Creswick, Alice Ishbel Hay (1889-1973)

Field of activity
early childhood educationist; Red Cross administrator
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-763084

Biographies

CRESWICK, ALICE ISHBEL HAY (1889-1973), Red Cross commandant and kindergarten administrator, was born on 21 September 1889 at Aberdeen, Scotland, daughter of William Reid Reid, advocate, and his wife Jeannie Georgina Farquharson, née Begg. Alice was educated in private schools at Tonbridge, Kent, England, at Geneva, Switzerland, and at Hanover, Germany. During the winter sports at Grindelwald, Switzerland, she met Henry Forbes Creswick, son of Australian pastoralist Alexander Creswick; Henry had read law at the University of Oxford. Forbidden to wed until she was 21, she married him on 30 November 1910 at the Scottish National Church, Chelsea, London.

View the full record at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Alice Creswick (née Reid) is best known for her work in the Free Kindergarten Union (FKU) although she was also an important figure in the Australian Red Cross Society (ARCS) during World War 2. A woman of considerable energy and acumen, she developed a life-long interest in the area of early childhood development. She was president of the committee of the Lady Northcote Free Kindergarten for ten years (1928-1938) and joined the executive of the Free Kindergarten Union (FKU), becoming president in 1939. In 1940, she was ‘headhunted’ by the Australian Red Cross Society, when they asked her to become its principal commandant. In this capacity, she travelled widely, both inspecting and establishing Red Cross services and activities. She resigned from this position in 1946 and immediately resumed her presidency of the FKU, picking up where she left off as an energetic leader who tirelessly lobbied the government for greater support for pre-school training. Ill health forced her to resign in 1949, but she maintained her interest and activism in the area of early childhood development. She died in 1973, leaving large bequests to the organisations she supported in her lifetime: the FKU, the Australian Red Cross and the Anglican Church.

  • 30 November 1910 Married Henry Forbes
  • 1928 - 1938 President of the Lady Northcote Free Kindergarten
  • 1939 Foundation vice-president of the Australian Association of Pre-School Child Development (later Australian Pre-School Association)
  • 1939 - 1940 President of the Free Kindergarten Union
  • 1940 - 1946 Principal Commandant of Women Personnel for the Australian Red Cross Society
  • 1946 - April 1949 President of the Free Kindergarten Union
  • 1946 - 1949 Junior Vice Chairman of the Australian Red Cross Society
  • 1947 Gained State government help for the extension of buildings and facilities at the Kindergarten Training College, Kew
  • 1947 Appointed a dame of grace of the Order of St John
  • 1948 Represented the Australian Red Cross at the Stockholm conference
  • 1949 Visited pre-schools in England, France and Sweden
  • April 1949 Appointed life vice-president of the Free Kindergarten Union
  • 1953 Established the Colombo Plan pre-school standing committee of the Australian Pre-School Association
  • 1954 Represented the Australian Red Cross at the Oslo conference
  • 1955 Founded the Alice Creswick scholarship fund (later named the Alice Creswick and Sheila Kinpton scholarship)
  • 1958 Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

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Resources about Alice Ishbel Hay Creswick (1)

  1. Such big work : the life of Alice Ishbel Hay Creswick OBE DStJ / Allan Mawdsley
    Mawdsley, Allan
    [ Book : 2011 ]
    At 3 libraries
    This resource is very relevant to your query (score: 10.86)

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  1. Creswick, Alice Ishbel Hay (1889-1973)
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  1. Family Notices
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Saturday 14 July 1951 p 42 Family Notices
    ... Vau- cluse, to David Anthony Chisholm, elder son of Mrs. Jim Sargood, of Bond Springs Station, Alice ... Kendrick of Ryde to Kevin Leslie eldest son of Mr and Mrs L K Hawkins of Sons Souci HAY-DORAN -The ... to Basil Francis eldest son of Mr and Mrs r A Hay or Goulburn lir tTHCOTE-ROBSON -The En gagement is ... 15187 words
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  2. THE SOCIAL ROUND FESTIVE CUP WEEK The Round of Gaiety
    The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) Wednesday 3 February 1937 Supplement: Woman's Realm p 3 Article Illustrated
    ... .Mrs^ A. E Sharp, Dr. and Mrs. J. Magner. (Hamil . ton), Mr.'and Mrs. J. Hay (Flinders Is land), MK- and ... (Melbourne), E. O. Bisdee, H. A. Curtis, K. Hay, . ? H. Allport, Lester Butler (Bendigo), A. E. Gordon, ... R. and W. Courthope. B. Walch, W. Piesse, Ishbel Hogg (Launceston), G. Grimwade, S. Lyons, M. Hinds ... 10567 words
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  3. Advertising
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Thursday 23 April 1936 p 9 Advertising
    ... thirty-live to Alexander Thomson Creswick Alice Ishbel Hay Creswick Edward Walter Outhwaite and ... Creswick Alice Ishbel Hay Creswick Edward Walter Outhwaite and Alexander Reid Creswick to the care of the ... Alice Ishbel Hay Creswick Edward Walter Outhwaite and Alexander Reid Creswick will proceed to ... 4823 words
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