Obituaries Australia

Edwina Doe, October 2023

Supplied by author

Australia has been amply rewarded for its investment in Edwina Doe who arrived in Sydney as a ‘Ten- Pound Pom’ in 1964. She described the first parts of her life in the chapter she wrote for Jocelynne Scutt’s 1995 book Singular Women: Reclaiming Spinsterhood. Self-described ‘feminist, a socialist and atheist’, She will be remembered as a founding member of the Market Research Society, the Women’s Electoral Lobby and as a Glebe-based community activist.

Edwina was born on 21 February 1936, the oldest of Douglas and Elsie (née Penman) Doe’s three children. Her family name pre-dates the Battle of Hastings and she was comfortable that she had such a long-established surname. Her only given name meant ‘wealthy friend’ which she liked to think referred to the quality of friendships, rather than money. She was happy to be called ‘Ms Doe’ but never ‘Mrs.’

She spent the first seven years of her life in a small rented house in the inner-London suburb of Battersea, London and remembered wartime rationing and nightly air raids. When her father joined the army, she moved with her mother and her siblings to the relative safety of Twickenham. She had excellent schooling at Twickenham County School but had to leave early because her family was poor. Her father, who ‘worked on the buses’, arranged a job interview for her at London Transport where she began work aged 15 and continued in paid employment for 50 years, after which she took on even more tasks in her retirement.

When she worked in the local hospital as a laboratory technician, she attended the inaugural meeting of a Youth Hostel Association social group and immediately offered to be on its committee and produce their newsletter. Joining an organisation, serving on its committee and editing the newsletter which proved to be a pattern of her life. Her next job was with Unilever Toilet Preparations Laboratory and then for Reckitt and Coleman where she was employed by the market research officer and had a week’s personal training in consumer advertising at a time when market research was in its infancy. She was 21 and had moved out of home where life was difficult and started to make arrangements to move to Australia. Her job had given her employment and communication skills, taking her all over England, buying maps, knocking on doors and meeting new people, including Australians.

On her arrival in Sydney in 1964 she worked for Beacon Research in Unilever House at Circular Quay where she organised social evenings for the Unilever House Staff club. When she joined the Market Research Society she edited their newsletter. She was a founder member of the Society’s Field Managers Group and was instrumental in producing their Field Management Handbook, a standard text for managers who train and organise teams of interviewers who carry out surveys.

She helped the newly-emerging Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) in 1972 by providing input into WEL’s questionnaire which aimed to discover politicians’ views on key topics of concern to women and then rate their responses. The WEL team interviewed them all, and on 20 November 1972 The Age published WEL’s startling findings in a four-page ‘Women’s Voters’ Guide’. Edwina went to WEL’s meeting in Mosman to grill the candidates who were standing for election in a by-election and was so impressed by the firm and fair way WEL member June Surtees chaired the meeting that she joined WEL.

When Gough Whitam was elected, WEL was credited with helping him achieve victory. Edwina had handed out ‘Think WEL before you vote’ pamphlets. She now saw a reason to become a naturalised Australian. She attended a meeting during Gough’s campaign for the 1974 election and shook shake his hand and said “Gough, I got my certificate today to say I’m Australian.’ He said ‘Good on you.’

From the 1970s to the 1990s Edwina played an essential role in the production of WEL’s monthly newsletter, WEL-Informed.

It was in the days of cut-and-paste and this picture (image 2) shows Dorothy Simons, the team leader, with Edwina as they meticulously checked the layout before sending it to the printer.

This picture (image 3) shows Edwina (seated) who initiated and coordinated Red Cross’s Trauma Teddy program in 1990 and since then, over 1 million children have cuddled a comforting hand-knitted Trauma Teddy. The Red Cross awarded her a medal for her services in May 2022. In 2014 she was asked by a big wealth organisation to show over 90 people as least half men, how to stuff Teddies and embroider faces on them. She also volunteered with the Red Cross Migrant Support Program to help them learn English while waiting to talk to their case managers. She also celebrated her 50 years in Australia at the Harold Park Hotel.

Every week she read books over 2RPH Sydney Radio for vision impaired, elderly and infirm people; she edited a book. In addition, she kept up with friends, went to Seniors Gym, plays, and symphony concerts and lobbied government authorities to do something or fix something. Edwina enjoyed travelling and a highlight was the gift of a round-the-world air ticket for her 65th birthday, the generous gift from two women who had been her market research bosses. She regularly visited friends and family overseas and her last overseas was to Antarctica in 2004.

Edwina and her cats moved to a terrace house in 1976 but she didn’t know about the Glebe Society until 1983. She immediately joined and saw their plea for an editor on the front page of the Society’s Bulletin. Of course, she volunteered and edited the Glebe Society Bulletin from 1983, and helped other Editors while she was President until the 1990s and again from 2003 to 2012. In October 2023 the Society acknowledged her work contributions in with gratitude.

The Society expressed their appreciation of her at their October 2023 AGM and gave her the flowers she is holding in the photo (image 1).

Edwina died on Boxing Day 2023, aged 87 and the Society paid tribute to her in their March 2004 Bulletin.

Her wake was held in a restaurant near her home on 26 March 2024.

Edwina’s life was full and achievement-filled and she managed to accomplish this by not living ‘according to the rules.’

She wrote her eulogy which began, ‘I have had a good life. It was mostly unplanned, but it worked out very well.’ 

Not only did it work out well for Edwina, it also worked out well for the countless people who benefited from Edwina’s society and her contribution to the well-being of both her local community and the community at large.