Margaret Lawrie

Margaret Lawrie was a respected anthropologist of the Torres Strait. She was famous for capturing and retelling many of the myths and Legends of the Torres Strait Islander people. She was born in Victoria in 1917 and died in 2003.

She studied English and music and later became a music teacher. Margaret married Alexander Lawrie who was a senator for Queensland. Margaret Lawrie became interested in a range of social issues in the course of assisting her husband. She was invited by the Queensland Government to travel with Oodgeroo Noonuccal and a Queensland Health worker to Cape York and Torres Strait Island communities to report on children’s health and other issues in these communities.

As a result of her work, Margaret developed an interest and association with the Torres Strait Islands and its people. She first visited the area in the early 1960s and spent significant periods of time with each of the different island communities, gathering information and material about the myths, legends, languages, history, art and culture of the regions up until 1973.