Merlyn Myer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer, DBE (b. 8 January 1900, Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia - d. 1982, Victoria, Australia), better known as Merlyn Myer, was an Australian philanthropist knighted in recognition of her charitable and social welfare work.
The daughter of George Francis Baillieu and Agnes Sheehan, a well-to-do couple, Margery Baillieu attended Cromarty Girls' School, and the University of Melbourne.
On her twentieth birthday Merlyn became the second wife of Melbourne retail businessman Sidney Myer (later Sir Sidney Myer). Originally named Simcha Baevski, Sidney Myer arrived in Australia as a penniless Russian immigrant. Myer was a businessman and entrepreneur, who founded a retail company that was listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange during the 1920s.
Merlyn Myer was a member of the Board of Management for the Royal Melbourne Hospital and a member of the National Council of the Australian Red Cross Society.
Along with her husband, Merlyn became a generous benefactor and she continued her involvement after Sidney's death in 1934. She was the motivation for the establishment of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, in 1959, as a gift to the people of Victoria. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was founded with a grant given by the Myers to the University of Melbourne. The couple also are credited with making significant contributions to the development of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The Merlyn Theatre at the Malthouse Theatre complex in Melbourne has been named in her honour to mark the generosity of the Sidney Myer Fund, The Myer Foundation and the individual members of the Myer family who supported the conversion of the Malthouse Theatre. The Myers' four children have continued their parents' philanthropic work.
