Mary Windeyer

Lady Mary Elizabeth Windeyer (1836–1912), women's rights campaigner, was born in England and emigrated to New South Wales with her family in 1839. Her father, an Anglican minister, was appointed to the Hunter Valley village of Hexham, close to Richard and Maria Windeyer's Tomago estate. In December 1857, Mary married the Windeyers' only child, William Charles, who encouraged her charitable work and political activities. Her energies were directed to causes relating to orphans and infant health, including the establishment of a foundling hospital (later the Ashfield Infants' Home) which subsequently became a home for destitute, unmarried mothers and their babies. Her friendship with Henry Parkes facilitated the passage of the State Children's Relief Act in 1881 and the establishment of a board (on which Mary served) to oversee the fostering of children from orphanages. Windeyer was also a leading campaigner on issues such as divorce law reform and increased employment opportunities for women. The inaugural president of the Womanhood Suffrage League of New South Wales, she was a founder of the Women's Hospital, Darlinghurst; co-founder of the Women's College of the University of Sydney; and prominent in the Women's Christian Temperance Union.

This delicately painted oval miniature portrait portrays Windeyer as a young woman wearing a prominent cross, a nod to her devout religious beliefs.

Gift of the Windeyer family 2009. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.