née Brumby) 10 November 1876 – 1 September 1950 (aged 82)	18 August 1904 – 5 July 1905	Reid m. 1891
(2)		Elizabeth "Pattie" Deakin (née Browne) 1 January 1863 – 30 December 1934 (aged 71)	5 July 1905 – 13 November 1908	Deakin m. 1882
5		Margaret Fisher (née Irvine) 1874 – 15 June 1958 (aged 83–84)	13 November 1908 – 2 June 1909	Fisher m. 1901
(2)		Elizabeth "Pattie" Deakin (née Browne) 1 January 1863 – 30 December 1934 (aged 71)	2 June 1909 – 29 April 1910	Deakin m. 1882
(5)		Margaret Fisher (née Irvine) 1874 – 15 June 1958 (aged 83–84)	29 April 1910 – 24 June 1913	Fisher m. 1901
6		Mary Cook (née Turner) 1863 – 24 September 1950 (aged 86–87)	24 June 1913 – 17 September 1914	Cook m. 1885
(5)		Margaret Fisher (née Irvine) 1874 – 15 June 1958 (aged 83–84)	17 September 1914 – 27 October 1915	Fisher m. 1901
7		Mary Hughes (née Campbell) 6 June 1874 – 2 April 1958 (aged 83)	27 October 1915 – 9 February 1923	Hughes m. 1911
8		Ethel Bruce (née Anderson) 25 May 1879 – 16 March 1967 (aged 88)	9 February 1923 – 22 March 1929	Bruce m. 1913
9		Sarah Scullin (née McNamara) 1880 – 31 May 1962 (aged 81–82)	22 March 1929 – 6 January 1932	Scullin m. 1907
10		Dame Enid Lyons (née Burnell) GBE 19 July 1897 – 2 September 1981 (aged 84)	6 January 1932 – 7 April 1939	Lyons m. 1915
11		Ethel Page (née Blunt) 20 September 1875 – 26 May 1958 (aged 82)	7 April 1939 – 26 April 1939	Page m. 1906
12		Pattie Menzies (née Leckie) 2 March 1899 – 30 August 1995 (aged 96)	26 April 1939 – 29 August 1941	Menzies m. 1920
13		Ilma Fadden (née Thornber) 1895 – 14 May 1987 (aged 91–92)	29 August 1941 – 7 October 1941	Fadden m. 1916
14		Elsie Curtin (née Needham) 4 October 1890 – 24 June 1975 (aged 84)	7 October 1941 – 5 July 1945	Curtin m. 1921
15		Veronica "Vera" Forde (née O'Reilly) 31 December 1894 – 9 November 1967 (aged 72)	5 July 1945 – 13 July 1945	Forde m. 1925
16		Elizabeth "Lizzie" Chifley (née McKenzie) 1 August 1886 – 9 September 1962 (aged 76)	13 July 1945 – 19 December 1949	Chifley m. 1914
(12)		Dame Pattie Menzies (née Leckie) GBE 2 March 1899 – 30 August 1995 (aged 96)	19 December 1949 – 26 January 1966	Menzies m. 1920
17		Zara Holt (née Dickins) 10 March 1909 – 14 June 1989 (aged 80)	26 January 1966 – 17 December 1967	Holt m. 1947
	01.1 None; John McEwen was a widower.		17 December 1967 – 10 January 1968	McEwen
18		Bettina Gorton (née Brown) 23 June 1915 – 2 October 1983 (aged 68)	10 January 1968 – 10 March 1971	Gorton m. 1935
19		Sonia McMahon (née Hopkins) 1 August 1932 – 2 April 2010 (aged 77)	10 March 1971 – 5 December 1972	McMahon m. 1965
20		Margaret Whitlam (née Dovey) 19 November 1919 – 17 March 2012 (aged 92)	5 December 1972 – 11 November 1975	Whitlam m. 1942
21		Tamara "Tamie" Fraser (née Beggs) 28 February 1936 (aged 82)	11 November 1975 – 5 March 1983	Fraser m. 1956
22		Hazel Hawke (née Masterson) 20 July 1929 – 23 May 2013 (aged 83)	5 March 1983 – 20 December 1991	Hawke m. 1956
23		Anna "Annita" Keating (née van Iersel) 5 October 1948 (aged 70)	20 December 1991 – 11 March 1996	Keating m. 1975
24		Janette Howard (née Parker) 11 August 1944 (aged 74)	11 March 1996 – 3 December 2007	Howard m. 1971
25		Thérèse Rein 17 July 1958 (aged 60)	3 December 2007 – 24 June 2010	Rudd m. 1981
26		Timothy "Tim" Mathieson 1957 (aged 60–61)	24 June 2010 – 27 June 2013	Gillard domestic partner
(25)		Thérèse Rein 17 July 1958 (aged 60)	27 June 2013 – 18 September 2013	Rudd m. 1981
27		Margaret "Margie" Abbott (née Aitken) 1 February 1958 (aged 60)	18 September 2013 – 15 September 2015	Abbott m. 1988
28		Lucinda "Lucy" Turnbull (née Hughes) AO 30 March 1958 (aged 60)	15 September 2015 – 24 August 2018	Turnbull m. 1980
29		Jenny Morrison (née Warren) 1968 (aged 49–50)	24 August 2018 – present	Morrison m. 1989

See also

• First Lady
• Spouse of the Governor-General of Australia

References

Further reading

• Langmore, Diane (1992). Prime Ministers' Wives: The Public and Private Lives of Ten Australian Women. Ringwood, VIC: McPhee Gribble.
• "Mrs Prime Minister—Public Image, Private Lives". Travelling exhibition. Old Parliament House (Commonwealth of Australia: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts). Retrieved 30 July 2008.