Lyra Taylor, 1940

Lyra Veronica Esmeralda Taylor OBE (11 July 1894 – 1979) was a New Zealand lawyer and social worker. She spent much of her career in Australia.

Taylor was born on 11 July 1894 in Stratford, New Zealand. She was one of four children of Robert Taylor, a farmer from England, and his New Zealand-born wife Mary, née Morrison. One of her siblings was Clara Taylor, who became a science teacher in England.[1][2] Another sister, Portia, became a doctor in England, and Taylor's only brother became a barrister.[3][4]

Taylor studied law at the Victoria University of Wellington, and was "called to the bar" in 1918,[5] the first woman to be a barrister in Wellington.[1] In 1919, Taylor was made partner at a law firm which duly renamed itself as Kirk, Wilson, and Taylor.[6]

In early 1940 Taylor was appointed general secretary of the Y.W.C.A. in New South Wales.[7] In 1944 she started work with the Australian Department of Social Services.[8] Taylor was sent on a 10 month study tour of England, Canada and the United States sponsored by the Carnegie Trust.[9][10]

Taylor was a founding member of the Australian Association of Social Workers.[1]

In the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, Taylor was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[11][12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bundock, Anthea. "Taylor, Lyra Veronica Esmeralda (1894–1979)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Women's World: New Zealand author". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Current Topics". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Wedding in England". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Auckland Star – Personal – 1 April 1918". Auckland Star. 1 April 1918. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Evening Post Vol XCVIII Issue 105 31 October 2019 pg 6: Legal". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  7. ↑ "Y.W.C.A. SECRETARY". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954). 11 January 1940. p. 19. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Quentin Bryce (8 July 2009). "Opening the National Australian Social Policy Conference – 8 July 2009". Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Youth Clubs Tell World Of Democracy". Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954). 14 January 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "MISS LYRA TAYLOR RETURNS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 33, 351. New South Wales, Australia. 14 November 1944. p. 5. Retrieved 30 July 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ↑ "Obituary – Miss Lyra Taylor, O.B.E., M.A., LL.B.". Australian Social Work. 32 (3): 49–50. September 1979. doi:10.1080/03124077908549568.
  12. ↑ "Supplement to The London Gazette, 13th June 1959". The London Gazette. Government of the United Kingdom. 5 June 1959. p. 3737. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
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