Grace Emily Munro

Grace Emily Gordon was born on 25 March 1879 in Warialda, New South Wales, Australia, as the second of George Hollinworth Gordon's seven daughters. She received her education from a governess at Kambala, Sydney. == World War One ==

Living mostly in Bellevue Hill during World War One, During the war, she became qualified in first aid, home nursing, and hygiene at St. John Ambulance Association under the training of Sister A. B. Perry. Munro helped organise facilities at the Sydney Showground for country volunteers and ran the post office there. She was also responsible for transporting the weekly supplies to army camps around Liverpool. == Country Women's Association ==

In 1922, Munro held the first Country Women's Association (CWA) conference over three days during the Sydney Royal Easter Show and was subsequently elected as its president. She travelled throughout New South Wales and Queensland to help form branches of the association. By 1923, sixty-eight branches, seventeen restrooms for mothers and children, two seaside homes, and maternity centres in many towns had been established. She helped found a rest-room in Bingara in 1924 as well as the first country baby health centre in Moree. By 1926, when she retired due to illness, there were 100 CWA branches with a membership of 4,500. == Other charitable works ==

Munro gave first aid classes after the war and was appointed a serving sister of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. In 1938, she was a member of the advisory board of New England University College at Armidale. She also became a member of Bingara Hospital Board and was the first woman to serve on a hospital board in rural NSW. Munro raised large sums of money for rest centres and holiday homes, which include the Australian Inland Mission's Aerial Medical Service, and the Red Cross and St John. Munro met with cabinet ministers to establish maternity wards in country hospitals and improved conditions in trains with railway refreshments rooms for women and children. == Personal life ==

On 14 July 1898, Grace married 36-year-old Hugh Robert Munro of Keera station and they had three children together. The following year, she moved out of Keera and started developing properties in Scone and Bundara, and houses in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Munro died in Sydney on 23 July 1964, aged 85, after suffering from a severe curvature of the spine. Her ashes were scattered over Keera. == Commemoration ==

In November 2023 it was announced that Munro was one of eight women chosen to be commemorated in the second round of blue plaques sponsored by the Government of New South Wales alongside Kathleen Butler, godmother of Sydney Harbour Bridge; Emma Jane Callaghan, an Aboriginal midwife and activist; Susan Katherina Schardt; journalist Dorothy Drain; Pearl Mary Gibbs, an Aboriginal rights movement activist; and writer Charmian Clift. == References ==