Eliza Mitchell - Infinite Women

Born: 1864, Australia
Died: 1946
Country most active: Australia, United Kingdom
Also known as: Eliza Fraser Morrison

The following is republished with permission from the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

She was born in 1864, the daughter of Dr. Morrison, the first Headmaster of Scotch College. Her husband, Sir Edward Mitchell, KCMG, was for many years Leader of the Victorian Bar.

In 1915, she was working in the headquarters of the Australian Red Cross in London. When the Australian Detachment was formed, she was its Commandant. In 1918 she was awarded the CBE for her services. On returning to Australia in 1919, she was active in organising the ‘Society of Overseas Settlement for British Women’ in Victoria.

Her flair for organising was outstanding and she associated with many philanthropic schemes, which included the Bush Nursing Hospitals. Early in 1928, Lady Somers, wife of the State Governor, asked her help in starting the Country Women’s Association in Victoria, and she became the first State President, holding that position for two years and later for a further term. Her wise counsel helped the Association over many a stony path in the early years, and her vision and ideals were an inspiration to all who knew and worked with her. Country women greatly benefited from Elizabeth’s work and the friendships she engendered.

This biography is republished from The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Written by Shurlee Swain, Australian Catholic University. See below for full attribution.

Eliza Mitchell was born in Melbourne in 1864, the daughter of Scotch College headmaster, Charles Morrison and his wife, Christina. Educated at Presbyterian Ladies College, she travelled extensively in Europe before marrying lawyer, Edward Mitchell, in 1886. The couple had four daughters.
Mitchell’s entry into charity work came at the start of World War I when she became a foundation member of Red Cross, and chairman of its Victorian Home Hospitals Committee (Argus, 14 September 1915), hosting classes in first-aid and nursing in her home (Mitchell, p. 153). Travelling with her husband to England, in 1915 she continued her Red Cross work rising, in 1918, to the rank of assistant commissioner, responsible for organising visits and comforts for Australian soldiers in the more than 400 hospitals in England. On her return to Australia in the following year she filled her life ‘with public and philanthropic work’ (Mitchell, p. 180) taking leadership roles with a range of charitable and community organisations, including the New Settlers’ League, the Bush Nursing Association and the Country Women’s Association. It was, she believed, ‘work well worth doing to strengthen and maintain the ties that bind us to the Empire’ (Mitchell, p. 183). ‘Service’, she insisted, ‘is the price we pay for being on earth’ (Mitchell, p. 190).
Described as ‘an able speaker… [possessing] a most charming manner… Great breadth of vision and rare ability for organisation’ (Queenslander, 2 August 1928), she made connections between the various associations for which she worked, drawing on the members of one to offer support to the others. However, she was quick to acknowledge the contribution of her ‘indefatigable secretary’ who commonly took charge of the more practical arrangements needed to see her ideas through to fruition (Mitchell, p. 186).
Mitchell was appointed CBE in 1918 in recognition of her war work. A ward of the Queen Victoria hospital, for which she was a major fundraiser, was named in her honour. On her death in 1948, she was remembered as a ‘fine worker for charity’ (Argus, 2 October 1948).

Work cited
Shurlee Swain, ‘Mitchell, Eliza, Lady’, in The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, Australian Women’s Archives Project, 2014, http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0155b.htm, accessed 16 January 2022.